Effects of non-consumptive wildlife-oriented tourism on marine species and prospects for their sustainable management

Burgin, Shelley; Hardiman, Nigel

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.12.018

Cited by 67 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 115 publications

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“…Wild animals have always fascinated humans. Procuring encounters with non-captive wildlife is therefore a core motivation for wildlife-and eco-tourism, two booming sectors in the tourism industry (Newsome et al, 2005;Burgin and Hardiman, 2015). Tourists' demand for prolonged encounters with elusive animals encourages tour operators globally to attract these artificially through food (Newsome et al, 2004;Milazzo et al, 2006;Trave et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

To Feed or Not to Feed? Coral Reef Fish Responses to Artificial Feeding and Stakeholder Perceptions in the Aitutaki Lagoon, Cook Islands

Prinz

Story²,

Lyon³

et al. 2020

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Feeding wild animals is a regular habit in ecotourism worldwide with poorly known consequences for ecosystem functioning. This study investigates how effective bread feeding is at attracting coral reef fish in the South Pacific, which feeding groups of fish are most attracted, and how natural foraging rates of an omnivorous and a grazingdetritivorous fish are affected. Data were collected at sites where fish are regularly fed bread by snorkellers and at comparison sites where bread was only provided for this study, within the Aitutaki lagoon (Cook Islands). The fish community was censused and foraging rates of two model species (Chaetodon auriga, Ctenochaetus striatus) were quantified one hour before, during, and an hour after feeding events. Twentyfive percent of the species present at all sites (piscivores-invertivores) were effectively attracted to bread. Overall, mean fish density was higher at tourism feeding sites than at the comparison sites. During bread feeding events, taxonomic richness decreased, compared to the hours prior and after feeding across all sites. As piscivore-invertivores were consistently attracted to bread, localized shifts in their dominance over other trophic groups may be expected if bread feeding persists, likely carrying consequences for ecosystem functioning. The effect of bread feeding events on natural foraging rates differed between the model species. C. auriga ceased foraging on natural foods to feed on bread. Although C. striatus never fed on bread, its foraging rate on epilithic algal matrices decreased during bread feeding events. This indirect non-lethal ecological consequence of bread feeding contributes a previously unanticipated example relevant to the "ecology of fear" in marine fish. Stakeholder interviews revealed that locals favor feeding to sustain tourist satisfaction, whereas tourists appreciate snorkeling regardless of feeding. This indicates an opportunity for restrictions on fish feeding with minimal drawbacks for tourism. Future research on fish metabolism and cascading effects on the reef benthos may reveal further impacts of feeding on coral reef communities.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

To Feed or Not to Feed? Coral Reef Fish Responses to Artificial Feeding and Stakeholder Perceptions in the Aitutaki Lagoon, Cook Islands

Prinz

Story²,

Lyon³

et al. 2020

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…Research on feeding wild fish for tourism has increased over the years (see Figure 6). This corresponds with the increasing interest by ecotourists for wildlife interactions at marine destinations, and the growing use of feeding strategies to draw in tourists in order to increase economic outcomes derived from tourism (Brookhouse et al, 2013;Burgin & Hardiman, 2015;Clua, Buray, Legendre, Mourier, & Planes, 2010;Milazzo et al, 2006;Orams, 2002). There is also geographic bias with the majority of the work being derived from two areas, Oceania and North America, reflecting current levels of visitation to some of the most popular locations in which marine wildlife feeding takes place.…”

Section: Regulation Of Wildlife Feedingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other researchers forward the opinion that there should be no feeding under any circumstances (Bessa & Gonçalves-de-Freitas, 2014). Burgin and Hardiman (2015) suggest that viewing of marine wildlife should be conducted in captivity only, whereas Shackley (1998) indicated that provisioning may have a positive effect on some species, as feeding enhances survival rates and reproduction leading to more fish occurring in the vicinity of the feeding site.…”

Section: Regulation Of Wildlife Feedingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding wild fish for tourism—A systematic quantitative literature review of impacts and management

