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Intended as a guide for wildlife managers and ecotourism operators, as well as interested ecotourists, Ecotourism's Promise and Peril addresses the biological principles governing how ecotourism affects wildlife. The introductory chapters focus on four key responses to human visitation – behavioural, 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 centred 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, Ecotourism's Promise and Peril synthesises 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.
- Introduction: Ecotourism's Promise and Peril
- Physiological and Behavioral Consequences of Human Visitation
- Ecological Consequences of Ecotourism for Wildlife Populations and Communities
- Transgenerational Consequences of Human Visitation
- Impacts of Fish Tourism
- Impacts of Marine Mammal Tourism
- Impacts of Terrestrial Animal Tourism
- Impacts of Penguin Tourism
- How Ecotourism Affects Human Communities
- Best Practices Towards Sustainable Ecotourism
- Creating a Research-based Agenda to Reduce Ecotourism Impacts on Wildlife
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.
"[...] This book provides a wealth of valuable evidence for regulators, managers and ecotourism companies to use in training and planning if only they will read it. It also provides ecologists with a good overview of the evidence of our interactions with charismatic animals."
– David Walton, BES Bulletin 49(3), September 2018
