Güney Portekiz'deki Keler Folkloru ve Geleneksel Ekolojik Bilgisi: Koruma ve Bilim İçin Çıkarımlar

Geleneksel Ekolojik Bilgi (GEB) ve folklor, doğal yaşam ile ilgili büyük bilgi depolarıdır. İnsan topluluklarının yerel türlerle ilgili sahip oldukları fikir, algı ve görgül veriler, yeni bilimsel keşiflerin yapılmasına olanak sağlayan ve bir dizi koruma sorununu çözme potansiyeli sunan önemli kaynaklardır. Özellikle keler biyolojisi ve ekolojisi ile ilgili ana fikirleri anlamak amacıyla Güney Portekiz halkının, kelerler ile ilgili folklor ve GEB’ini belgeledik. Çalışmamızın sonuçları, keler ekolojisi ve biyolojisine ilişkin yerel bilgilerin hem doğru hem de yararlı olduğunu göstermektedir. Yerel sakinler tarafından sağlanan bilgilerin bir sonucu olarak, Hemidactylus turcicus’un mevcut coğrafi dağılımı hakkındaki bilgiler, dokuz yeni konumda varlıklarının bildirilmesiyle genişletilmiştir. Ayrıca, yerel halkın hala kelerlerin zehirli ve dermatolojik hastalıkların taşıyıcısı olduğu konusunda bazı yanlış anlamalara sahip olduğu açığa çıkarıldı. Bu fikirlerin varlığı, ahaliyi kelerlerden korkmaya ve onlardan nefret etmeye yöneltti. Bu durum da bu hayvanların karşı karşıya kaldığı en büyük koruma sorunlarından biri olan doğrudan işkenceye yol açtı. Hem bilimsel hem de çevreci bir bakış açısıyla, insanların hayvanlara yönelik bilgi ve algılarını anlamak önemlidir. Çünkü ancak o zaman şimdiye kadar onaylanmamış geçerli bilgiler ve koruma sorunları tespit edilip çözülebilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Gekkonidae, Portekiz, sürüngenlerin korunması, folklor, GEB

Folklore and Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Geckos in Southern Portugal: Implications for Conservation and Science

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and folklore are repositories of large amounts of information about the natural world. Ideas, perceptions and empirical data held by human communities regarding local species are important sources which enable new scientific discoveries to be made, as well as offering the potential to solve a number of conservation problems. We documented the gecko-related folklore and TEK of the people of southern Portugal, with the particular aim of understanding the main ideas relating to gecko biology and ecology. Our results suggest that local knowledge of gecko ecology and biology is both accurate and relevant. As a result of information provided by local inhabitants, knowledge of the current geographic distribution of Hemidactylus turcicus was expanded, with its presence reported in nine new locations. It was also discovered that locals still have some misconceptions of geckos as poisonous and carriers of dermatological diseases. The presence of these ideas has led the population to a fear of and aversion to geckos, resulting in direct persecution being one of the major conservation problems facing these animals. It is essential, from both a scientific and conservationist perspective, to understand the knowledge and perceptions that people have towards the animals, since, only then, may hitherto unrecognized pertinent information and conservation problems be detected and resolved.

Keywords:

Gekkonidae, Portugal, reptile conservation, folklore, TEK,

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