Knowledge and interactions of the local community with the herpetofauna in the forest reserve of Quininí (Tibacuy-Cundinamarca, Colombia).

Publisher: Biomed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101245794 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1746-4269 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 17464269 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Ethnobiol Ethnomed Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: [London] : Biomed Central, [2005]-

Biodiversity* ; Conservation of Natural Resources* ; Knowledge*; Amphibians/*classification ; Reptiles/*classification; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Animals ; Colombia ; Female ; Forests ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

Background: The study of human-nature relationship has made possible to understand the life dynamics of the communities and the biodiversity with which they cohabit. Although there has been a rise of ethnobiological studies over the last decade, little is known about human interaction with herpetofauna in South America and Colombia. In this work, we analyzed the knowledge, perception, and interaction of a local community located in the forest reserve of Quininí (RFPCQ) in Cundinamarca (Colombia), concerning to the herpetofauna that inhabits the area.
Methods: We performed semi-structured surveys containing 30 questions categorized into three groups: academic knowledge (1), use and cultural beliefs (2), and interactions (3) related to the herpetofauna that occurs in the region. The obtained data in question groups 1 and 2 are presented as a qualitative summary. For the question group 3, we assigned the answers to a hostility value according to the possible reaction of each individual interviewed in a hypothetical encounter with the herpetofauna and built tendency charts in order to see the positive or negative reactions due to the birthplace (urban/rural) and gender (male/female).
Results: The community recognized the presence of amphibians and reptiles that cohabit their space, as well as their potential habitats. Besides, the role of herpetofauna was recognized in the magical/religious traditions for some inhabitants of the region, mainly associated with the fate and cure of chronic diseases. In general, the perception of amphibians and reptiles varied according to the origin and gender of the people, which tend to have a more positive perception of reptiles than compared to amphibians in most cases.
Conclusions: Although there was a general lack of knowledge on the part of the inhabitants of the RFPCQ about the biological and ecological aspects of herpetofauna, the population recognized the basic information about the habitats of these animals within the reserve area. There is a wide variety of uses of amphibians and reptiles in traditional medicine. Greater efforts should be made in the transmission and dissemination of knowledge about the ecological functions of herpetofauna.

Nature. 2016 Jul 7;535(7610):144-7. (PMID: 27362236)
Toxicon. 1997 Feb;35(2):293-304. (PMID: 9080586)
Braz J Biol. 2015 Aug;75(3):535-40. (PMID: 26465721)
Science. 1947 Apr 4;105(2727):367-8. (PMID: 17800882)
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2012 Feb 08;8:8. (PMID: 22316318)
Environ Monit Assess. 2012 Nov;184(11):6877-901. (PMID: 22134858)
J Ethnopharmacol. 2010 Oct 28;132(1):86-100. (PMID: 20678567)
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2010 Mar 26;6:13. (PMID: 20346120)
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2011 Sep 05;7:26. (PMID: 21892925)
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2013 Mar 01;9:15. (PMID: 23448503)
J Am Anim Hosp Assoc. 2016 Jul-Aug;52(4):205-11. (PMID: 27259028)
Am J Primatol. 2019 Mar;81(3):e22950. (PMID: 30664280)
Rev Salud Publica (Bogota). 2012 Oct;14(6):1005-13. (PMID: 24892440)
Hist Cienc Saude Manguinhos. 2015 Dec;22(4):1283-319. (PMID: 25831480)
J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2000 Jun 15;216(12):1941-4. (PMID: 10863593)
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Dec 24;110(52):20900-5. (PMID: 22308313)
J Chem Ecol. 2009 Apr;35(4):391-9. (PMID: 19263169)
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2018 Aug 15;14(1):55. (PMID: 30111346)
Phytochem Rev. 2017;16(6):1155-1171. (PMID: 29200987)
Toxins (Basel). 2018 Aug 20;10(8):. (PMID: 30127299)
Conserv Biol. 2009 Dec;23(6):1544-9. (PMID: 19508674)
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2013 Oct 16;9:72. (PMID: 24131758)
Toxicon. 2019 Feb;158:16-32. (PMID: 30472110)

Keywords: Ancestral knowledge; Ethnoherpetology; Herpetofauna; Interactions; Local communities

Date Created: 20200416 Date Completed: 20210217 Latest Revision: 20231113

20240513

PMC7161309

10.1186/s13002-020-00370-8

32293483