Worldwide recreational fish feeding:a review on ecological impacts
a review on ecological impacts
Keywords:
Reef fish, Tourism, Food provisioning, Coral reefsAbstract
Fish feeding is one of the most sought activities among coastal tourism in coral reef areas. This worldwide spread action affects especially tropical countries, spreading to warm temperate areas. We try to compare the ecological effects of fish feeding in different areas of the world. An extensive literature research was conducted with later appropriate filtering to include only those surveys focused on the fishes and on “easy access” tourism. Altogether studies identified around 56 reef fish species feeding on human provided food. The damselfish genus Abudefduf is the most cited regarding abundance and frequency of feeding, followed mainly by other omnivorous species and benthic invertebrate feeders. Records indicate that unnatural aggregations form as a result of food provisioning, and remain even after tourists leave the area. In addition, aggressive behavior and changes in movement or diel activity patterns were also registered. Favoring growth in generalists abundance can lead to lower local diversity and increase the homogeneity of the community. At the same time maintaining unnatural high abundance of predators, as well as shifting their activity to day time might cause the decrease in prey populations. The ecological effects of recreational fish feeding are subtle and harder to point than physiological or behavioral, and its future impacts are equally hard to predict without the appropriated studies.
References
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Orams MB (2002) Feeding wildlife as a tourism attraction: a review of issues and impacts. Tour Manag 23:281–293
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Pereira PHC, Ferreira BP (2013) Effects of life phase and schooling patterns on the foraging behaviour of coral-reef fishes from the genus Haemulon. J Fish Biol 82:1226–1238
Perrine D (1989) Reef fish feeding: amusement or nuisance? Sea Front 35:272–279
Rooney TP, Wiegmann SM, Rogers DA, Waller DM (2004) Biotic impoverishment and homogenization in unfragmented forest understory communities. Conserv Biol 18:787–798
Sa-nguansil S, Tantichodok P, Darumas U, Lheknim V, Goh BPL (2017) Coral reef fishes attracted by recreational feeding in Thailand. Phuket Mar Biol C Ent Res BuIl 74:13–22
Satapoomin U (2000) A preliminary checklist of coral reef fishes of the Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea. Raffles Bull Zool 48:31–54
Satapoomin U (2011) The fishes of southwestern Thailand, the Andaman Sea-a review of research and a provisional checklist of species. Phuket Mar Biol Cent Res Bull 70:29–77
Scott TD, Glover CJM, Southcott RV (1980) The marine and freshwater fishes of South Australia. AB James, Government Printer
Spalding M, et al. (2017) Mapping the global value and distribution of coral reef tourism Mar Policy 82:104–113
Sweatman HPA (1996) Impact of tourist pontoons on fish assemblages on the Great Barrier Reef. CRC Reef Research Centre Technical Report No 5, CRC Reef Research Centre, Townsville
Tilman D (1982) Resource competition and community structure. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Vázquez DP, Simberloff, D (2002) Ecological specialization and susceptibility to disturbance: conjectures and refutations. Am Nat 159:606–623
Wilson SK, et al. (2008) Habitat utilization by coral reef fish: implications for specialists vs generalists in a changing environment. J Anim Ecol 77:220–228
Wood E (2001) Managing coral reef tourism. EEZ Technology 45–48
Yamaguchi A, Furumitsu K, Yagishita N, Kume G (2010) Biology of herbivorous fish in the coastal areas of western Japan. In: Ishimatsu A Coastal Environmental and Ecological Issues of the East China Sea. TERRAPUB, Nagasaki, pp 181-190
Allen G, Steene R, Humann P, DeLoach N (2015) Reef Fish Identification: Tropical Pacific. New World Publications, Jacksonville
Allen GR, et al. (1976) Annotated checklist of the fishes of Lord Howe Island. Rec Aust Mus 30:365–454
Almany, GR (2004) Priority effects in coral reef fish communities of the Great Barrier Reef. Ecology 85:2872–2880
Badalamenti F, et al. (2000) Cultural and socio-economic impacts of Mediterranean marine protected areas. Env Cons 27(2):110-125
Bauchot ML, Hurear JC (1986) Sparidae. In: Fishes of the North-Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO, Paris, pp 883–907
Bellan GL, Bellan‐Santini DR (2001) A review of littoral tourism, sport and leisure activities: consequences on marine flora and fauna. Aquat Conserv Mar Freshw Ecosyst 11:325–333
Brander LM, Van Beukering P, Cesar HSJ (2007) The recreational value of coral reefs: A meta-analysis. Ecol Econ 63:209–218
Brookhouse N, Bucher DJ, Rose K, Kerr I, Gudge S (2013) Impacts, risks and management of fish feeding at Neds Beach, Lord Howe Island Marine Park, Australia: a case study of how a seemingly innocuous activity can become a serious problem. J Ecotourism 12:165–181
Büchi L,Vuilleumier S (2014) Coexistence of Specialist and Generalist Species Is Shaped by Dispersal and Environmental Factors. Am Nat 183:612–624
Chateau O, Wantiez L (2008) Human impacts on residency behaviour of spangled emperor, Lethrinus nebulosus, in a marine protected area, as determined by acoustic telemetry. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 88(4):825-829
Clavel J, Julliard R, Devictor V (2011) Worldwide decline of specialist species: towards a global functional homogenization? Front Ecol Environ 9:222–228
Corcoran MJ, et al. (2013) Supplemental feeding for ecotourism reverses diel activity and alters movement patterns and spatial distribution of the Southern Stingray, Dasyatis Americana. PLoS ONE 8:e59235
