Ecotourism’s Promise and Peril

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

   PDF

2. Introduction: Ecotourism’s Promise and Peril

   • Daniel T. Blumstein, Benjamin Geffroy, Diogo S. M. Samia, Eduardo Bessa

   Pages 1-7

3. Physiological and Behavioral Consequences of Human Visitation

   • Benjamin Geffroy, Bastien Sadoul, Ursula Ellenberg

   Pages 9-27

4. Ecological Consequences of Ecotourism for Wildlife Populations and Communities

   • Graeme Shannon, Courtney L. Larson, Sarah E. Reed, Kevin R. Crooks, Lisa M. Angeloni

   Pages 29-46

5. Transgenerational Consequences of Human Visitation

   • Anders Pape Møller

   Pages 47-58

6. Impacts of Fish Tourism

   • Eduardo Bessa, Fernanda Silva, José Sabino

   Pages 59-72

7. Impacts of Marine Mammal Tourism

   • Maddalena Bearzi

   Pages 73-96

8. Impacts of Terrestrial Animal Tourism

   • Zulima Tablado, Marcello D’Amico

   Pages 97-115

9. Impacts of Penguin Tourism

   • Ursula Ellenberg

   Pages 117-132

10. How Ecotourism Affects Human Communities

    • Daniel Zacarias, Rafael Loyola

    Pages 133-151

11. Best Practices Toward Sustainable Ecotourism

    • Diogo S. M. Samia, Lisa M. Angeloni, Maddalena Bearzi, Eduardo Bessa, Kevin R. Crooks, Marcello D’Amico et al.

    Pages 153-178

12. Creating a Research-Based Agenda to Reduce Ecotourism Impacts on Wildlife

    • Daniel T. Blumstein, Benjamin Geffroy, Diogo S. M. Samia, Eduardo Bessa

    Pages 179-185

Intended as a guide for wildlife managers and ecotourism operators, as well as interested ecotourists, this book addresses the biological principles governing how ecotourism affects wildlife. The introductory chapters focus on four key responses to human visitation—behavioral, physiological, ecological, and evolutionary.  Readers will discover ecotourism’s effects on biodiversity in connection with various industries that are habitat or taxonomically specific:  fish tourism (including both freshwater and marine), marine mammal tourism, the huge industry centered on terrestrial animals, and the well-studied industry of penguin tourism.

Given that the costs and benefits of ecotourism cannot be meaningfully assessed without understanding the human context, particular attention is given to how ecotourism has been used as part of community development. In closing, the book synthesizes the current state of knowledge regarding best practices for reducing human impacts on wildlife. The final chapter highlights key research questions that must be addressed to provide more evidence-based guidelines and policy.

• wildife and human visitation
• ecotourist
• ecotourism’s effects on biodiversity
• marine mammal tourism
• penguin tourism
• fish tourism
• human impacts on wildlife

“This book provides a wealth of valuable evidence for regulators, managers and ecotourism companies to use in training and planning … . It also provides ecologist with a good overview of the evidence of our interactions with charismatic animals.” (David Walton, The Bulletin British Ecological Society, Vol. 49 (3), September, 2018)

• Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and The Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

  Daniel T. Blumstein

• Ifremer, UMR MARBEC, Marine Biodiversity, Exploitation and Conservation, Laboratory of Adaptation and Adaptability of Animals and Systems, Palavas-les-Flots, France

  Benjamin Geffroy

• Department of Ecology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

  Diogo S. M. Samia

• Graduate Program in Ecology, and Life and Earth Sciences Department, University of Brasília, Brasilia, Brazil

  Eduardo Bessa

Daniel T. Blumstein is a Professor at the University of California Los Angeles’ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. His work involves integrated studies of animal social behavior, animal communication, and antipredator behavior, and has helped develop the field of wildlife conservation behavior. He is the author of over 350 scientific publications and has written or edited six books, including An Ecotourist’s Guide to Khunjerab National Park.

Benjamin Geffroy is a researcher at the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer) and holds a Ph.D. in Behavioral Ecology and Physiology. After postdoctoral work in Brazil on the effects of ecotourism on fish, he joined Ifremer to explore fish reproduction and behavior. His research deciphers the various physiological and behavioral mechanisms that underlie population changes.

Diogo S. M. Samia holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution and is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, where he is investigating the evolutionary mechanisms promoting sexual dimorphism in animals. Much of his work has examined antipredator behavior and he has focused on applying knowledge of animal behavior to wildlife conservation.

Eduardo Bessa is a Zoology Professor and an advisor in the University of Brasília’s Graduate Program in Ecology. His research chiefly focuses on two main areas: understanding reproductive behavior in a range of animal models, especially fish; and applying basic behavioral knowledge to conservation and ecotourism.

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