Next steps in recreation ecology

Abstract

Research on the ecological impacts of outdoor recreation has made long‐standing contributions to threatened species conservation and protected area management. It is also politically important, as tourism enterprises lobby for access and development rights, and park administrative agencies are required to demonstrate evidence‐based management. The accumulated knowledge – over a thousand individual studies – also adds to the theoretical understanding of ecological stress‐response relationships (see Monz et al. p 441).

Patterns have proven to be elusive, however, because there are many different species and ecosystems, types of recreation, and impact parameters. Localized, direct, and easily measurable effects are studied often. Diffuse, delayed, indirect, and difficult‐to‐detect effects (eg introduction of pathogens or disruptions to animal energetics and reproduction) are studied much less frequently, despite being more important ecologically. Sophisticated experiments, for example using remote telemetry to monitor hormones and heart rates in birds disturbed by tourists, are expensive and uncommon.