Vanishing clams on an Iberian beach: local consequences and global implications of accelerating loss of shells to tourism.

ABSTRACT: Multi-decadal increase in shell removal by tourists, a process that may accelerate degradation of natural habitats, was quantified via two series of monthly surveys, conducted thirty years apart (1978-1981 and 2008-2010) in one small embayment on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Over the last three decades, the local tourist arrivals have increased almost three-fold (2.74), while the area has remained unaffected by urban encroachment and commercial fisheries. During the same time interval the abundance of mollusk shells along the shoreline decreased by a comparable factor (2.62) and was significantly and negatively correlated with tourist arrivals (r = -0.52). The strength of the correlation increased when data were restricted to months with high tourist arrivals (r = -0.7

SUBMITTER: Kowalewski M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3885449 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature