How good are you at IDing plecos: Research and a fun quiz.

[Jools]

OATA asked to help spread the word about this survey from a research student who is examining the trade in plecos.

Erin Foad is currently completing an MSc by research in Biodiversity Management at the University of Kent with a focus on the trade in plecos.

She says: “My research aims to provide an overview of the online trade in plecos, a group of tropical freshwater armoured catfish, in particular the trade of Zebra Plecos (Hypancistrus zebra). As part of this research,, I am investigating potential misidentification levels within the trade. The method implemented, known as the mis-match method, is adapted from psychology and is used to discover the frequency at which objects/pictures are misidentified. After a small selection of demographic questions, you will be presented with 55 picture pairs of different pleco species. You will be asked whether you can identify if the species in the pictures are the same, different or if you do not know. You will then be asked how certain you are of your answers after each picture pair. It is expected that you will take no longer than 6 seconds on each question and that the questionnaire will take you no longer than 10 minutes."

“Ethics for the project have been approved by The University of Kent. All participation is voluntary and all respondents can withdraw at any time. At no point will personal data be gathered or shared and all responses will be kept on an encrypted device. Data collected will be used for academic purposes and may be published in academic journals. Please feel free to reach out with any concerns at, [email protected] or contact my supervisor at [email protected].”

Find the survey here: https://forms.gle/uBtYn93zd24u4hmA9