Patroni

Simpson

Newsome

2018

Journal of Tourism Research

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Feeding wildlife for the purpose of tourism is a contentious issue with for and against arguments being raised by tour operators, non‐governmental organisations, researchers, and managers. Despite this situation, there is a growing trend in the feeding of marine wildlife to guarantee visitors an exciting up‐close experience. This review investigates the scope and key findings of research conducted on the impacts and social aspects of tourism related wild fish feeding. This systematic quantitative literature review identified 58 peer‐reviewed articles on feeding wild fish for tourism. Of those articles, 35 (60%) reported on ecological impacts on the fish. Only 14 articles explored fish feeding tourism from a social perspective, and of those only 9 (15%) investigated the perspectives of visitors. This review highlights that the impacts and management of complex human‐wildlife interactions, such as feeding wild fish, are case and species specific. The impacts of feeding wild fish for tourism include changes in species distribution and behaviour, negative health effects, increased predation of some fish species, and risk of injury to tourists. There is less research on social aspects such as visitor attitudes and satisfaction with fish feeding operations. Further studies are required on visitor demand and interests, and the ecological implications of provisioning to ensure the scenarios in which fish feeding occur are sustainable, maximizing the tourism experience while minimizing negative impacts on fish populations. It is important that progress is made towards developing appropriate codes of conduct and nationally and internationally accredited standards of practice.

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“…Major review articles are distributed throughout the text of this paper. Significant reviews were published on contaminants of emerging concern (CECs, Vandermeersch et al (2015); nano-particle effects (Canesi et al 2015 and; sediment quality guidelines (Arblaster et al (2015); marine debris effects (Driedger et al 2015, Provencher et al 2015and van Cauwenberghe et al 2015; deep sea mining (Ramirez-Llodra et al (2015); dredging effects on marine mammals (Todd et al (2015)); noise pollution (Peng et al 2015 andDolman andJasny 2015); fishing gear impacts (Uhlmann and Broadhurst 2015); impacts of tourism (Burgin andHardiman 2015 andNew et al 2015); microbial degradation of oil spills ; and oil burn residues (Fritt-Rasmussen et al 2015). The Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) published it's 2014 annual report in a new briefer format (SCCWRP, 2015).…”

Section: In Brief: Reviews and Overviewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The effect of non-consumptive tourism of marine organisms, which includes observations and interactions of tourists with animals, was reviewed by Burgin and Hardiman (2015). watching vessels, vessel track routes, and tour duration (Christiansen 2015).…”

Section: Effects Of Tourism and Disturbancementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Pollution on Marine Organisms

Mearns

Reish

Oshida

et al. 2016

Water Environment Research

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This review covers selected 2015 articles on the biological effects of pollutants and human physical disturbances on marine and estuarine plants, animals, ecosystems and habitats. The review, based largely on journal articles, covers field and laboratory measurement activities (bioaccumulation of contaminants, field assessment surveys, toxicity testing and biomarkers) as well as pollution issues of current interest including endocrine disrupters, emerging contaminants, wastewater discharges, dredging and disposal, etc. Special emphasis is placed on effects of oil spills and marine debris due largely to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. Several topical areas reviewed in the past (ballast water and ocean acidification) were dropped this year. The focus of this review is on effects, not pollutant fate and transport. There is considerable overlap across subject areas (e.g.some bioaccumulation papers may be cited in other topical categories). Please use keyword searching of the text to locate related but distributed papers. Use this review only as a guide and please consult the original papers before citing them.

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Effects of non-consumptive wildlife-oriented tourism on marine species and prospects for their sustainable management

Cited by 67 publications

References 115 publications

To Feed or Not to Feed? Coral Reef Fish Responses to Artificial Feeding and Stakeholder Perceptions in the Aitutaki Lagoon, Cook Islands

To Feed or Not to Feed? Coral Reef Fish Responses to Artificial Feeding and Stakeholder Perceptions in the Aitutaki Lagoon, Cook Islands

Feeding wild fish for tourism—A systematic quantitative literature review of impacts and management

Effects of Pollution on Marine Organisms

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