Human threats to sandy beaches: A meta-analysis of ghost crabs illustrates global anthropogenic impacts.

Schlacher, Thomas A.; Lucrezi, Serena; Connolly, Rod M.; Peterson, Charles H.; Gilby, Ben L.; Maslo, Brooke; Olds, Andrew D.; Walker, Susan; Leon, Javier X.; Huijbers, Chantal M.; Weston, Michael A.; Turra, Alexander; Hyndes, Glenn A.; Holt, Rebecca A.; Schoeman, David S.

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2015.11.025

Cited by 126 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 186 publications

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“…However, the ecological aspects of beaches are often easy to ignore (Nordstrom, ; Schlacher et al, ; Schlacher & Thompson, ). At present, recreational seashore activities are overwhelmingly concentrated on sandy beaches (Defeo et al, ), and some investigations found that the physical attributes and stability of beaches have already been destroyed (Anders & Leatherman, ; Kutiel et al, ; Priskin, ; Schlacher & Thompson, ), beach fauna have been injured or killed, and beach ecosystems have been seriously disturbed (Schlacher et al, ; Schlacher, Lucrezi, et al, ; Schlacher & Thompson, ; Van der Merwe, ). Severe ecological impacts and losses to diversity at local scales could eventually accumulate to have global consequences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the response of sandy‐beach macrobenthos to recreation and the ecological status of the beach ecosystem at Liandao, China

Zou

Zhong

et al. 2020

Marine Ecology

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Sandy beaches, prime recreational assets that attract more people than other types of shorelines, are the main assets underpinning many coastal economies and developments. However, the intense stressors to the ecology of sandy beaches caused by recreational activities are generally underestimated or ignored. This study was the first to emphasize the ecological characteristics of recreational beaches in China and assess the response of macrobenthos at Liandao Beach, a typical sandy beach in the central part of China. Using the Before/During/After/Control/Impact (BDACI) method, differences in multiple variables (species richness, mean density, diversity) between a heavily recreationally impacted transect (TrH/Impact) and a less‐impacted transect (TrL/Control) in different impact periods (Before, During & After) were applied to assess the response of sandy‐beach macrobenthos to recreation and tourism. Meanwhile, a comparison between the macrobenthos conditions of the studied beach and reference conditions calculating from historical data of similar beaches with little recreation and tourism disturbances was carried out. Furthermore, the quality control chart approach was used to detect in detail the macrobenthos stable state and yearly response to recreational activities. The results showed that recreation and tourism posed a serious threat to the beach ecosystem; macrobenthos on the studied beach were seriously disturbed by recreational activities, and their variations were highly negatively related to the human recreational level. After monthly recreational impacts, the macrobenthos decreased sharply and recovered with difficulty during 1 year. Over the long‐term, the macrobenthos had a sharp decreasing trend, which indicated that the ecological environment of the beach was highly disturbed. Conservation measures for recreational beaches are very challenging because of the economic value and popularity of sandy beaches as recreational sites. However, practicable conservation measures could be implemented that prevent or slow ecological degradation. A number of management and conservation suggestions are put forward, such as the establishment of the ecological carrying capacity of Liandao Beach in terms of direct recreational use, creation of themed exhibitions related to the beach macrobenthos and beach ecosystem and dissemination of this knowledge to visitors, implementation of spatial zoning of beach use, visitor management and environmental education.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the response of sandy‐beach macrobenthos to recreation and the ecological status of the beach ecosystem at Liandao, China

Zou

Zhong

et al. 2020

Marine Ecology

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“…The most widespread responses of ghost crabs to human disturbances on sandy shores are decreases in population abundance and individual body sizes (Schlacher et al, and citations therein; Gül & Griffen, , ). These changes are often measured using burrow counts, a nondestructive and efficient technique for assessing both the abundance and size distribution of ghost crabs (Schlacher et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Burrowing behavior and burrowing energetics of a bioindicator under human disturbance

