{"id":594200,"date":"2026-08-27T12:16:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T10:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/news\/la-bellezza-influenza-anche-la-conservazione-della-biodiversita-lo-studio-sulle-farfalle-europee\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T10:19:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T08:19:26","slug":"beauty-matters-even-in-biodiversity-conservation-a-study-on-european-butterflies","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/en\/news\/beauty-matters-even-in-biodiversity-conservation-a-study-on-european-butterflies\/","title":{"rendered":"Beauty matters even in biodiversity conservation: a study on European butterflies"},"content":{"rendered":"

How much does beauty matter when we decide which species to study and protect? More than one might think, as demonstrated by an international study published in the journal Current Biology, which examined European butterflies. The study shows that species considered aesthetically more attractive have, over time, received greater attention from the public and the scientific community and are also better represented in European biodiversity conservation measures.<\/p>\n

The study, entitled Beauty Bias in Butterfly Conservation and Research<\/a><\/em>, was coordinated by Leonardo Dapporto of the Department of Biology and Mariagrazia Portera of the Department of Literature and Philosophy at the University of Florence. The senior authors include Alessandro Cini, a professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Pisa<\/strong>, who was involved from the very early stages in the design of the project, the administration and dissemination of the tests, the interpretation of the data and the writing of the scientific paper.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The research involved over 21,000 people from more than 100 countries, who were asked to rate the beauty of hundreds of European butterfly species. The assessments were then correlated with various indicators: the number of scientific publications on individual species; the public attention they received on platforms such as iNaturalist and Flickr; their inclusion in European conservation legislation; and their threat status as indicated by the IUCN Red Lists.<\/p>\n

The results reveal a genuine \u2018beauty bias\u2019<\/strong> that appears to have influenced conservation strategies over time. Species considered the most beautiful and striking have attracted greater interest and been protected earlier. This initial attention has, in turn, helped to generate further research, funding and conservation measures, reinforcing the advantage gained over time.<\/p>\n

The risk is that this mechanism does not align with actual ecological priorities. Several species now under threat are, in fact, inconspicuous and have historically received less attention, whilst decisions taken decades ago continue to influence the allocation of resources for their protection to this day.<\/p>\n

According to Alessandro Cini, however, the implications of the study go far beyond the case of butterflies: \u201cIf beauty bias plays a role even within a group of insects that is particularly well liked and positively perceived by the public,\u201d explains Cini, \u201cit is easy to imagine how much more decisive it might be when society has to decide which animals to protect, comparing species perceived in very different ways: from mammals considered \u2018cute\u2019 and colourful birds to spiders, wasps, hornets and flies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Animals often perceived as ugly, unpleasant or even useless can in fact perform vital functions in ecosystems: \u201cTheir protection<\/strong>,\u201d continues Cini, \u201cshould not depend on how much we like them, but on the health of their populations<\/strong>, as they all play an important role within ecosystems<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study therefore invites us to consider the extent to which human aesthetic preferences may influence, even unconsciously, not only public and research interest, but also conservation policies. Recognising these mechanisms can help to define biodiversity conservation strategies that are more firmly based on the risk of extinction and the ecological importance of species, without sidelining those that are less likely to attract our attention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An international study coordinated by the University of Florence has been published, with a contribution from Alessandro Cini of the Department of Biology at the University of Pisa <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":593677,"menu_order":3,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"tag-notizie-persone":[2765],"tags_news":[281,2305],"categorie":[159],"class_list":["post-594200","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-notizie-persone-alessandro-cini-177471","tags_news-department-of-biology","tags_news-research-en","categorie-unipinews-en"],"yoast_head":"\nBeauty matters even in biodiversity conservation: a study on European butterflies ~ UNIPI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/en\/news\/beauty-matters-even-in-biodiversity-conservation-a-study-on-european-butterflies\/\" \/>\n<meta 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