PONE-D-19-15156

Evidence-based conservation education in Mexican communities: connecting arts and science

PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Franquesa-Soler,

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The main required changes are related to the connection between the educational actions and behavioral changes in the students. In this regard, please, make clear this issue in the Discussion and carefully consider all the remarks made by reviewer 2.

Likewise, it is necessary to bring more evidence that the behavioral changes were actually due to the performed activities and not due to other causes.

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Paulo Takeo Sano, Ph.D.

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PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (if provided):

The study obtained the official permission to research in schools in Mexico; however, the manuscript does not inform all other necessary ethical procedures.

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Partly

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: I Don't Know

Reviewer #2: I Don't Know

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: No

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: The paper makes a useful contribution to knowledge of the impact of conservation education programs. The data does not provide any information on the changes in behavior of participants as a result of the educational activities and this should be made clear in the conclusions. The English is in general pretty good but there are some words used wrongly and there are one or two problems of word order - some only of these have been corrected in the attached ms. I Recommend that the authors seek help with copy editing.

Reviewer #2: This paper is an attempt to highlight the importance of conservation education for the management of an endangered primate in Mexico. The authors describe, in detail, the various methods and approaches used by the research team to understand and influence? understanding of the conservation value of the black howler monkey. However, it is not clear from the outset what the research itself is trying to achieve. While understanding perceptions of current knowledge of schoolchildren is one way to focus on conservation education, it is unclear how that will relate to actual behavioural change that will lead to better conservation outcomes on the ground. Indeed these two processes are worryingly disconnected as presented in the paper. This reviewer is unsure whether a child understands that the main diet of the black howler monkey are the fruits of Spondias mombin and not bananas will lead to changes in behaviour related to the conservation of the primate itself. There is a very strong focus in the paper on methods, approaches and long discourse on educational techniques (indeed perhaps this could be reduced somewhat) but very little in what the research is hoping to achieve in terms of conservation outcomes. Perhaps this could be made more explicit.

As it reads, the paper could really do with a thorough review by a native English speaker. There are numerous instances of poor and confusing grammar, superfluous information (the first sentence of the abstract is one example), unnecessary use of capitals throughout and the introduction of some clang e.g. "kids". This will need to be amended prior to publication.

In short, this paper could provide some insights into conservation education methods and approaches as long as there is an explicit link to overall conservation outcome, real or perceived. A shorter, concise and focused version of this paper would perhaps work in this regard.

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Reviewer #1: Yes: Jeffrey Sayer

Reviewer #2: No

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Attachments

Attachment

Submitted filename: PONE-D-19-15156_reviewer (1) Art and education Mexico.pdf

Evidence-based conservation education in Mexican communities: connecting arts and science

PONE-D-19-15156R1

Dear Dr. Franquesa-Soler,

We are pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it complies with all outstanding technical requirements.

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With kind regards,

Andrew R. Dalby, PhD

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments: