New research from Stellenbosch University used social media, specifically YouTube, to determine which species of amphibians are being kept as pets and to study behaviour.
The article published by the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology makes use of social media to explore the amphibian pet trade and to identify which species are potentially invasive.
The researchers used data from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list to determine the possible conflicts of owning amphibians.
“It was a fun project that we decided to do together,” says Dr. John Measey, senior researcher at the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology, about using social media to gather data.
“The trend has already started with many studies cashing in on the amount of data that is available online through social media,” says Nitya Mohanty, a Ph.D. student at the centre.
Measey says they were taking information from YouTube to find out what people are doing with their amphibian pets and what they like to the extent that they want to share it with everyone else on the platform.
DR John Measey, a senior researcher at the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology at Stellenbosch University, looking at data for his next project PHOTO: Cher Petersen
Annie Basson, an MSc student at the centre, says using social media is a relatively new method to use in research and it is interesting to see people’s perceptions about animals like amphibians.
“What we’re trying to do in this study is find out more information about what people are looking for when they want to have a pet amphibian,” says Measey. “We know there is a very strong link when lots of people have something as a pet and then that species becoming invasive.”
Measey says they were particularly interested in looking at exotic pets because that is where the pet industry is expanding.
“We know there is a certain list of commonly kept amphibians in the pet trade and that’s known from previous research,” says Mohanty. “With this research, we went into the homes of pet owners so we found there are actually way more species kept as pets than what we know of.”
The centre’s research identified 133 species of frogs, salamanders and newts.
The article suggests that pet owners want to own amphibians to observe behaviours, such as feeding, at home. Even if keeping the pet may be in conflict with conservation.
Measy says that social media may play an important role in the future to prevent the spread of invasive species and disease, especially during the early stages of species becoming invasive.