Darcy GH (1983) Synopsis of Biological Data on the Grunts Haemulon aurolineatum and H plumieri (Pisces: Haemulidae). NOAA Technical Report NMFS Circular 448, FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 133
Davenport J, Davenport JL (2006) The impact of tourism and personal leisure transport on coastal environments: A review. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 67:280–292
DeLoach N, Humann P (1999) Reef Fish Behavior: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas. New World Publications, Jacksonville
Duffus DA, Dearden P (1990) Non-consumptive wildlife-oriented recreation: A conceptual framework. Biol Conserv 53:213–231
Duray MN (1998) Biology and culture of siganids. SEAFDEC, Tigbauan p 63
Feitosa CV, Chaves LCT, Ferreira BP, Araújo ME (2012) Recreational fish feeding inside Brazilian MPAs: impacts on reef fish community structure. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 92:1525–1533
Ferreira CEL, Gonçalves JEA, Coutinho R, Peret AC (1998) Herbivory by the Dusky Damselfish Stegastes fuscus (Cuvier, 1830) in a tropical rocky shore: effects on the benthic community. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 229:241–264
Francis MP, Randall JE (1993) Further additions to the fish faunas of Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, Southwest Pacific Ocean. Pac Sci 47(2):204-220
Gössling, S (1999) Ecotourism: a means to safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem functions? Ecol Econ 29:303–320
Hémery G, McClanahan TR (2007) Effect of recreational fish feeding on reef fish community composition and behaviour West Indian Ocean. J Mar Sci 4(2):123-134
Ilarri MDI, Souza AT, Medeiros PR, Grempel RG, Rosa IML (2008) Effects of tourist visitation and supplementary feeding on fish assemblage composition on a tropical reef in the Southwestern Atlantic. Neotropical Ichthyol 6:651–656
Kassen R (2002) The experimental evolution of specialists, generalists, and the maintenance of diversity: Experimental evolution in variable environments. J Evol Biol 15:173–190
Lamb JB, True JD, Piromvaragorn S, Willis BL (2014) Scuba diving damage and intensity of tourist activities increases coral disease prevalence. Biol Conserv 178:88–96
Lieske E, Myers R (2001) Reef Fishes of the World Indo-pacific and Caribbean. Harper Collins Publishers, London
Medeiros PR, Grempel RG, Souza AT, Ilarri MI, Sampaio, CLS (2007) Effects of recreational activities on the fish assemblage structure in a northeastern Brazilian reef. PANAMJAS 2(3):288-300
Milazzo M (2011) Evaluation of a behavioural response of Mediterranean coastal fishes to novel recreational feeding situation. Environ Biol Fishes 91:127–132
Milazzo M, Badalamenti F, Vega Fernández T, Chemello R (2005) Effects of fish feeding by snorkellers on the density and size distribution of fishes in a Mediterranean marine protected area. Mar Biol 146:1213–1222
Milazzo M, Anastasi I, Willis T (2006) Recreational fish feeding affects coastal fish behavior and increases frequency of predation on damselfish Chromis chromis nests. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 310:165–172
Olden JD, LeRoy-Poff N, Douglas MR, Douglas ME, Fausch KD (2004) Ecological and evolutionary consequences of biotic homogenization. Trends Ecol Evol 19:18–24
Orams MB (2002) Feeding wildlife as a tourism attraction: a review of issues and impacts. Tour Manag 23:281–293
Patroni J, Simpson G, Newsome D (2018) Feeding wild fish for tourism – A systematic quantitative literature review of impacts and management. Int J Tour Res 20:286–298
Paula YC, Schiavetti A, Sampaio CLS, Calderon E (2018) The effects of fish feeding by visitors on reef fish in a Marine Protected Area open to tourism. Biota Neotropica 18(3) ISSN 1676-0611
Pereira PHC, Ferreira BP (2013) Effects of life phase and schooling patterns on the foraging behaviour of coral-reef fishes from the genus Haemulon. J Fish Biol 82:1226–1238
Perrine D (1989) Reef fish feeding: amusement or nuisance? Sea Front 35:272–279
Rooney TP, Wiegmann SM, Rogers DA, Waller DM (2004) Biotic impoverishment and homogenization in unfragmented forest understory communities. Conserv Biol 18:787–798
Sa-nguansil S, Tantichodok P, Darumas U, Lheknim V, Goh BPL (2017) Coral reef fishes attracted by recreational feeding in Thailand. Phuket Mar Biol C Ent Res BuIl 74:13–22
Satapoomin U (2000) A preliminary checklist of coral reef fishes of the Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea. Raffles Bull Zool 48:31–54
Satapoomin U (2011) The fishes of southwestern Thailand, the Andaman Sea-a review of research and a provisional checklist of species. Phuket Mar Biol Cent Res Bull 70:29–77
Scott TD, Glover CJM, Southcott RV (1980) The marine and freshwater fishes of South Australia. AB James, Government Printer
Spalding M, et al. (2017) Mapping the global value and distribution of coral reef tourism Mar Policy 82:104–113
Sweatman HPA (1996) Impact of tourist pontoons on fish assemblages on the Great Barrier Reef. CRC Reef Research Centre Technical Report No 5, CRC Reef Research Centre, Townsville
Tilman D (1982) Resource competition and community structure. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Vázquez DP, Simberloff, D (2002) Ecological specialization and susceptibility to disturbance: conjectures and refutations. Am Nat 159:606–623
Wilson SK, et al. (2008) Habitat utilization by coral reef fish: implications for specialists vs generalists in a changing environment. J Anim Ecol 77:220–228
Wood E (2001) Managing coral reef tourism. EEZ Technology 45–48
Yamaguchi A, Furumitsu K, Yagishita N, Kume G (2010) Biology of herbivorous fish in the coastal areas of western Japan. In: Ishimatsu A Coastal Environmental and Ecological Issues of the East China Sea. TERRAPUB, Nagasaki, pp 181-190
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