Coastal Park Research Articles

A northernmost occurrence record of Shepherd’s beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi) – a molecular identification from Exmouth, Western Australia

Shepherd’s beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi) is one of the least known beaked whales. Its distribution has been described as circumpolar, between latitudes 26°S and 50°S in the Southern Hemisphere based on scarce at-sea sightings and strandings. In March 2024, the remains of a cetacean were found in the Jurabi Coastal Park in North West Cape, Western Australia, 21°48′S, 114°06′E. Heavy predation on the carcass did not allow morphological identification. DNA sequencing was used to verify its identity as T. shepherdi, representing a 600 km extension to the previous northernmost record for this species.

Dynamic Traits of Intracellular Water and Salt Based on Electrophysiological Measurements During Adaptations of Three Mangrove Species Under Salinity Stresses

Mangroves are landscape plants in coastal parks and are also typical salt-tolerant plants. Water–salt transport plays a key role in their adaptations to salinity. This research aims to study the synchronous dynamics of intracellular water–salt and plant adaptation mechanisms. Therefore, no salt and three salinity gradients, including 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 mol/L NaCl, were applied to three mangrove plants. An electrophysiological sensor was used to non-invasively detect plant electrical signals. The results showed that mangroves’ water and salt dynamic characteristics differed under salt treatment. Rhizophora stylosa reduced the cytoplasmic salt by increasing water absorption, enhancing salt exclusion, and decreasing salt inflow. Kandelia candel managed salt by transferring it into a vacuole, diluting the intracellular salt concentrations through increased cell fluid while maintaining the salt exclusion capacity as salinity increased. Aegiceras corniculatum decreased the cellular salt influx and adapted to 0.4 mol/L NaCl by activating salt secretion. In addition, water-use, salt transport, cellular endogenous convertible energy, and photosynthetic gas exchange parameters could be used as representative factors for salt adaptation of these mangrove species. The results deepen our understanding of plant salt tolerance mechanisms and provide a new approach for timely determining plant adaptability.

Urban coastal parks: What does the public want and what are the effects of priming and socio-demographic background?

Urban coastal parks: What does the public want and what are the effects of priming and socio-demographic background?

Measuring the Perception of Visual Quality in a Coastal Park: Akyazı Coastal Park (Ordu-Turkey)

The aim of this study is to identify the factors that influence individuals' perception of visual quality in a coastal park. To achieve this, a visual questionnaire was conducted among students who frequently visit the park. The data collected was analysed using statistical methods. The study concluded that gender does not significantly affect visual quality perception. Additionally, there was no difference in visual quality perception between participants who live by the sea and those who do not. However, the number of years that participants have lived in the city does have a relative impact on their perception of visual quality. The study found that visual quality perception remained relatively stable for those living in the city for up to 2 years but increased for those living in the city between 2 and 3 years. However, for those living more than 3 years, the perception of visual quality then gradually decreased.

Climate Influences on Day and Overnight Use at California State Beaches and Coastal Parks

State beaches and parks provide access to coastal environments for recreational activities that rely on access to the ocean, coastal climate, and scenic amenities. Approximately 46 million people visit state beaches in California annually, and another 20 million people visit other types of state park units located in the Coastal Zone, which together constitute 72% of overall visitation to the state parks system. We utilized monthly attendance estimates available between 2001 and 2020 to assess the influence of extreme drought or wet conditions on visitation to state beaches and coastal parks for day use and overnight use. State beaches include direct access to the ocean for water-dependent recreation activities from swimming to scenery, while coastal park types range from coastal forests to historical sites and may include some ocean access but are not directly dependent on water. State park unit climate conditions were analyzed by coastal region according to seasonal variability between moderate and extreme drought and wet categories using the Palmer Drought Severity Index. We found that visitation to state beaches is more sensitive to climate than coastal parks, particularly during times of extreme drought, and that overall day use visitation is more sensitive to climate than overnight use.

Conservation Under Siege: The Intersection of Tourism and Environmental Threats in Croatian Protected Areas

This paper investigates the illegal activities that may negatively impact the environment in Croatia’s protected areas, particularly those associated with tourism. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and sensitivity analysis are used to identify distinct high-risk activities specific to different park types. Coastal parks are found to be particularly vulnerable to maritime-related illegal activities, with high risk exposure from mooring vessels and swimming in prohibited areas. These parks also face significant risks from illegal fishing and the capture of strictly protected plants and animals, highlighting the need for enhanced marine ecosystem protection. Mountainous and forest parks face significant risks from fire-related activities, while wetland parks are sensitive to poaching and illegal fishing. Additionally, diverse landscape parks show increased vulnerability to littering, poaching, and the collection or harvesting of strictly protected plants and animals. The results underscore the necessity for tailored risk-management strategies that prioritize interventions based on park-specific challenges. By addressing the unique vulnerabilities of each park type, this study contributes insights into mitigating environmental threats posed by tourism and emphasizes the importance of continuous monitoring and adaptive management in protected areas.

