It pays to be pretty if you’re a threatened fish

A study published in the journal PLOS Biology reveals that when it comes to interesting people in the value of conservation and biodiversity, ‘aesthetic value’ plays a large part  in engaging them with particular species.

The bad news is that this attitude doesn’t favour the fish most in danger, suggests community ecologist at the University of Montpellier, Nicolas Mouquet, one of the report’s lead authors. 

“The most beautiful fishes are tightly packed into small parts of both the phylogenetic tree and the ecological trait space. In contrast, the less attractive fishes are the most ecologically and evolutionary distinct species and those recognised as threatened,” writes Mouquet.

He said the study highlighted potential mismatches between support for conservation and the species most at risk.

Researchers assessed the perceived aesthetic value of 2,417 ray-finned reef fish species by combining intensive evaluation of photographs of fishes by humans with predicted values from machine learning. The authors were able to pinpoint biases relating to evolutionary history, ecological traits and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threat status.

Those with rounded shapes and colourful bodies, such as angel fish, scored highly while ‘duller’ fish with elongated bodies and drabber colouring fared worse. The latter’s appearance is often the result of living in more homogenous environments that tend to attract more commercial interest and the animals were more ecologically distinct, said the study.

Mouquet added that the study “provides a pathway for scaling-up our understanding of what are both an important nonmaterial facet of biodiversity and a key component of nature’s contribution to people, which could help better anticipate consequences of species loss and assist in developing appropriate communication strategies.”

PIC: Diego Sandoval@pexels