Banca de DEFESA: ÉLIDA MONIQUE DA COSTA SANTOS CARDOSO

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : ÉLIDA MONIQUE DA COSTA SANTOS CARDOSO
DATE: 26/03/2024
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: on-line
TITLE:

Biocultural conservation of Myrciaria floribunda (H. West ex Willd.) O. Berg: ecological, socioeconomic and behavioral contributions

KEY WORDS:

Biocultural conservation, expectation, novel foods, sensory analysis, wild food plants.

PAGES: 28
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Ecologia
SUBÁREA: Ecologia Aplicada
SUMMARY:

Wild Food Plants (WFP) have great potential for human consumption, yet they are underutilized, especially in urban areas. This results in less diversified diets and erosion of knowledge about these plants. However, they offer nutritional, ecological, and social benefits. Therefore, to harness this potential, this research sought, through an interdisciplinary approach, to provide theoretical and applied foundations to promote the biocultural conservation of Myrciaria floribunda (H. West ex Willd.) O. Berg (cambuí). This thesis consists of three chapters. Chapter 1 is anchored in ethnobiology and ecology, exploring the sustainability of species collection, while the following two chapters focus on consumer psychology, investigating the relationship between extrinsic cues, expectations, and willingness to consume. The thesis encompassed both harvesters and potential consumers of cambuí. In the first article, we assessed the population structure of cambuí in Piaçabuçu (AL) and identified, through local perception, collection areas, availability history, causes of decrease, and possible solutions. The results indicate that cambuí fruit harvesting is on the threshold between sustainable and unsustainable. Additionally, deforestation and burning contribute to the decrease in individuals. In Chapter 2, from a national sample, we sought to understand if the terminological association of a WEP-based juice with a conventional fruit or forest environments influences potential consumers' expectations. In Chapter 3, we focused on the metropolitan region of Alagoas to better understand the local context and investigate consumers' expectations and perceptions. We also tested the terminological influence evaluated in Chapter 2 and tested whether the gastronomic association (through mixtures) of WEP-based juices with conventional juices influences expectations and acceptance. The results of Chapters 2 and 3 suggest that, in some cases, the names assigned to products interfere with expectations or acceptance. For example, the terminological association of a product with forest environments (names with forest or jungle suffixes) may generate negative expectations regarding taste among more neophobic individuals. Additionally, Chapter 3 showed that gastronomic mixtures enhance product acceptance. Thus, there is ample potential to increase interest in cambuí by introducing it into mixtures with conventional fruits and through marketing strategies that focus on the role of extrinsic cues. However, these strategies should be accompanied by sustainable management plans, considering the identified threats to the species. Product processing to reach new markets can be an economically and environmentally viable strategy, as it focuses on value addition rather than increasing collection. In this context, it is interesting that in marketing, the product is associated with a popularly known product to familiarize it with new consumers.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 1861153 - PATRICIA MUNIZ DE MEDEIROS
Interno(a) - 1916144 - GILBERTO COSTA JUSTINO
Interno(a) - 1278133 - GUILHERME RAMOS DEMETRIO FERREIRA
Externo(a) à Instituição - MICHELLE CRISTINE MEDEIROS JACOB - UFRN
Externo(a) à Instituição - TALINE CRISTINA DA SILVA - UNEAL