Ecological impacts and management implications of reef walking on a tropical reef flat community.
Continued growth of tourism has led to concerns about direct and indirect impacts on the ecology of coral reefs and ultimate sustainability of these environments under such pressure. This research assessed impacts of reef walking by tourists on a relatively pristine reef flat community associated with an 'ecoresort' on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Heavily walked areas had lower abundances of live hard coral but greater amounts of dead coral and sediment. Abundances of macroalgae were not affected between sites. Coral-associated butterflyfish were less abundant and less diverse in more trampled sites. A manipulative experiment showed handling holothurians on reef walks had lasting negative impacts. This is the first study to show potential impacts of such handling on holothurians. Ecological impacts of reef walking are weighed against sociocultural benefits of a first hand experience in nature.
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia. Electronic address: jane.williamson@mq.edu.au.
Jane E
JE
Williamson
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
Evan E
EE
Byrnes
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
Jennalee A
JA
Clark
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
David M
DM
Connolly
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
Sabine E
SE
Schiller
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
Jessica A
JA
Thompson
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
Louise
L
Tosetto
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
Julieta C
JC
Martinelli
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
Vincent
V
Raoult
D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D057894:Coral Reefs; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011998:Recreation; D012624:Seaweed / Q000254:growth & development; D016138:Walking
Australia; Great Barrier Reef Marine Park; Holothuria atra; Human impact; Nature-based tourism; Trampling