Ecological impacts of water-based recreational activities on freshwater ecosystems: a global meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT: Human presence at water bodies can have a range of ecological impacts, creating trade-offs between recreation as an ecosystem service and conservation. Conservation policies could be improved by relying on robust knowledge about the relative ecological impacts of water-based recreation. We present the first global synthesis on recreation ecology in aquatic ecosystems, differentiating the ecological impacts of shore use, (shoreline) angling, swimming and boating. Impacts were assessed at three levels of biological organization (individuals, populations and communities) for several taxa. We screened over 13 000 articles and identified 94 suitable studies that met the inclusion criteria, providing 701 effect sizes. Impacts of boating and shore use resulted in consistently negative, significan

SUBMITTER: Schafft M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8456150 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature