Author's personal copy Environmental Management (2016) 57:637–648 DOI 10.1007/s00267-015-0628-4 Recreational Diver Behavior and Contacts with Benthic Organisms in the Abrolhos National Marine Park, Brazil 1,2 3 4 Vinicius J. Giglio • Osmar J. Luiz • Alexandre Schiavetti Received: 23 April 2015 / Accepted: 17 November 2015 / Published online: 27 November 2015 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015 Abstract In the last two decades, coral reefs have the provision of pre-dive briefing including ecological become popular among recreational divers, especially aspects of corals and beginning dives over sand bottoms or inside marine protected areas. However, the impact caused places with low coral abundance. Gathering data on diver by divers on benthic organisms may be contributing to the behavior provides managers with information that can be degradation of coral reefs. We analyzed the behavior of used for tourism management. 142 scuba divers in the Abrolhos National Marine Park, Brazil. We tested the effect of diver profile, reef type, use Keywords Dive tourism Á Marine protected area Á of additional equipment, timing, and group size on diver Management Á Scuba divers Á South Atlantic Á Tourism behavior and their contacts with benthic organisms. Eighty- management eight percent of divers contacted benthic organism at least once, with an average of eight touches and one damage per dive. No significant differences in contacts were verified Introduction among gender, group size, or experience level. Artificial reef received a higher rate of contact than pinnacle and Coral reefs are important habitats along tropical coastlines, fringe reefs. Specialist photographers and sidemount users providing humans with economic resources and services had the highest rates, while non-users of additional through cultural values, fishing, coastal protection, and equipment and mini camera users had the lowest contact tourism (Moberg and Folk 1999). This ecosystem is also a rates. The majority of contacts were incidental and the popular destination for scuba diving, one of the world’s highest rates occurred in the beginning of a dive. Our fastest growing recreational sports (Van Treeck and findings highlight the need of management actions, such as Schuhmacher 1998; Hasler and Ott 2008). Scuba diving is considered to be a low-impact activity and provides an economic alternative to fishing through a non-extractive use of marine wildlife (Davis and Tisdell 1995; Tapsuwan & Vinicius J. Giglio and Asafu-Adjaye 2008). However, coral reefs are globally [email protected] threatened by a wide range of anthropogenic activities, such as fishing, pollution, and unplanned tourism (Bell- 1 ´ Programa de Pos-graduac¸a˜o em Ecologia e Conservac¸a˜oda wood et al. 2004). These activities act in synergy with the Biodiversidade, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhe´us, Brazil high vulnerability of corals to climate change (Hughes et al. 2003), rendering the sustainable use of coral reefs a 2 Present Address: Programa de Po´s-graduac¸a˜o em Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio De Janeiro, complex task. The recent growth of diving tourism has Brazil raised concern among managers and scientists regarding its 3 Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, impacts. For instance, in Eilat reefs, Israel, visitation rates Sydney 2109, NSW, Australia account for 250,000–300,000 divers and 400,000 instances 4 Departamento de Cieˆncias Agra´rias e Ambientais, of coral damage per year (Zakai and Chadwick-Furman Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhe´us, Brazil 2002). 123 Author's personal copy 638 Environmental Management (2016) 57:637–648 No-take Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have recently Dearden et al. (2007) verified that only 30 % of divers were become widely recognized as a key tool for biodiversity aware of negative environmental impacts created by their conservation and fisheries management, especially in coral dive group. In summary, there is not a general pattern of reefs (Jones 2001). The reduction in fishing pressure relationships among diver behavior and rate of contacts on through the closure of selected areas has led to the reap- reefs. Patterns of diver impacts are generally site-specific, pearance of rare or absent species and substantially so further studies and dive site management should be increases the biomass of apex predators (Anderson et al. narrowly focused to be of maximum practical use. 2014; Edgar et al. 2014). There are also positive effects for Understanding diver behavior is important to subsidize the coral reefs, such as increase of coral cover and structural carrying capacity and verify management strategies to complexity (Selig and Bruno 2010). Increases in fish reduce impacts