School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
Conserv Biol. 2011 Oct;25(5):1044-52. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01724.x. Epub 2011 Aug 16.
Concentrating tourism activities can be an effective way to closely manage high-use parks and minimize the extent of the effects of visitors on plants and animals, although considerable investment in permanent tourism facilities may be required. On coral reefs, a variety of human-related disturbances have been associated with elevated levels of coral disease, but the effects of reef-based tourist facilities (e.g., permanent offshore visitor platforms) on coral health have not been assessed. In partnership with reef managers and the tourism industry, we tested the effectiveness of concentrating tourism activities as a strategy for managing tourism on coral reefs. We compared prevalence of brown band disease, white syndromes, black band disease, skeletal eroding band, and growth anomalies among reefs with and without permanent tourism platforms within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Coral diseases were 15 times more prevalent at reefs with offshore tourism platforms than at nearby reefs without platforms. The maximum prevalence and maximum number of cases of each disease type were recorded at reefs with permanently moored tourism platforms. Diseases affected 10 coral genera from 7 families at reefs with platforms and 4 coral genera from 3 families at reefs without platforms. The greatest number of disease cases occurred within the spatially dominant acroporid corals, which exhibited 18-fold greater disease prevalence at reefs with platforms than at reefs without platforms. Neither the percent cover of acroporids nor overall coral cover differed significantly between reefs with and without platforms, which suggests that neither factor was responsible for the elevated levels of disease. Identifying how tourism activities and platforms facilitate coral disease in marine parks will help ensure ongoing conservation of coral assemblages and tourism.
集中旅游活动可以是一种有效管理高使用率公园的方式，最大限度地减少游客对动植物的影响，尽管可能需要对永久性旅游设施进行大量投资。在珊瑚礁上，各种与人类相关的干扰与珊瑚疾病水平升高有关，但尚未评估基于珊瑚礁的旅游设施（例如，永久性近海游客平台）对珊瑚健康的影响。我们与珊瑚礁管理者和旅游业合作，测试了集中旅游活动作为管理珊瑚礁旅游策略的有效性。我们比较了大堡礁海洋公园内有无永久性旅游平台的珊瑚礁上棕色带疾病、白色综合征、黑带疾病、骨骼侵蚀带和生长异常的流行率。有近海旅游平台的珊瑚礁上的珊瑚疾病比附近没有平台的珊瑚礁上的疾病流行率高 15 倍。永久性停泊旅游平台上的珊瑚礁上记录到每种疾病类型的最大流行率和最大病例数。疾病影响了 7 个科的 10 个珊瑚属，而没有平台的珊瑚礁则影响了 4 个珊瑚属。疾病病例最多发生在空间优势的鹿角珊瑚中，有平台的珊瑚礁上的鹿角珊瑚疾病流行率比没有平台的珊瑚礁高 18 倍。有平台和没有平台的珊瑚礁上的鹿角珊瑚覆盖率和总珊瑚覆盖率都没有显著差异，这表明这两个因素都不是导致疾病水平升高的原因。确定旅游活动和平台如何促进海洋公园中的珊瑚疾病，将有助于确保珊瑚生物群和旅游业的持续保护。
