Public attention and interest in the fate of endangered species is a crucial prerequisite for effective conservation programs. Societal awareness and values will largely determine whether conservation initiatives receive necessary support and lead to adequate policy change. Using text data mining, we assessed general public attention in France, Germany and the United Kingdom toward climate change and biological invasions in relation to endangered amphibian, reptile, bird and mammal species. Our analysis revealed that public attention patterns differed among species groups and countries but was globally higher for climate change than for biological invasions. Both threats received better recognition in threatened than in non-threatened species, as well as in native species than in species from other countries and regions. We conclude that more efficient communication regarding the threat from biological invasions should be developed, and that conservation practitioners should take advantage of the existing attention toward climate change.

Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences Institute of Hydrobiology České Budějovice Czech Republic

CESAM Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies University of Aveiro Aveiro Portugal

Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology School of Anthropology and Conservation Marlowe Building University of Kent Canterbury Kent UK

Faculty of Science Department of Ecosystem Biology University of South Bohemia České Budějovice Czech Republic

Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland

Helsinki Lab of Interdisciplinary Conservation Science Department of Geosciences and Geography University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland

Institute of Biological and Health Sciences Federal University of Alagoas Av Lourival Melo Mota Maceió AL Brazil

Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin Germany

Université Paris Dauphine PSL Research University CNRS Paris France

Université Paris Saclay CNRS AgroParisTech Ecologie Systématique Evolution 91405 Orsay France

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