Gül

Griffen

2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Bioindicator species are extensively used for rapid assessment of ecological changes. Their use commonly focuses on changes in population abundance and individual sizes in response to environmental change. These numerical and demographic shifts likely have behavioral and physiological mechanistic drivers that, if understood, could provide additional insights into the use of these species as bioindicators of habitat health. The Atlantic ghost crab, Ocypode quadrata, is a global bioindicator species of human disturbance on sandy shores. Individual size and population abundance of O. quadrata decline dramatically at sites with human disturbance, and the causes of this phenomenon remain unclear. Here, we test the hypothesis that individual and population‐level changes at disturbed sites reflect changes in burrowing behavior and energetics. Specifically, we examine whether or not the burrowing behavior (e.g., burrow fidelity and longevity) of O. quadrata changes because of human disturbance. We also examine energy required for burrowing by O. quadrata across different levels of human disturbance. We show that O. quadrata have the highest burrow fidelity and longevity at sites with low level of human impact, and weakest burrow fidelity and longevity at pristine sites. O. quadrata reduce the burrowing energy allocation by manipulating the burrow dimension and increasing the burrow longevity even under low levels of human disturbance. Overall, this study shows that human disturbances not only change the behavior of organisms, but also shift energetic balance. Our results support the use of a bioenergetic approach to better understand how human disturbances influence natural populations, and the specific use of this approach with this bioindicator species.

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“…Due to dense human population and development, piping plovers in this region are severely threatened by both direct and indirect anthropogenic impacts that remove or degrade habitat (Defeo et al, 2009;McFadden, 2007;Schlacher et al, 2016). Due to dense human population and development, piping plovers in this region are severely threatened by both direct and indirect anthropogenic impacts that remove or degrade habitat (Defeo et al, 2009;McFadden, 2007;Schlacher et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A pragmatic approach for comparing species distribution models to increasing confidence in managing piping plover habitat

Maslo

Zeigler

Drake

et al. 2019

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Conservation management often requires decision-making without perfect knowledge of the at-risk species or ecosystem. Species distribution models (SDMs) are useful but largely under-utilized due to model uncertainty. We used an ensemble modeling approach of two independently derived SDMs to explicitly address common modeling impediments and directly inform conservation decision-making for piping plovers in a heavily populated mid-Atlantic (USA) coastal zone. We summarized previously published Bayesian network and maximum entropy models to highlight similarities and differences in structure, and we compared the relative importance of predictors used. Despite differences in analytical approach, relative importance of factors driving nest-site selection was consistent. Models demonstrated considerable agreement when comparing a binary (suitable/ unsuitable) measure of suitability. Instances of model consensus (i.e., overlapping areas of predicted piping plover nesting habitat between models) provide a stronger "signal" in model results, reducing uncertainty related to biases or errors associated with either model. We tested model accuracy using a common dataset of plover nests initiated within the focal areas between 2013 and 2015, and we examined congruency in model outputs. Nearly, 90% of all nests occurred in areas predicted suitable by at least one model, and at least 33% of the total nests were predicted in areas suitable by both. Because models predominantly agreed on what drives piping plover nest-site selection, areas predicted suitable by a single model should not be discounted. This case study demonstrates how models can effectively inform conservation planning by explicitly identifying the management objective, presenting robust evidence to allow managers to evaluate outcomes of alternative management decisions, and clearly communicating results that address real-world conservation problems. Our results can

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Human threats to sandy beaches: A meta-analysis of ghost crabs illustrates global anthropogenic impacts.

Cited by 126 publications

References 186 publications

Assessing the response of sandy‐beach macrobenthos to recreation and the ecological status of the beach ecosystem at Liandao, China

Assessing the response of sandy‐beach macrobenthos to recreation and the ecological status of the beach ecosystem at Liandao, China

Burrowing behavior and burrowing energetics of a bioindicator under human disturbance

A pragmatic approach for comparing species distribution models to increasing confidence in managing piping plover habitat

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