Recreational Boats and Turtles: Behavioral Mismatches Result in High Rates of Injury

Lester, Lori A.; Avery, Harold W.; Harrison, Andrew S.; Standora, Edward A.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0082370

Cited by 23 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Data before 11 May and after 28 October were not plotted due to the very small number of entries in these periods. through propeller and boat strikes, as documented for sea turtles (Arianoutsou, 1988;Denkinger et al, 2013;Lester et al, 2013), and other species (e.g. bottlenose dolphins, Wells & Scott, 1997, manatees, Calleson & Frohlich, 2007.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…In addition to swimming/snorkelling with animals potentially impacting the ability of animals to build sufficient energy reserves, high and repeated exposure to boats could increase the risk of trauma or mortality to individuals through propeller and boat strikes, as documented for sea turtles (Arianoutsou, 1988; Denkinger et al ., 2013; Lester et al ., 2013), and other species (e.g. bottlenose dolphins, Wells & Scott, 1997, manatees, Calleson & Frohlich, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Social media reveals consistently disproportionate tourism pressure on a threatened marine vertebrate

Papafitsoros

Panagopoulou²,

Schofield

2020

Animal Conservation

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Establishing how wildlife viewing pressure is distributed across individual animals within a population can inform the management of this activity, and ensure targeted individuals or groups are sufficiently protected. Here, we used social media data to quantify whether tourism pressure varies in a loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta population and elucidate the potential implications. Laganas Bay (Zakynthos, Greece) supports both breeding (migratory, and hence transient) and foraging (resident) turtles, with turtle viewing representing a major component of the tourism industry. Social media entries spanning two seasons (April to November, 2018 and 2019) were evaluated, and turtles were identified via photo‐identification. For the 2 years, 1684 and 2105 entries of 139 and 122 unique turtles were obtained from viewings, respectively (boats and underwater combined). However, while residents represented less than one‐third of uniquely identified turtles, they represented 81.9 and 87.9% of all entries. Even when the seasonal breeding population was present (May to July), residents represented more than 60% of entries. Notably, the same small number of residents (<10), mostly males, were consistently viewed in both years; however, different individuals were targeted by boats versus underwater. Thus, turtles appear to remain in the area despite high viewing intensity, possibly indicating low disturbance. However, photo‐identification records revealed a high risk of propeller and boat strike to residents (30%) leading to trauma and mortality. To reduce this threat, we recommend the compulsory use of propeller guards for all boats, compliance with speed regulations and the creation of temporary ‘refuge’ zones for resident animals at viewing hotspots, with these suggestions likely being relevant for other wildlife with similar population dynamics. In conclusion, social media represents a useful tool for monitoring individuals at a population scale, evaluating the pressure under which they are placed, and providing sufficient data to refine wildlife viewing guidelines and/or zoning.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social media reveals consistently disproportionate tourism pressure on a threatened marine vertebrate

Papafitsoros

Panagopoulou²,

Schofield

2020

Animal Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition to swimming/snorkeling with animals potentially impacting the ability of animals to build sufficient energy reserves, high and repeated exposure to boats could increase the risk of trauma or mortality to individuals through propeller and boat strikes, as documented for sea turtles (Arianoutsou, 1988;Denkinger et al, 2013;Lester et al, 2013), and other species (e.g. bottlenose dolphins, Wells andScott, 1997, manattees, Calleson andFrohlich, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social media reveals consistently disproportionate tourism pressure on a threatened marine vertebrate

Papafitsoros

Panagopoulou²,

Schofield

2020

Preprint

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Establishing how wildlife viewing pressure is distributed across individual animals within a population can inform the management of this activity, and ensure targeted individuals or groups are sufficiently protected. Here, we used social media data to quantify whether tourism pressure varies in a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) population and elucidate potential implications. Laganas Bay (Zakynthos, Greece) supports both breeding (migratory, and hence transient) and foraging (resident) turtles, with turtle viewing representing a major component of the tourism industry. Social media entries spanning two seasons (April to November, 2018 and 2019) were evaluated, and turtles were identified via photo-identification. For both years, 1684 and 2105 entries of 139 and 122 unique turtles were obtained from viewings, respectively (boats and underwater combined). However, while residents represented less than one-third of uniquely identified turtles, they represented 81.9% and 87.9% of all entries. Even when the seasonal breeding population was present (May to July), residents represented more than 60% entries. Of note, the same small number of resident turtles (<10), mostly males, were consistently viewed in both years; however, different individuals were targeted by boats versus underwater. Thus, turtles appear to use and remain in the area despite high viewing intensity, possibly indicating low disturbance. However, photo-identification records revealed a high risk of propeller and boat strike to residents (30%) leading to trauma and mortality. To reduce this threat and ease viewing pressure, we recommend the compulsory use of propeller guards for all boats and the creation of temporary "refuge" zones for resident animals at viewing hotspots, with these suggestions likely being relevant for other wildlife with similar population dynamics. In conclusion, social media represents a useful tool for monitoring individuals at a population scale, evaluating the pressure under which they are placed, and providing sufficient data to refine wildlife viewing guidelines and/or zoning.

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“…As reported by Vieira et al (2020) for this location, ferryboats produce the most audible noise with higher traffic during weekdays. Boat noise has been mostly described as variable broadband sound (Hildebrand, 2009;Lester et al, 2013;Li et al, 2015), and in our case regularly presents the Lloyd effect typical from a passing-by sound source. Boat noises affect aquatic organisms' acoustic communication, behaviour and fitness (e.g.…”

Section: Anthropophonymentioning

confidence: 73%

Fish sounds and boat noise are prominent soundscape contributors in an urban European estuary

Vieira

Fonseca

Amorim

2021

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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Recreational Boats and Turtles: Behavioral Mismatches Result in High Rates of Injury

Cited by 23 publications

References 25 publications

Social media reveals consistently disproportionate tourism pressure on a threatened marine vertebrate

Social media reveals consistently disproportionate tourism pressure on a threatened marine vertebrate

Social media reveals consistently disproportionate tourism pressure on a threatened marine vertebrate

Fish sounds and boat noise are prominent soundscape contributors in an urban European estuary

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