Impacts of Off-Road Vehicles (ORVs) on Macrobenthic Assemblages on Sandy Beaches |
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Authors: | Thomas A Schlacher Darren Richardson Ian McLean |
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Institution: | (1) Faculty of Science, Health, and Education, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, QLD-4558, Australia;(2) BMT WBM, 490 Upper Edward Street, Q-4000 Brisbane, Australia |
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Abstract: | Sandy beaches are the prime sites for human recreation and underpin many coastal economies and developments. In many coastal
areas worldwide, beach recreation relies on the use of off-road vehicles (ORVs) driven on the shore. Yet, the use of ORVs
is not universally embraced due to social conflicts with other beach user groups and putative environmental consequences of
vehicle traffic on sandy shores. Such ecological impacts of ORVs are, however, poorly understood for endobenthic invertebrates
of the intertidal zone seawards of the dunes. Consequently, this study quantified the degree to which assemblages of intertidal
beach invertebrates are affected by traffic. The study design comprised a series of temporally replicated spatial contrasts
between two reference sites (no ORVs) and two beaches with heavy ORV traffic (in excess of 250,000 vehicles per year) located
in South-East Queensland, Australia. Macrobenthic assemblages on ORV-impacted beaches had significantly fewer species at substantially
reduced densities, resulting in marked shifts in community composition and structure. These shifts were particularly strong
on the middle and upper shore where vehicle traffic was concentrated. Strong effects of ORVs were detectable in all seasons,
but increased towards the summer months as a result of heavier traffic volumes. This study provides clear evidence that ORVs
can have substantial impacts on sandy beach invertebrates that are manifested throughout the whole community. Demonstrating
such an ecological impact caused by a single type of human use poses a formidable challenge to management, which needs to
develop multi-faceted approaches to balance environmental, social, cultural, and economic arguments in the use of sandy shores,
including management of “beach traffic.” |
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Keywords: | Sandy beaches Macrobenthos Human impacts Coastal management Off-road vehicles Conservation |
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