The influence of socioeconomic factors on the knowledge of reptiles and mammals in the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Northeast Brazil.

Abstract

Local ecological knowledge is transmitted across generations and arises from various human interactions with the environment. Cultural and socioeconomic variables such as age, sex, educational level and locality can influence both the acquisition and transmission of this knowledge. However, Brazil's diverse environmental contexts reveal gaps in information regarding interactions with local fauna. Given this scenario, this study aims to investigate whether socioeconomic factors influence knowledge about reptile and mammal species in Lençóis Maranhenses National Park. Additionally, it seeks to provide a list of the recognized animals and document interactions between residents and fauna. Data were collected through semi-structured questionnaires and open-ended interviews, resulting in records of 36 species (plus 6 identified only at genus level) in 33 families and 10 orders, of which 53% were non-avian reptile and 47% mammals. We observed three types of interactions between residents and fauna: dietary, medicinal and conflict-related. Among the variables analyzed using a generalized linear model, only locality significantly influenced traditional faunal knowledge in the communities studied.