The Efficacy of Charisma on the Vitality of Endangered Species

So-called charismatic species are thought to be more aesthetically pleasing or display high overall attractiveness—e.g., panda bears are charismatic; hagfish are not. The scientific community has widely accepted the notion of charismatic species despite the lack of evidence supporting such a distinction. The goal of this study is to present empirical data to support the hypothesis that there is a correlation between the charisma of a species and the vitality of that species: Those that are more charismatic will have an overall population increase while those that are less charismatic will have an overall population decrease. Subjects ranked various endangered species from most charismatic to least charismatic. Only endangered species from the mountain-prairie region of the United States were used and of those species only those that had at least five consecutive years of population density data on file were used. Preliminary results appear to indicate a positive correlation between species' charisma and population growth. If the results display a positive correlation, then they would support the idea that human beings may have more control over population density than originally perceived. If the results display a negative correlation, then they would support the idea that human beings may have much less control over population density than originally perceived. A better understanding of a possible charisma effect could aide in ecological development and environmental regulations.