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Whale Shark Tourism: Impacts on Coral Reefs in the Philippines

DOI:10.1007/s00267-018-1125-3
Authors:
Cheong Wai Martin Wong at The University of Hong Kong
Cheong Wai Martin Wong
Inga Elizabeth Conti-Jerpe at University of California, Berkeley
Inga Elizabeth Conti-Jerpe
Laurie J Raymundo at University of Guam
Laurie J Raymundo
Caroline Dingle at The University of Hong Kong
Caroline Dingle
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Abstract and Figures

Reef-based tourism has been developing rapidly in recent decades yet its impacts on reef ecosystems are often overlooked. In Tan-awan, Oslob, Philippines, whale sharks are attracted to the shallow reefs where they are provisioned up to 50 tons y⁻¹ of feed and this phenomenon in turn attracts >300,000 y⁻¹ visitors. Given the intensive provisioning and concentrating tourism activities, we hypothesized that the whale shark tourism-impacted site (IS) will have greater impacts on reef degradation and higher anthropogenic nitrogen pollution level compared to its reference site (RS). Ecological surveys revealed that relative to the RS, the IS had 36% higher relative abundance of Pocillopora and Porites coral over other genera, >2.5-fold lower coral density, and 20% higher macroalgal cover, which we concluded are signs of reef degradation. Also, we conducted stable nitrogen isotope analysis on gorgonian skeletons to trace nitrogen sources at both sites through time. Although an average 1‰ isotope enrichment found in the IS relative to the RS could indicate anthropogenic nitrogen inputs in the IS, this enrichment was consistent over time and existed before the tourism developed. Despite that, we cautioned against the imminent threat of local eutrophication caused by the continued inputs of nitrogen derived from provisioning and tourism activities. In summary, this study provided the first documentation of the impacts of provisioned whale shark tourism on the local reefs in Tan-awan and established an ecological baseline for future comparisons. Such assessments can offer important information on reef health, coastal development, and tourism management.
The upper corner inset map illustrates the location of Oslob, Cebu, Philippines. The enlarged map details the two sampling and survey sites in the Municipality of Oslob: (1) the impacted site (IS) in the coast of barangay Tan-awan where whale shark provisioning activities took place and (2) its reference site (RS) in the coast of barangay Mainit where such activities were absent. The lower corner inset map shows the IS located within a designated area marked by floating buoys (50–100 m from shore) where tourists are brought into the waters to interact with the whale sharks
The upper corner inset map illustrates the location of Oslob, Cebu, Philippines. The enlarged map details the two sampling and survey sites in the Municipality of Oslob: (1) the impacted site (IS) in the coast of barangay Tan-awan where whale shark provisioning activities took place and (2) its reference site (RS) in the coast of barangay Mainit where such activities were absent. The lower corner inset map shows the IS located within a designated area marked by floating buoys (50–100 m from shore) where tourists are brought into the waters to interact with the whale sharks
… 
Comparison of coral generic composition between the IS and RS. The associated percentages illustrate the relative abundance of coral genera within each site (calculated as the number of colonies of a genus recorded from all transects per site divided by the total number colonies recorded from all transects per site; RS: n = 291 and IS: n = 111)
Comparison of coral generic composition between the IS and RS. The associated percentages illustrate the relative abundance of coral genera within each site (calculated as the number of colonies of a genus recorded from all transects per site divided by the total number colonies recorded from all transects per site; RS: n = 291 and IS: n = 111)
… 
Comparison of the percent cover of benthic substratum types between the IS and RS from line intercept transects: hard bottom (HB), rubble (RU), sand (SA), hard coral (HC), soft coral (SC), dead coral (DC), sponge (SP), macroalgae (MA), and turf (TU). Values represent the average percentage cover of each substratum type from the transects (n = 3) at each site. Error bars: ±S.D
Comparison of the percent cover of benthic substratum types between the IS and RS from line intercept transects: hard bottom (HB), rubble (RU), sand (SA), hard coral (HC), soft coral (SC), dead coral (DC), sponge (SP), macroalgae (MA), and turf (TU). Values represent the average percentage cover of each substratum type from the transects (n = 3) at each site. Error bars: ±S.D
… 
Comparison of prevalence of coral diseases and compromised health states between the IS and RS: bleaching (BL), silt smothering (SLT), pigmentation response (PR), overgrowth and abrasion by algae/sponges/cyanobacteria (OG/AB), white syndrome (WS), and boring epifauna (BOR). Values represent the average prevalence of each condition from the transects (n = 3) at each site. Error bars: ±S.D
Comparison of prevalence of coral diseases and compromised health states between the IS and RS: bleaching (BL), silt smothering (SLT), pigmentation response (PR), overgrowth and abrasion by algae/sponges/cyanobacteria (OG/AB), white syndrome (WS), and boring epifauna (BOR). Values represent the average prevalence of each condition from the transects (n = 3) at each site. Error bars: ±S.D
… 
Trends in the δ¹⁵N values of the annual skeletal growth bands of Rumphella spp. over time (data resulted from retrospective stable isotope analysis). Samples were collected from the IS at 2 m depth (n = 2; closed diamond—IS-1 and closed square—IS-2) and from the RS at 5 m depth (n = 1; open square—RS-1). Data points from each sample were pooled into the “before” and “after” category, divided at the year 2011 when the whale shark tourism operation began. The table shows the average δ¹⁵N value±S.D. of each sample in the “before” and “after” category. ISavg was calculated by averaging the pooled data points from IS-1 and IS-2. *IS-2 in the “after” category had only one data point and thus S.D. was not calculated
