Decadal increase in the number of recreational users is concentrated in no-take marine reserves

Gonson, Charles; Pelletier, Dominique; Gamp, Elodie; Preuss, Bastien; Jollit, Isabelle; Ferraris, Jocelyne

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.04.007

Cited by 26 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…For instance, fishing shark preys and human disturbance can impact shark fitness, richness and abundance (Bejder et al., ; Williams, Lusseau, & Hammond, ). The increase in the number of recreational users in no‐take areas within the south‐west lagoon in the past 10 years supports the human disturbance hypothesis (Gonson et al., ), even though Bradley, Papastamatiou, and Caselle () suggest that shark behaviour is not affected by SCUBA divers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…Shark fishing is historically absent in New Caledonia with almost no reported commercial catch in the last 14 years so recreational shark fishing is considered unlikely ( Hammond, 2006). The increase in the number of recreational users in no-take areas within the south-west lagoon in the past 10 years supports the human disturbance hypothesis (Gonson et al, 2016), even though Bradley, Papastamatiou, and Caselle (2017) (Maire et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

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Reef accessibility impairs the protection of sharks

Juhel

Vigliola

Mouillot

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Reef sharks are declining world‐wide under ever‐increasing fishing pressure, with potential consequences on ecosystem functioning. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are currently one of the management tools used to counteract the pervasive impacts of fishing. However, MPAs in which reef sharks are abundant tend to be located in remote and underexploited areas, preventing a fair assessment of management effectiveness beyond remoteness from human activities. Here, we determine the conditions under which MPAs can effectively protect sharks along a wide gradient of reef accessibility, from the vicinity of a regional capital towards remote areas, using 385 records from baited remote underwater video systems and 2,790 underwater visual censuses performed in areas open to fishing and inside 15 MPAs across New Caledonia (South‐Western Pacific). We show that even one of the world's oldest (43 years), largest (172 km2) and most restrictive (no‐entry) MPA (Merlet reserve) on coral reefs has between 17.3% and 45.3% fewer shark species and between 37.2% and 79.8% fewer shark abundance than remote areas in a context where sharks are not historically exploited. On coral reefs situated at less than 1 hr of travel time from humans, shark populations are so low in abundance (less than 0.05 individuals per 1,000 m2) that their functional roles are severely limited. Synthesis and applications. Remote areas are the last sanctuaries for reef sharks, providing a new baseline from which to evaluate human impacts on the species. However, there is no equivalent close to human activities even in large, old and strongly restrictive marine protected areas. As such sharks deserve strong protection efforts. The large, no‐entry marine protected areas, close to humans, offer limited benefits for reef shark populations, but provide more realistic conservation targets for managers of human‐dominated reefs. The exclusion of human activities on a sufficiently large area is key to protect reef shark populations. However, this strategy remains difficult to apply in many countries critically depending on reef resources for food security or livelihood.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Reef accessibility impairs the protection of sharks

Juhel

Vigliola

Mouillot

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…As both ecotourism (Hogenson, ) and recreational boat use (e.g. Bulté et al, ; Gonson et al, ; Steckenreuter, Harcourt, & Möller, ) continue to grow internationally, research efforts to understand their impact, and management to minimize their adverse direct and indirect effects on threatened riverine species, must keep pace for susceptible aquatic organisms to persist in parks and reserves.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of human disturbance on the thermoregulatory behaviour of the endangered ringed sawback turtle (Graptemys oculifera)

