Connecting workplace attachment and pro-environmental behaviors in zoo and aquarium professionals.

Emerging conservation psychology literature shows that there is a strong link between positive attachment to a workplace and the performance of pro-environmental behaviors by employees at work. The present study explores the validity of a pilot survey based in previous literature that explores these constructs to determine whether a relationship between the two exists among zoo and aquarium professionals. The survey was distributed to employees of the Wildlife Conservation Society's city zoos-Prospect Park, Central Park, and Queens Zoos-during the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Two of the survey scales used had a high internal consistency and data from these responses informed this case study to show that there is a weak, positive correlation between workplace attachment (WPA) and self-reported frequency of performance of pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) among the respondents. Isolating the responses by department revealed that staff working in Operations departments (1) exhibit lower frequencies of PEB than those in Education and Animal departments and (2) have a very strong, positive correlation between WPA and PEB. The results suggest that zoo and aquarium employees who are positively attached to their workplace are more likely to perform PEBs, especially those working in Operations departments. These findings help support that workplace practices seeking to increase WPA could increase the performance of PEBs at work by all employees.

Guidelines for communicating about bats to prevent persecution in the time of COVID-19.

While the current COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on human health and national economies, conservationists are struggling to prevent misguided persecution of bats, which are misleadingly being blamed for spreading the disease. Although at a global level, such persecution is relatively uncommon, even a few misguided actions have the potential to cause irrevocable damage to already vulnerable species. Here, we draw on the latest findings from psychology, to explain why some conservation messaging may be reinforcing misleading negative associations. We provide guidelines to help ensure that conservation messaging is working to neutralize dangerous and unwarranted negative-associations between bats and disease-risk. We provide recommendations around three key areas of psychological science: (i) debunking misinformation; (ii) counteracting negative associations; and (iii) changing harmful social norms. We argue that only by carefully framing accurate, honest, and duly contextualized information, will we be able to best serve society and present an unbiased perspective of bats. We hope this guidance will help conservation practitioners and researchers to develop effective message framing strategies that minimize zoonotic health risks and support biodiversity and its associated ecosystem services.