Trends in the δ¹⁵N values of the annual skeletal growth bands of Rumphella spp. over time (data resulted from retrospective stable isotope analysis). Samples were collected from the IS at 2 m depth (n = 2; closed diamond—IS-1 and closed square—IS-2) and from the RS at 5 m depth (n = 1; open square—RS-1). Data points from each sample were pooled into the “before” and “after” category, divided at the year 2011 when the whale shark tourism operation began. The table shows the average δ¹⁵N value±S.D. of each sample in the “before” and “after” category. ISavg was calculated by averaging the pooled data points from IS-1 and IS-2. *IS-2 in the “after” category had only one data point and thus S.D. was not calculated
… 
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Environmental Management (2019) 63:282–291
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-018-1125-3
Whale Shark Tourism: Impacts on Coral Reefs in the Philippines
C. W. Martin Wong1●Inga Conti-Jerpe1●Laurie J. Raymundo2●Caroline Dingle3●Gonzalo Araujo4●
Alessandro Ponzo4●David M. Baker 1
Received: 27 April 2018 / Accepted: 26 November 2018 / Published online: 4 December 2018
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract
Reef-based tourism has been developing rapidly in recent decades yet its impacts on reef ecosystems are often overlooked. In
Tan-awan, Oslob, Philippines, whale sharks are attracted to the shallow reefs where they are provisioned up to 50 tons y−1of
feed and this phenomenon in turn attracts >300,000 y−1visitors. Given the intensive provisioning and concentrating tourism
activities, we hypothesized that the whale shark tourism-impacted site (IS) will have greater impacts on reef degradation and
higher anthropogenic nitrogen pollution level compared to its reference site (RS). Ecological surveys revealed that relative to
the RS, the IS had 36% higher relative abundance of Pocillopora and Porites coral over other genera, >2.5-fold lower coral
density, and 20% higher macroalgal cover, which we concluded are signs of reef degradation. Also, we conducted stable
nitrogen isotope analysis on gorgonian skeletons to trace nitrogen sources at both sites through time. Although an average
1‰isotope enrichment found in the IS relative to the RS could indicate anthropogenic nitrogen inputs in the IS, this
enrichment was consistent over time and existed before the tourism developed. Despite that, we cautioned against the
imminent threat of local eutrophication caused by the continued inputs of nitrogen derived from provisioning and tourism
activities. In summary, this study provided the first documentation of the impacts of provisioned whale shark tourism on the
local reefs in Tan-awan and established an ecological baseline for future comparisons. Such assessments can offer important
information on reef health, coastal development, and tourism management.
Keywords Tourism management ●Whale shark tourism ●Reef degradation ●Coastal development ●Eutrophication ●
Retrospective isotope analysis
Introduction
In recent decades, reef-based tourism has been rapidly
developing worldwide (Spalding et al. 2017). Generally, the
industry supports economic growth and creates alternative
livelihoods for local people especially among developing
nations (Hall 2001). This is also the case in Barangay
(village) Tan-awan, Municipality of Oslob, southern Cebu,
Philippines (Fig. 1) where whale shark tourism has been
growing rapidly since late 2011. Here, whale sharks are
attracted to the shallow reefs year-round where they are
provisioned (fed) up to 50 tons y−1sergestid shrimp, which
provides an opportunity for the operation of tourist
encounters with the world’s largest fish species. With more
than 300,000 visitors per year (record in 2015; visitor
numbers have been increasing in following years), Tan-
awan has become one of the largest whale shark watching
destinations in the world, generating at least $5M USD
annually (Tourist Logbook, Oslob Local Government Unit;
Araujo et al. 2017). This income is shared within a tour-
*David M. Baker
dmbaker@hku.hk
1The Swire Institute of Marine Science and School of Biological
Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, China
2University of Guam Marine Laboratory, UOG Station,
Mangilao, GU 96923, USA
3Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
4Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines, Cagulada
Compound, Barangay Tejero, Jagna, Bohol 6308, Philippines
Supplementary material The online version of this article (https://
doi.org/10.1007/s00267-018-1125-3) contains supplementary
material, which is available to authorized users.
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Article
  • Sep 2016
For centuries, Bermuda has been challenged with wastewater management for the protection of human and environmental health. By quantifying the δ(15)N of the common sea fan Gorgonia ventalina sampled from 30 sites throughout Bermuda we show that sewage-derived nitrogen is detectable on nearshore coral reefs and declines across the lagoon to the outer rim. We also sampled gorgonians from two museum collections representing a 50y time-series (1958-2008). These samples revealed an increase in δ(15)N of >4.0‰ until the mid-1970s, after which δ(15)N values slowly declined by ~2.0‰. A δ(15)N chronology from a gorgonian skeleton exhibited a similar decline over the last 30-40years of approximately 0.6‰. We conclude that policies have been effective in reducing sewage impacts to Bermudian reefs. However, significant sources of sewage pollution persist and are likely have a strong impact on harbor and nearshore coral communities and human health.