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Urban encroachment into traditional snake territories has long been underway; likely increasing snake sightings in urban neighborhoods. With increasing overlap, I ask if the perceptions of snakes are actually influencing urban residents to say that snakes are a significant problem in their neighborhood today? I was interested in finding out whether or not there would be a positive correlation between the perception of snakes being a problem within a neighborhood and the actual number of sightings recorded. To address this, I used survey responses from 2017 regarding the risk perception of snakes from twelve neighborhoods within Maricopa County. These responses were then compared to the number of snake sightings within those same neighborhoods over a span of ten years using community science data from iNaturalist. The average results of the people who took the survey perceived that snakes were not a problem in their neighborhood. It was also found that in the outlying areas closer to natural snake habitat (desert preserves), a positive correlation between a higher survey response and a higher number of snake sightings could be seen. Overall, the conclusion of the data revealed that the perceptions of residents did not align with the actual number of snake sightings.
The objective of my thesis project is to help bridge the gap between entertainment and science. I grew up reading the warrior cats, and I assume I was similar to many other children and young teens who did not understand domestic cats or ecology enough to question anything in the books. I know that much of these books are fictional, but that does not mean that it can’t be analyzed and used as a tool for teaching. The goal is to reach common ground with those people who have an interest in the warrior cats series, and help them understand it in a new light, as well as the world around them. I aim for the takeaway of this series to encourage people to explore the concepts I discuss and consider expanding upon the ideas within the Warriors universe or with their own cats.
As the future for our planet it is our job to understand what is happening in our world especially in an age of technology. We have the world at our fingertips yet many of us do not know what is happening around the world. Anthropogenic and natural threats are wreaking havoc on the sea turtle population from coral bleaching to bycatch(Shaver et al., 2020). We have come together as a population to reduce the amount of plastic straws in the oceans, but many have stopped there. Not realizing that sea turtles are keystone species that keep the oceans and the wildlife within it healthy (Why do sea turtles matter? 2020). All are listed under the Endangered Species Act but some of those most threatened species are the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles, which are critically endangered and Leatherbacks which are endangered (Bandimere, 2020). Sea Life Survival is a board game that creates an interactive learning experience based on many different childhood favorite games. Learning takes on many forms and fun is definitely the best way to learn (de Freitas, 2018). This game provides a way to gain information while also experiencing an engaging and entertaining adventure. Understanding why people play games helped create a game that met the components of intention and enjoyment in order to produce a game that people would want to play (Hamari & Keronen, 2017). The purpose of the game is to spread information on sea turtles in a way that presents them in a light hearted way while still touching on the tragic life that some sea turtles succumb to. Future improvements to the game would include party packs which would showcase the new knowledge that has been discovered.
