Assessing Biocultural Diversity Across Scales Using Ecological Indicators
Despite considerable efforts to promote biocultural diversity as a conservation objective, the spatial correlation between cultural and biological diversities, as well as its variation across geographic scales, remains unclear. In this study, we used Colombia as a case study to examine the relations...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25005461 |
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| author | Bryam Mateus-Aguilar Andrés Felipe Díaz-Salazar Federico Andrade-Rivas Natasha M. Batista Anaid Cárdenas-Navarrete Armando Dávila Arenas Katherine Victoria Hernandez Guido A. Herrera-R Kelley E. Langhans Dallas R. Levey Andrew Neill Oliver Nguyen Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela Andrés Felipe Suárez-Castro Felipe Zapata Alejandra Echeverri |
| author_facet | Bryam Mateus-Aguilar Andrés Felipe Díaz-Salazar Federico Andrade-Rivas Natasha M. Batista Anaid Cárdenas-Navarrete Armando Dávila Arenas Katherine Victoria Hernandez Guido A. Herrera-R Kelley E. Langhans Dallas R. Levey Andrew Neill Oliver Nguyen Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela Andrés Felipe Suárez-Castro Felipe Zapata Alejandra Echeverri |
| author_sort | Bryam Mateus-Aguilar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite considerable efforts to promote biocultural diversity as a conservation objective, the spatial correlation between cultural and biological diversities, as well as its variation across geographic scales, remains unclear. In this study, we used Colombia as a case study to examine the relationships between biodiversity and cultural diversity at both national and ecoregional scales. Using municipality as the unit of analysis, we gathered data on a range of biological and cultural variables. We quantified six biodiversity indicators–species richness of freshwater fishes, mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and number of ecosystems. For cultural diversity, we used seven indicators: music festivals, Indigenous reserves, Afro-Colombian lands, UNESCO World Heritage sites, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage sites, museums, and native languages, as proxies for institutionalized cultural diversity. Diversity metrics adapted from ecology, including the Shannon Diversity Index (SDI) and the Inverse-Simpson Diversity Index (InvSDI), were used to calculate both biodiversity and cultural diversity at national and ecoregional scales. Our results suggest that biodiversity and cultural diversity are partially positively correlated at the national scale, as indicated by the InvSDI, which incorporates cultural data that the SDI omits. However, at the ecoregional scale, we found no consistent correlation, though both positive and negative trends emerged. This study presents a methodological innovation for quantifying biocultural diversity and raises important questions for future research on the connections between nature and culture. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-123da789742b485782b0a3d49d8f07a6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj-art-123da789742b485782b0a3d49d8f07a62025-08-20T03:30:38ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2025-07-0117611361610.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113616Assessing Biocultural Diversity Across Scales Using Ecological IndicatorsBryam Mateus-Aguilar0Andrés Felipe Díaz-Salazar1Federico Andrade-Rivas2Natasha M. Batista3Anaid Cárdenas-Navarrete4Armando Dávila Arenas5Katherine Victoria Hernandez6Guido A. Herrera-R7Kelley E. Langhans8Dallas R. Levey9Andrew Neill10Oliver Nguyen11Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela12Andrés Felipe Suárez-Castro13Felipe Zapata14Alejandra Echeverri15Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia; Department of Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Corresponding author.Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, ColombiaSchool of Population and Public Health and Social Policy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Instituto de Salud y Ambiente, Universidad El Bosque, Bogotá, ColombiaThe Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USADepartment of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USAIndependent Musician, Bogotá, ColombiaInstitute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USADepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USADepartment of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USADepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USADepartment of Botany, Trinity College, Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USADepartment of Environmental Studies, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USAAustralian Rivers Institute, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, AustraliaDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USADepartment of Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar, Future Flourishing Program, CIFAR, CanadaDespite considerable efforts to promote biocultural diversity as a conservation objective, the spatial correlation between cultural and biological diversities, as well as its variation across geographic scales, remains unclear. In this study, we used Colombia as a case study to examine the relationships between biodiversity and cultural diversity at both national and ecoregional scales. Using municipality as the unit of analysis, we gathered data on a range of biological and cultural variables. We quantified six biodiversity indicators–species richness of freshwater fishes, mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and number of ecosystems. For cultural diversity, we used seven indicators: music festivals, Indigenous reserves, Afro-Colombian lands, UNESCO World Heritage sites, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage sites, museums, and native languages, as proxies for institutionalized cultural diversity. Diversity metrics adapted from ecology, including the Shannon Diversity Index (SDI) and the Inverse-Simpson Diversity Index (InvSDI), were used to calculate both biodiversity and cultural diversity at national and ecoregional scales. Our results suggest that biodiversity and cultural diversity are partially positively correlated at the national scale, as indicated by the InvSDI, which incorporates cultural data that the SDI omits. However, at the ecoregional scale, we found no consistent correlation, though both positive and negative trends emerged. This study presents a methodological innovation for quantifying biocultural diversity and raises important questions for future research on the connections between nature and culture.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25005461Biocultural diversityBiological diversityBiodiversity conservationCultural heritageEthnobiologySustainable Development |
| spellingShingle | Bryam Mateus-Aguilar Andrés Felipe Díaz-Salazar Federico Andrade-Rivas Natasha M. Batista Anaid Cárdenas-Navarrete Armando Dávila Arenas Katherine Victoria Hernandez Guido A. Herrera-R Kelley E. Langhans Dallas R. Levey Andrew Neill Oliver Nguyen Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela Andrés Felipe Suárez-Castro Felipe Zapata Alejandra Echeverri Assessing Biocultural Diversity Across Scales Using Ecological Indicators Ecological Indicators Biocultural diversity Biological diversity Biodiversity conservation Cultural heritage Ethnobiology Sustainable Development |
| title | Assessing Biocultural Diversity Across Scales Using Ecological Indicators |
| title_full | Assessing Biocultural Diversity Across Scales Using Ecological Indicators |
| title_fullStr | Assessing Biocultural Diversity Across Scales Using Ecological Indicators |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing Biocultural Diversity Across Scales Using Ecological Indicators |
| title_short | Assessing Biocultural Diversity Across Scales Using Ecological Indicators |
| title_sort | assessing biocultural diversity across scales using ecological indicators |
| topic | Biocultural diversity Biological diversity Biodiversity conservation Cultural heritage Ethnobiology Sustainable Development |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25005461 |
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