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Abstract
Human interest, meanings, and values become concentrated in certain species through interacting social and ecological processes that cannot simply be untangled. These species become known as iconic species and often define essential aspects of human-nature relations, distilling information about how humans value nature and influencing cognitive, affective, and experiential ways of understanding a landscape. While every species labelled as iconic emerges from a unique cultural and ecological context, there may be shared social and psychological mechanisms that transcend these contexts. In particular, iconic species are often representative and define the character of places, influencing the experiences and interactions that people have with their home communities, vacation destinations, and natural areas used for escape or recreation. Conversely, the abundance, health, and protection of iconic species is influenced by their representation of these places and the human experiences embedded within them. Therefore, management actions, natural threats and disturbances, and changes to the ways people interact with iconic species can have a ripple effect through attitudes and behaviors regarding the broader place and connections to place can influence the survival of an iconic species. This dissertation examines the shared and varied ways iconic species are conceptualized within different conservation contexts, analyzes place-based values that elevate iconic species, and explores how these species relate to the formation of a sense of place through three main articles. Chapter two synthesizes the concept of iconic species across three individual studies. With a case study on Jekyll Island, GA with the live oak and the sea turtle, chapter three uses this conceptualization to create a valid and reliable survey scale to quantitatively assess the ‘iconicism’ of species. Chapter four expands this measure by examining the place-based values that inform the iconic value of a species, then analyzes the impacts of iconic species on sense of place and conservation behavior constructs. Overall, findings from this study provide insight toward how species become icons, what this means across different stakeholder groups, and why iconic species are valued within broader place-based contexts. These insights may allow managers to better understand intangible, indirect, yet influential effects of decisions regarding iconic species.