caa a22 4500 605527393 CHVBK 20210128100808.0 cr unu---uuuuu 210128e20151201xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10531-015-1009-2 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10531-015-1009-2 The effect of recreational SCUBA divers on the structural complexity and benthic assemblage of a Caribbean coral reef [Elektronische Daten] [Patrick Lyons, Enrique Arboleda, Cassandra Benkwitt, Brooke Davis, Molly Gleason, Colin Howe, Jennifer Mathe, Julia Middleton, Nicole Sikowitz, Lucien Untersteggaber, Stephanie Villalobos] The effect of recreational SCUBA diving on coral reefs is likely secondary to many of the commonly cited stressors that threaten the long-term survival of coral reefs, such as rising temperatures. However, recreational SCUBA diving has had documented effects on various benthic organisms. Most research on the effect of SCUBA divers has focused on broken and abraded benthic organisms or the rate at which divers contact the benthos. We tested for differences in the structural complexity and benthic assemblage between pairs of heavily and lightly trafficked dive sites in Bonaire, a popular Carribbean diving destination. There was roughly 10% less structural complexity in areas of heavy traffic. This is alarming given that the structural complexity of shallow reefs in Bonaire is substantially lower than in the 1970s. Different functional groups of benthic organisms were affected differentially by diving traffic. For instance, massive corals such as Orbicella annularis were 31% less abundant at heavy than light diver traffic areas, while gorgonians and sponges had similar abundances at heavy and light diver traffic areas. Our results match those of previous studies on the resistance and resilience of tropical benthic reef organisms to physical disturbances that suggest that stony corals are more prone to physical damage than gorgonians and sponges. We provide a number of possible management strategies that could reduce the effects of recreational SCUBA divers on Bonaire and elsewhere, including education/intervention by dive guides and concentration of diving traffic away from areas of stony coral abundance. Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht, 2015 Ecotourism nationallicence Bonaire nationallicence Physical disturbance nationallicence Structural complexity nationallicence Management nationallicence Lyons Patrick CIEE Research Station Bonaire, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean aut Arboleda Enrique CIEE Research Station Bonaire, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean aut Benkwitt Cassandra Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA aut Davis Brooke Department of Organismal Biology & Ecology, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO, USA aut Gleason Molly CIEE Research Station Bonaire, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean aut Howe Colin Department of Biology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA aut Mathe Jennifer Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, SUNY ESF, Syracuse, NY, USA aut Middleton Julia CIEE Research Station Bonaire, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean aut Sikowitz Nicole Roger Willams Univeristy, Bristol, RI, USA aut Untersteggaber Lucien CIEE Research Station Bonaire, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean aut Villalobos Stephanie CIEE Research Station Bonaire, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean aut Biodiversity and Conservation Springer Netherlands 24/14(2015-12-01), 3491-3504 0960-3115 24:14<3491 2015 24 10531 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-1009-2 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-1009-2 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Lyons Patrick CIEE Research Station Bonaire, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Arboleda Enrique CIEE Research Station Bonaire, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Benkwitt Cassandra Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Davis Brooke Department of Organismal Biology & Ecology, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Gleason Molly CIEE Research Station Bonaire, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Howe Colin Department of Biology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Mathe Jennifer Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, SUNY ESF, Syracuse, NY, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Middleton Julia CIEE Research Station Bonaire, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Sikowitz Nicole Roger Willams Univeristy, Bristol, RI, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Untersteggaber Lucien CIEE Research Station Bonaire, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Villalobos Stephanie CIEE Research Station Bonaire, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Biodiversity and Conservation Springer Netherlands 24/14(2015-12-01), 3491-3504 0960-3115 24:14<3491 2015 24 10531