Page 47 - A bird’s-eye view of recreation - Rogier Pouwels

Thirdly, research shows that reproduction of birds is lower when recreation pressures are high (Van der Zande & Verstraal 1984, Bijlsma et al. 1985, Vos & Peltzer 1987 Gaddy & Kohlsaat 1987, Miller et al. 1998, González et al. 2006, Murison et al. 2007). Adult survival also decreases with higher recreational pressure (Gross-Custard et al. 2006). Ecotourism can also be a cause of reduction in survival (Müllner et al. 2004). There might be a feedback between impact on density and impact on reproduction. Only Mallord et al. (2007) found no impact on reproduction for the Woodlark (Lullula arborea) in plots with and without recreation.
Fourth, lower densities, lower reproduction success and higher mortality rates might
lead to lower survival rates of populations. Depending on the spatial and temporal 3 characteristics of the impact on patch size, habitat quality and other stress factors the
populations might go extinct (Blanc et al. 2006). There is little research on the impact of
recreation on changes in population size or persistence. Mallord et al. (2007) modeled
the consequences of several access scenarios for Woodlark populations in southern
UK and found that compared to the current situation the same number of people
distributed evenly across all sites leads to a major negative impact on the population.
In the case study presented in this chapter we also use a model to translate the impact
of recreation on the population size and persistence.
3.3 Case study
The study area is a dune area located near Amsterdam (the Netherlands) that is heavily used for recreation (Fig. 3). It is called the ‘Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen’ and with an area of 3500 ha it is one of the largest dune areas in the Netherlands. In 1998, a total of 723,000 visitors used the area (Jaarsma & Webster 1999). Besides its functions for protecting biodiversity and ensuring recreational opportunities, the area is used by City of Amsterdam for producing drinking water. Yet its main function is protecting the lowlands against the sea.
Linking ecological and recreation models
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