University of Zagreb Faculty of Science Department of Biology Kora Dvorski The effect of dolphin observation programmes in the Cres-Lošinj archipelago on encouraging pro-environmental behavior Master thesis Zagreb, 2019. This master thesis was made at the Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation in Veli Lošinj under the guidance of Asst. Prof. Peter Mackelworth, PhD, from the University of Primorska, Slovenia and at the Department of Biology of the Faculty of Science in Zagreb, Croatia under the guidance of Asst. Prof. Sunčica Bosak, PhD. The thesis is submitted to the Department of Biology at the Faculty of Science of the University of Zagreb for the purpose of acquiring a title/degree of Master of Science in Ecology and Nature Protection. Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank my mentors Peter and Jelena from the Blue World Institute for recognizing my interest and passion for the human dimension of conservation and helping me develop this thesis from the idea that ‘I would like to work with people in conservation’. Thank you for investing so much energy and attention to detail when developing the questionnaires and re-organizing the dolphin-watching programme in order to suit my research. Thanks for supporting me and giving me advice whenever I needed it along the way. I would like to give special thanks to the person without who this thesis would for sure not be done yet, my mentor Sunčica. Thank you so much for helping me make something good and meaningful out of a pile of Excel tables, for investing so much effort in me and teaching me organizational skills when I most needed them. Thank you for teaching me how to recognize what is important and what to focus on. The best thing is that every time after consultations with you, I would have a smile on my face, a lot of optimism and a clear plan of what next. Thank you Andrea for being a great boss, full of support and understanding for my work in Lošinj Marine Education Centre during the summer 2018. Great thanks to the guys and girls who helped me with translating the questionnaires to many different languages, Martina, Marko, Matea, Marinela and the eco-volunteers. Kiki, thank you for being the best co-worker I could have ever had, always caring and keeping everything in mind, and always being such a good company. A big thank you to my Lošinj-Zagreb sister Taso, for her contagious smile and enthusiasm, introducing me to the work of the Blue World Institute and spending days and nights living together with me through many adventures on Lošinj. Thank you Tihana, Nikolina, Matea and Grgur for helping me gather the questionnaires from the eco-volunteers from all around the world. Thanks to all my friends and family and my roomie Mirna for knowing me for who I am and still always believing in me and being a big support! TEMELJNA DOKUMENTACIJSKA KARTICA Sveučilište u Zagrebu Prirodoslovno matematički fakultet Biološki odsjek Diplomski rad Učinak programa promatranja dupina u lošinjskom akvatoriju na poticanje okolišno odgovornog ponašanja Kora Dvorski Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, Hrvatska Program promatranja dupina u lošinjskom akvatoriju se provodi u svrhu poticanja zaštite dobrog dupina (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu 1821) u Jadranskom moru. Cilj programa je kroz okolišnu edukaciju sudionicima približiti tematiku ugroženosti i zaštite dupina te ih potaknuti na okolišno odgovorno ponašanje kojim bi doprinijeli zaštiti dupina. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati učinak dva tipa programa na sudionike. Korištena metodologija uključivala je ispunjavanje anketnih upitnika, a ispitanici su bili sudionici dvaju programa različitih po trajanju i razini uključenosti. U trosatni program promatranja dupina bili su uključeni sudionici 'promatrači', dok su u desetodnevni program istraživanja dupina bili uključeni 'aktivni sudionici'. Kroz upitnike smo istražili motivacije obje skupine sudionika te utjecaj programa na njihove okolišne stavove i okolišno odgovorno ponašanje. Pretpostavili smo da će utjecaj biti jači na aktivne sudionike jer su kroz program bili duže i aktivnije uključeni u tematiku zaštite dupina nego promatrači. Rezultati 206 upitnika promatrača i 71 upitnika aktivnih sudionika su pokazali da se motivacije dvaju skupina razlikuju po tome što je aktivnim sudionicima bilo važnije doprinijeti zaštiti dupina nego promatračima. Dokazan je pozitivan utjecaj programa na stavove i okolišno odgovorno ponašanje obje skupine te se, suprotno očekivanom, pokazalo da je utjecaj na obje skupine podjednak. (70 stranica, 38 slika, 11 tablica, 44 literaturna navoda, jezik izvornika: engleski) Rad je pohranjen u Središnjoj biološkoj knjižnici Ključne riječi: Tursiops truncatus, anketni