Motivation and Habits of a Wild Boar-Hunting Community.

The wild boar () is a widespread ungulate, the populations of which have recently increased throughout most of its range. This increase has caused negative impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity, and society. Nowadays, the wild boar is considered both a valuable game and a pest.

Economic valuation of a mesocarnivore's impact management.

Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) have interacted with humans during their common history. We used a contingent valuation method to assess the economic value of the management of this mesocarnivore's negative impacts. We carried out face-to-face interviews with 746 Greek residents, using a multiple-bounded discrete choice approach to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) for red fox management under three impact situations: attack domestic animals, reduce game, carry disease.

Economic Valuation of Balkan Chamois Conservation.

The Balkan chamois () is a caprine of the rocky mountain slopes, threatened in Greece by illegal hunting and population isolation. We used a contingent valuation method to assess the willingness to pay (WTP) for chamois conservation of 500 residents of the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. Most of the participants (61.

Public attitudes towards venomous and non-venomous snakes.

Snakes are integral components of ecosystems, being both predators and prey. They also provide valuable ecosystem services to people, such as rodent control, bushmeat, and leather goods. Although these positive services have been recognized, people are generally wary of snakes, because some species possess and release venom to immobilize prey.

Patch, matrix and disturbance variables negatively influence bird community structure in small-sized managed green spaces located in urban core areas.

Patch, matrix and human-induced disturbance variables are important in determining the structure of urban bird communities. Although green spaces in urban core areas are usually small and disturbed, they can be important for local bird diversity. Because such areas are often overlooked, their study is critical for successfully incorporating biodiversity conservation in urban planning.

Differences in encounters, likeability and desirability of wildlife species among residents of a Greek city.

Urbanization is ever-increasing worldwide and urban green spaces and their associated wildlife are becoming critically important for human well-being. Understanding public preferences for urban wildlife would allow urban planners and managers for designing successful management plans. 600 Greek urban residents were asked to rate their frequency of encounters, likeability and desirability to encounter more often 30 urban wildlife taxa.

The two faces of Janus, or the dual mode of public attitudes towards snakes.

Snakes are controversial animals, therefore a better understanding of public attitudes is critical for their effective protection and future survival. The attitudes towards snakes of 951 adults in Greece were investigated in personal interviews. Factor analysis revealed a dual mode of attitudes: respondents were highly intolerant of snakes, while they supported their conservation at the same time.

Effects of attitudes and demography on public support for endangered species conservation.

It is critical for managers to understand how attitudes and demography affect public's preferences for species protection for designing successful conservation projects. 1080 adults in Greece were asked to rate pictures of 12 endangered species on aesthetic and negativistic attitudes, and intention to support their conservation. Factor analysis identified a group of animals for which respondents indicated high levels of support for their conservation (red deer, loggerhead sea turtle, brown bear, common pheasant, European ground squirrel, glossy ibis) and a group of animals for which respondents indicated low levels of support (black vulture, great white shark, fire-bellied toad, western barbastelle, Cretan tube web spider, Milos viper).

Public acceptance of management methods under different human-wildlife conflict scenarios.

Wildlife management seeks to minimise public controversy for successful application of wildlife control methods. Human dimensions research in wildlife seeks a better understanding of public preferences for effective human-wildlife conflict resolution. In face to face interviews, 630 adults in Greece were asked to rate on a 5-point Likert-like scale their acceptance of 3 management methods, i.