How do marine mammals alter their behavioral responses due to tourist interactions/activities?

Abstract

Purpose: How do marine mammals alter their behavioral responses due to tourist interactions/activities? Methods: This study is a literature review where relevant secondary data had been used to obtain information from Oria. The data has then been analyzed and disused to answer the problem statement. Results: The result of this thesis includes 13 studies, three studies about whales, five about pinnipeds, and five about dolphins. The studies explore the behavioral effects tourist activities have on the animals. The studies include activities like swim-with, marine mammal-watching, and food provisioning. Conclusion: The findings in this thesis show that marine mammals alter their behavior due to tourist interactions. Behavior responses like stress and avoidance were the most common short-term effects and were mostly due to high vessel traffic. The study also found some long-term effects like change in habitat during high tourism seasons and change in population size due to the stressful environment. This study also found some management strategies that should be implied at marine tourist sights to minimize the impacts and make the sight as sustainable as possible.

Purpose: How do marine mammals alter their behavioral responses due to tourist interactions/activities? Methods: This study is a literature review where relevant secondary data had been used to obtain information from Oria. The data has then been analyzed and disused to answer the problem statement. Results: The result of this thesis includes 13 studies, three studies about whales, five about pinnipeds, and five about dolphins. The studies explore the behavioral effects tourist activities have on the animals. The studies include activities like swim-with, marine mammal-watching, and food provisioning. Conclusion: The findings in this thesis show that marine mammals alter their behavior due to tourist interactions. Behavior responses like stress and avoidance were the most common short-term effects and were mostly due to high vessel traffic. The study also found some long-term effects like change in habitat during high tourism seasons and change in population size due to the stressful environment. This study also found some management strategies that should be implied at marine tourist sights to minimize the impacts and make the sight as sustainable as possible.