Histórias em quadrinhos como veículo de divulgação científica: significações sobre a história de conservação do mutum-de-Alagoas

Abstract

The Alagoas curassow (Pauxi mitu) is an extinct‐in‐the‐wild bird since 1980 and has survived thanks to reproduction programs in captivity. Originally endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Northeastern Brazil, the species inhabited the Pernambuco Centre of Endemism (PCE), a region considered the most threatened of all Atlantic Forest. Currently, through a well-known environmental conservation project called “Evaluation, Recuperation, and Conservation of Threatened Animal Species from the Pernambuco Centre of Endemism”, the species is in the process of being reintroduced to its natural habitat - an event, so far, unique on the American continent. This project, which brings together researchers from several areas and institutions, in addition to developing research and strategies for biodiversity conservation in the region, also collaborates with activities of Scientific Dissemination (SD). In this context, the present research evaluated a CD material about the Alagoas curassow, which was developed as part of the strategies for conservation of the species. This material, whose scope is to present information about the species and the contributions of science to its conservation, is in Comics format and intends to collaborate in raising awareness about the importance of conservation of the species and the PCE. Comics have a dual language, which articulates textual and iconic information, and were chosen as a vehicle for DC due to their communicative potential, capable of promoting a fluid and easy-to-understand reading. The comic strip entitled "The case of the Alagoas curassow", presents the bird as the main character, composing a narrative that deals with the history of its extinction in nature until the current process of its reintroduction. To explain its trajectory, the material uses terms and concepts from the biological sciences, exploring its informative/educational role. For this investigation, the research proposed to raise, through reading experiences of this material, the meanings attributed to the narrative and the concepts presented, considering groups of readers with different levels of education/area of training. The composition of these groups aims to understand the level of accessibility of the information conveyed in the comic and whether it is comprehensible to a broad audience. As analysis tools, the Peircian Semiotics was used for a qualitative analysis of the meanings, and the Kruskal-Wallis statistical test, for a quantitative analysis of the data collected. The analyses have satisfactorily identified elements of the narrative that hinder the understanding of certain scientific concepts, and have also revealed ways to overcome them