CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Abstract. Despite recognizing the need to integrate the ecological and social dimensions of environmentalproblems, biological invasions research and management still lack broad assessments oftheir human dimensions. In contemporary Western societies, mass media has become a fundamentalsocial factor in the creation of shared ideas about nature, shaping different stakeholder´s values,attitudes and behaviors. However, little attention has been paid to media portrayals of biologicalinvasions. Using communication theories to build a conceptual framework, we studied the mediarepresentations of introduced invasive mammals (IIMs) in newspapers, comparing national-leveloutlets with those from Tierra del Fuego (TDF). Using key words related to IIMs, we identified andselected relevant articles (n = 344) that were assessed for 1) importance given to the topic of IIMs(e.g., cover stories, article length, accompanying photographs); 2) the values present and thematicorientation (e.g., negative, positive, neutral); and 3) information sources referenced in articles. Only13 of Argentina´s 23 IIMs were portrayed in newspapers; none were frontpage news. TDF showeda greater frequency of negative-oriented articles, coinciding with the scientific perspective providedby both scientific and political sources, and a lesser degree the agricultural sector. Plus, in TDF thesearticles were placed mostly in the newspapers´ politics section. Nationally, articles were more general,citing both scientists and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Nationally, there were cases ofinformation errors, and frequently exotic had polysemic meanings (e.g., exuberant, desirable, interesting) with an unclear value-orientation regarding biological invasions. IIMs are part of public discourseand part of TDF´s public agenda. However, their portrayal in the media is highly conditionedto territorial issues and information sources. We recommend including science communication as part of professional media training, but biological invasion researchers and managers should alsorecognize the diversity of values and understandings of IIMs and the way that can affect policies.

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