Coral reefs and coastal tourism in Hawaii

Bing Lin, Yiwen Zeng, Gregory P. Asner, David S. Wilcove

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Coral reefs are popular for their vibrant biodiversity. By combining web-scraped Instagram data from tourists and high-resolution live coral cover maps in Hawaii, we find that, regionally, coral reefs both attract and suffer from coastal tourism. Higher live coral cover attracts reef visitors, but that visitation contributes to subsequent reef degradation. Such feedback loops threaten the highest quality reefs, highlighting both their economic value and the need for effective conservation management.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)254-258
Number of pages5
JournalNature Sustainability
Volume6
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Global and Planetary Change
  • Food Science
  • Geography, Planning and Development
  • Ecology
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • Urban Studies
  • Nature and Landscape Conservation
  • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

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