As conservation has limited funds, numerous studies have identified aesthetic characteristics of successful flagship species which generate donations and conservation. However, prior information about species can also impact human preferences, and may covary with animal appearance, leading to different conclusions about which species will be most effective. To separate these two factors, we use images of imaginary animals as a novel paradigm to investigate preferences for animal appearance in conservation donors. Using discrete choice experiments, we show that potential conservation donors prefer larger imaginary animals which are multicolored and cooler toned. We found no effect of eye position or fur, which we used as a proxy for mammalian species. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these preferences can predict the number of donations received by species‐specific conservation charities. These results suggest coloring, and particularly number of colors, is an overlooked aspect of animal appeal, and an important aesthetic characteristic for identifying future flagship species.

中文翻译：

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颜色和大小会影响假想动物的偏好，并可以预测对特定物种的保护慈善机构的实际捐赠

由于保护资金有限，许多研究已经确定了成功的旗舰物种的美学特征，这些物种产生了捐赠和保护。但是，有关物种的先前信息也可能影响人类的偏爱，并且可能与动物的外貌有关，从而导致关于哪种物种最有效的不同结论。为了区分这两个因素，我们使用假想动物的图像作为一种新颖的范例来调查保护捐赠者对动物外观的偏好。使用离散选择实验，我们表明潜在的保护捐赠者更喜欢大型假想动物，它们是彩色的且色调较冷。我们没有发现眼睛位置或皮毛的影响，我们将其用作哺乳动物的代用品。此外，我们证明了这些偏好可以预测特定物种的保护慈善机构收到的捐赠数量。这些结果表明，着色，尤其是颜色数量，是动物吸引力的一个被忽视的方面，并且是识别未来旗舰物种的重要美学特征。