Detecting visitor impacts in and around aquatic ecosystems within protected areas

Source: Sustainable Tourism CRC
"Despite being an important component of many regional monitoring programs throughout Australia, there has been surprisingly little effort in developing aquatic indicators to assess the effect of visitors on aquatic ecosystems in protected areas. In this study, we assessed the applicability of existing aquatic indicators as tools for assessing visitor impacts in and around aquatic ecosystems within National Parks and their protected areas. Our focus was on the spatial and temporal scales at which visitor activities (and their effects) are likely to occur, with emphasis on choosing indicators that are likely to respond at these scales."