upitnici, promatrači, aktivni sudionici, okolišna edukacija, zaštita okoliša Voditelji rada: doc. dr. sc. Peter Mackelworth; doc. dr. sc. Sunčica Bosak Ocjenitelji: (1) Doc. dr. sc. Sunčica Bosak (2) Izv. prof. dr. sc. Ana Galov (3) Izv. prof. dr. sc. Petar Kružić Zamjena: izv. prof. dr. sc. Zrinka Ljubešić Rad je prihvaćen: 6. lipnja 2019. BASIC DOCUMENTATION CARD University of Zagreb Faculty of Science Division of Biology Graduation thesis The effect of dolphin observation programmes in the Cres-Lošinj archipelago on encouraging pro-environmental behavior Kora Dvorski Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, Hrvatska The dolphin observation programmes in the Cres-Lošinj archipelago are conducted in order to contribute to the conservation of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu 1821) in the Adriatic Sea. The aim of the programmes is to raise environmental awareness of the participants through environmental interpretation and encourage them to adopt pro-environmental behaviors that support dolphin conservation. The main methodology was the questionnaire survey, conducted on the participants from two programmes that differed in duration and level of engagement. In the first programme, the participants were dolphin ‘watchers’ for three hours, and in the second one they were ‘doers’, actively engaged in dolphin research for ten days. Through questionnaires, we explored the motivations of both groups and the effect of the programmes on their pro- environmental attitudes and behavior. We expected doers to experience a greater change in pro- environmental attitudes and behavior, as they were more engaged in the programme than watchers. The results of 206 watchers’ and 71 doers’ questionnaires showed that doers were more motivated to contribute to dolphin conservation than watchers. A positive effect on pro-environmental attitudes and behavior was found in both groups and, contrary to the expected, it was not significantly different between watchers and doers. (70 pages, 38 figures, 11 tables, 44 references, original in English) Thesis deposited in the Central Biological Library Keywords: Tursiops truncatus, questionnaires, watchers, doers, environmental interpretation, environmental conservation Supervisors: Asst. Prof. Peter Mackelworth, PhD; Asst. Prof. Sunčica Bosak, PhD Reviewers: (1) Assist. Prof. Sunčica Bosak, PhD (2) Assoc. Prof. Ana Galov, PhD (3) Assoc. Prof. Petar Kružić, PhD Zamjena: Assoc. Prof. Zrinka Ljubešić, PhD Thesis accepted: 6 June 2019 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................1 Bottlenose dolphin in the Adriatic .................................................................................1 1.1.1. Charismatic species and flagship species ................................................................5 1.1.2. Code of conduct – a set of rules when encountering dolphins on the sea .................6 The role of ecotourism in dolphin conservation .............................................................7 1.2.1. Environmental interpretation ..................................................................................8 1.2.2. Emotional engagement ......................................................................................... 10 1.2.3. Dolphin watching tour ......................................................................................... 10 1.2.4. Ecotourism course ................................................................................................ 12 2. The aim of the research................................................................................................... 14 3. Material and methods ..................................................................................................... 15 Survey design ............................................................................................................. 15 Survey data analysis .................................................................................................... 24 4.2.1 Statistical analyses ..................................................................................................... 24 4.2.2. Data analyses and hypothesis testing ......................................................................... 24 4. Results............................................................................................................................ 26 Dolphin watching tour................................................................................................. 26 5.1.1. General information about the tour ............................................................................ 26 5.1.2. Motivation for the tour .............................................................................................. 28 5.1.3.