Science Daily: Children Overestimate Cute Animals In Rainforests, While Underestimating Insects And Annelids
Edgar Turner and colleagues at the University of Cambridge investigated children’s perceptions of rainforest biodiversity by asking young visitors to the University Museum of Zoology in Cambridge, UK to draw their ideal rainforest, as part of a competition, and found that while children have a sophisticated understanding of rainforest ecosystems, they tend to overestimate the relative numbers of some taxa (mainly “cuter” mammals, birds and reptiles) while underestimating the proportions of other, less charismatic taxa, such as insects and annelids.
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