Ecological sciences, like other science fields, are being flooded by massive and diverse sources of information and data. This is valuable to address pressing socio-environmental issues, but it is not sufficient because big data are available and usable almost exclusively for scientists. Communication, participation, and education, including ecotourism, are also essential to socially incorporate ecological information. Flagship species offer an effective way to engage the public, and attract the attention of policy makers. However, there are two limitations. First, flagship species almost exclusively have included vertebrate animals and vascular plants. Second, society needs to understand the ecological interactions in which flagship species are embedded. To overcome the first limitation, we compare the effectiveness of flagship species based on vertebrates with novel approaches that include non-vascular plants. Regarding the second limitation, we examine ecological interrelations with other co-inhabitants that flagship species have in their habitats, and are essential the life habits. We conduct these comparisons in protected areas in China and Chile. We examined educational and tourism programs associated with the giant panda in Foping Nature Reserve and bryophytes in Fairy Lake Botanical Garden, Shenzhen, China, and with the Magellanic Woodpecker and bryophytes in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve (BR), Chile.
Results/Conclusions
In Chile, at Omora Park in the Cape Horn BR, ecologists team-working with philosophers and artists created the metaphor of “miniature forests,” and the activity of “ecotourism with a Hand-Lens.” Additionally, they created an interpretive trail to appreciate the beauty of the miniature forest, ecological relevance of bryophytes, and its exuberant diversity of mosses and lichens in the Magellanic sub-Antarctic ecoregion. The ethical aim is to foster a sense of co-inhabitation among humans and the diversity of lifeforms, including tiny organisms. In China, Shenzhen Fairy Lake Botanical Garden enjoys its national reputation on bryophytes research and ex situ conservation of bryophytes. It has established platforms such as Natural Education Base and Natural School for citizens to learn ecological functions, fine structures, and diverse habits of bryophytes. Moreover, it incorporates Chinese traditions of aesthetic appreciation of mosses into public education, and Chinese bryologists have created the metaphor of “miniature angels,” and designed various bryophytes public education projects, exhibitions, and lectures in the past two decades. Both botanical gardens created a Moss-Centered Kosmos. These Chilean and Chinese gardens have broaden the taxonomic spectrum of flagship species, demonstrating that mosses can be as effective as woodpeckers and pandas for biocultural education and conservation.