Indicators of the impacts of tourism on hard-bottom benthic communities of Ilha do Cardoso State Park (Cananéia) and Sonho Beach (Itanhaém), two southern coastal areas of São Paulo State (Brazil)

Abstract

Unplanned public visitation can have negative impacts on coastal benthic communities. This study evaluated and compared the indicators of the impacts of tourism in the midlittoral of two rocky shore sites (Ilha do Cardoso State Park – ICSP, a protected area and Sonho Beach, a non-protected area) in the coast of São Paulo State. The impact indicators observed were: sediment resuspension; trampling; handling and removal of organisms. Tourists at Sonho Beach were mostly on vacation and made more mistakes when asked about rocky shores than the tourists at ICSP, which were mainly participating in environmental education activities. At Sonho Beach, 376 occurrences of impact indicators were observed. Nonparametric tests indicated significant differences between genders (p < 0.05), due to the greater number of instances of sediment resuspension caused by males; and among age groups, because of the greater number of instances of trampling observed for tourists younger than seven. A total of 236 occurrences of impact indicators were observed at ICSP, and no significant differences were detected between genders or among age groups (p > 0.05). The areas differed significantly for resuspension and trampling (more frequent at Sonho Beach) and handling (more frequent at ICSP). This outcome was expected because environmental education programs are conducted at ICSP but not at Sonho Beach. These results indicate the importance of environmentally directed activities and visitor control within protected areas, and they indicate a need for such activities in non-protected areas.