of recreational diving. abundance and coral cover make MPAs highly attractive to Previous studies have demonstrated that underwater the diving industry. Today, scuba diving is one of the most photographers inflicted high rates of damages to corals important commercial uses of MPAs (Green and Donnelly (Rouphael and Inglis 2001; Chung et al. 2013). Photogra- 2003). However, in some cases, large numbers of dives phers stay close to the substrate and may accidentally come have resulted in decline in the health of coral reefs (Davis into direct contact with the reef or deliberately hold on the and Tisdell 1995; Uyarra and Coˆte´ 2007). corals to stabilize themselves to photograph a subject. Divers can damage corals through direct (physical Rouphael and Inglis (2001) evaluate the behavior of spe- contact) or indirect contact (via sediment deposition) with cialist and non-specialist photographers and verified that their hands, body, scuba gear, and fin kicks (Harriot et al. specialists caused higher rates of damage than non-spe- 1997; Rouphael and Inglis 1997). Due to the delicate cialists. However, since then, several models of easy-to-use structure of corals, contacts often result in breakage, underwater cameras have recently been developed and the abrasion, or tissue removal (Hawkins et al. 1999). Dam- effect on diver behavior of these snapshot cameras has not aged corals are more susceptible to predation, competition yet been evaluated, as well as the use of new diving gear interference, and disease, which can result in death of the configurations. colony (Guzner et al. 2010). Algal colonization on corals To mitigate diving impacts, studies have proposed the may soon follow tissue damage. Algae compete for space establishment of carrying capacity approaches (Davis and with corals and can act as a sediment trap, hindering coral Tisdell 1995;Rı´os-Jara et al. 2013) and the use of pre- recovery (Hall 2001). Fin kicks on the bottom disturb and dive educational briefings (Medio et al. 1997; Camp and re-suspend sediment that can settle nearby, including on Fraser 2012). However, diver’s behavior and compliance corals (Zakai and Chadwick-Furman 2002). When sedi- to the norms vary according to diver’s profile, objectives, ment covers the coral surface in excess, coral recruitment, and characteristics of the dive site (Smith et al. 2010; feeding, and photosynthesis are inhibited (Hasler and Ott Giglio et al. 2015). For example, the use of pre-dive 2008). briefings reduced 60 % of diver’s contacts with corals in Since the 1990s, studies have investigated the dynamics Egypt (Medio et al. 1997). On the other hand, in Santa of diver and benthic organisms contacts (e.g., Hawkins and Lucia (Lesser Antilles, Caribbean), group leader inter- Roberts 1992; Hawkins et al. 1999; Plathong et al. 2000; vention was the only effective method to reduce coral Barker and Roberts 2004; Lucrezi et al. 2013). The char- damage (Barker and Roberts 2004). The use of artificial acteristics that affected the rates of diver contacts on reefs reefs has been proposed as a strategy to reduce impacts on were related to diver’s profile, such as their experience (Di natural reefs (Polak and Shashar 2012). Shipwrecks are Franco et al. 2009), gender (Rouphael and Inglis 2001), often used as a diving attraction, mainly due to their dive purpose (Uyarra and Coˆte´ 2007), use of additional esthetic appeal (Leeworthy et al. 2006). These structures equipment (e.g., cameras, gloves and lanterns; Rouphael generate revenue through diving tourism and consequently and Inglis 2001; Uyarra and Coˆte´ 2007; Poonian et al. assist in local economic development (Pendleton 2005). 2010), and biophysical characteristics of dive site (e.g., reef Historical shipwrecks represent an important cultural type and coral cover; Rouphael and Inglis 1997; Hawkins heritage and are fragile, non-renewable resources, gener- et al. 1999). Sites with complex topographies can make it ally protected by law (Jewell 2004). However, the impact difficult for divers avoid touching corals on vertical caused by scuba divers on its benthic fauna incrusted structures (Rouphael and Inglis 1995). However, the cor- remains little understood. To implement and adequate relation between coral damage and reef topography is artificial reef program, it is essential to understand diver unclear (Zakai and Chadwick-Furman 2002). The lack of impacts on historical structures and its fauna, and awareness by divers of their own impacts on reefs has assessing potential impacts of artificial structures on contributed to a substantial amount of human-induced marine biota, such as phase shifts of benthic assemblages damage on corals (Rouphael and Inglis 1995). In Thailand, (Work et al. 2008). 123 Author's personal copy Environmental Management (2016) 57:637–648