Heppard

Buchholz

2019

Aquatic Conservation

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1. Human recreational disturbance of riverine environments may be contributing to population declines of aquatic organisms worldwide. Aquatic turtles that are heavily dependent on basking in sunlight to maintain an optimal body temperature may abandon basking perches because they perceive humans as potential predators.2. The impact of boat traffic, the availability of basking structures, and various environmental factors on the basking behaviour of the ringed sawback turtle (Graptemys oculifera) was assessed at two sites on the Pearl River, Mississippi, USA. This information was used to model the likely effects of human disturbance on the body temperature of large female turtles.3. Both the duration of basking and the percentage of turtles in a basking group that abandoned their basking perch were influenced by the availability of alternative basking sites, frequency of boat traffic, boat speed enforcement zones ('wake' or 'no wake'), boat type, air temperature, weather conditions, and Julian day. A simulation model of anthropogenically disturbed and undisturbed adult female ringed sawbacks showed that disturbance probably decreases the mean daily body temperature, especially at higher disturbance probabilities and in May, when the air temperature is low. 4. Management recommendations are provided that minimize the adverse effects of unintentional human disturbance of the ringed sawback to enable more effective conservation of this endangered, endemic species. Such methods are likely to be useful elsewhere as recreational disturbance becomes a greater conservation issue worldwide.

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“…As a result, onethird of all reef-building corals are considered to be at risk of extinction (Carpenter et al, 2008). One of the main causes of coral reef degradation over the past decades is worldwide demographic growth and socio-economic development, which are often accompanied by overfishing, sedimentation from urban development, eutrophication, marine pollution, and coral diseases (Hughes et al, 2003;Hoegh-Guldberg et al, 2007;Newton et al, 2007;Veron et al, 2009;Johnson et al, 2013;Séré et al, 2015), but also the increase of recreational users in coastal areas (Gonson et al, 2016(Gonson et al, , 2017. Anthropogenic disturbances on coral reefs make them much more susceptible to current and future climate change (Hughes et al, 2017), particularly with the increase of mass bleaching events (Spalding and Brown, 2015;Heron et al, 2016;Hughes et al, 2018) and ocean acidification (Schönberg et al, 2017;Eyre et al, 2018;Wu et al, 2018).…”

Section: Impact Of the Use Of A Teaching Toolbox In An Awareness Campmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the Use of a Teaching Toolbox in an Awareness Campaign on Children's Representations of Coral Reefs

et al. 2018

Self Cite

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Environmental education for children is one of the fundamental tools required to reverse the degradation of our environment and the biodiversity erosion. Currently coral reefs are part of the vulnerable ecosystems which are most threatened by human activities and climate change. Responding to these pressures demands decisions at multiple scales, based on solid knowledge of coral reefs but also on strengthened awareness to build adaptive management solutions. Here we evaluate the impact of an environmental awareness campaign for children using a teaching toolbox developed by scientists (MARECO "The Coral Reef In Our Hands"). To assess this impact before and after using the toolbox, we analyzed the evolution of children's representations of coral reefs through drawings. This study was carried out in New Caledonia, focusing on five elementary schools in different social and cultural contexts (urban, rural and coastal). Two hundred and forty-eight drawings were made by children. The drawings were analyzed quantitatively using multivariate statistical analyses which reveals a diversity of representations in children with diverse sociocultural profiles, but also between schools, emphasizing that relationships with nature and marine environment vary according to direct and indirect experiences related to reefs. Furthermore, our results pointed out relevant differences in coral reef representations before and after the use of MARECO, particularly regarding their knowledge of reef biodiversity associated with multicolored organisms and the connection of coral reef with environment, the number of colors being used as a proxy of this holistic vision developed by children. These results point out the performance of MARECO as a playful tool to transfer scientific knowledge to children. Coral reef conservation is intimately linked to an awareness in young generations of the environmental challenges of tomorrow. To be agents of change in a sustainable world, children must be engaged in a fun, rigorous, action-oriented and socially responsible learning process such as the ones developed in participatory approaches.

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Decadal increase in the number of recreational users is concentrated in no-take marine reserves

Cited by 26 publications

References 66 publications

Reef accessibility impairs the protection of sharks

Reef accessibility impairs the protection of sharks

Impact of human disturbance on the thermoregulatory behaviour of the endangered ringed sawback turtle (Graptemys oculifera)

Impact of the Use of a Teaching Toolbox in an Awareness Campaign on Children's Representations of Coral Reefs

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