“Liquid assets”: Coastal wetlands, regional parks, and the protection of Mediterranean deltas

After a century of accelerating drainage, in the 1960s coastal wetlands became the object of unprecedented protection campaigns around the world. This paper compares the history of three successful cases of coastal wetland protection in the Mediterranean between the 1960s and 1980s: the Rhône (France), Po (Italy), and Ebro (Spain) River deltas. As most of the coast of Mediterranean Europe, these three cases were at the centre of renewed redevelopment attempts, to further expand intensive agriculture, industry, and seaside tourism, which invariably involved wetlands drainage. In these three cases, protection was achieved by establishing “regional parks” in the deltas. We argue that it was not by chance. Wetland advocates at the international, national, and local scales coated their plea for protection in the language of economics, making the case for wetlands’ value as “liquid assets.” They argued that wetland protection could rhyme with development and, abandoning initial projects to protect deltas as national parks, focused their efforts on creating regional parks instead. Stemming from the European regional planning movement, the regional park framework proved expedient to combine development expectations and wetland protection. Thanks to modular land use zoning, it promised to combine productive activities with protected areas, without imposing uniform restrictions on the entire deltas such as those often associated with national parks. The history of these three coastal parks, therefore, sheds light on the counterintuitive but strong relationship existing between coastal development and protection by uncovering the discursive strategies and unlikely coalitions that made conservation possible.

Park Equipment Information System the Case of Tayfun Gürsoy Park in Altınordu District, Ordu Province in Türkiye

This study deals with an information system developed to effectively manage and optimize the maintenance processes of the urban furniture used in Tayfun Gürsoy Park located in Altınordu district of Ordu province. Within the framework of the study, Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to make an inventory of the equipments in the coastal parks, to determine their location and to monitor their condition. GIS was used to collect and analyze the location data of the equipments, allowing for more efficient planning of maintenance and management processes. The results of the study show that it will increase the efficiency of the maintenance and management processes of the equipments in the coastal parks and will provide savings in the use of resources.

Seasonal Constellation of Juvenile Whale Sharks in Gorontalo Bay Coastal Park

The whale shark (Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828) is the largest extant fish species in the world, and it is endangered, with population numbers declining in the last three decades. The appearance of whale sharks in the Botubarani Waters has attracted a lot of attention. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the whale shark's appearance, their habitat constellation pattern, and its oceanographic conditions. This research was conducted during the 2019-2022 period. The Photographic Identification (Photo-ID) method is used to observe and determine whale shark individual's number and pattern of presence. Oceanographic data includes chlorophyll-a concentration using Ocean Color Image (CCI) data and sea surface temperature (SST) using OSTIA image data processed with Interactive Data Language (IDL) software. The research showed there are 38 individuals with an estimated total length ranging from 2.3 to 7.3 meters. All whale sharks appearing in Botubarani include juvenile male individuals with a composition of 53% new individuals (N=20) and 47% (N=18) old individuals seen again with a rare seasonal and sporadic presence pattern mainly in the Eastern season (June). The average SST value during the study period ranged from 28.36-30.29⁰C while chlorophyll-a ranged from 0.174-0.698 mg.m-3. Although the present findings show that the whale shark's appearance in Botubarani waters was not significantly influenced by SST and chlorophyll-a, it might be affected by other oceanography factors such as Sea Surface Height Distribution (SSHD) and depth (Bathymetry). As the Botubarani aggregation site is the only whale shark emergence area with easy access throughout the year and is rapidly developing into a new ecotourism industry in Indonesia; the information on whale shark appearance provides useful support for the sustainable protection and Whale Sharks conservation in the future.

Determining the most appropriate stormwater management strategies within the development of urban landscape infrastructure using the TOPSIS method: applications to Rize city.

In this study, the application of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods in determining the most appropriate stormwater management strategy is examined using different areas in Rize. The determination of the most appropriate stormwater management practices for the Rize coastal park and Güneysu-Rize connection highway with TOPSIS is presented in detail within this study. In this context, commonly used applications suitable for urban areas are discussed. The criteria and their weights used for the evaluation of the selected applications were determined by consulting expert opinions from leading researchers. The most suitable applications in different scenarios such as changes in the cost or the amount of precipitation for Rize coastal park and Güneysu-Rize connection road were determined by the TOPSIS method. The TOPSIS analyses' ranking of the ideal solutions matches the results of the SWMM simulations one to one. SWMM results confirm that the outcomes of TOPSIS are the alternatives that provide maximum decrease in surface runoff.

Factors influencing outdoor thermal comfort in a coastal park during the transition seasons in cold regions of China

Factors influencing outdoor thermal comfort in a coastal park during the transition seasons in cold regions of China

Groundwater contaminant fluctuation at a landfill: a case study of the Coastal Park Landfill, Cape Town

Rainfall has been shown to be the main cause of elevated nutrient pollution in groundwater beneath landfills. However, groundwater monitoring is often based on predetermined schedules without considering rainfall patterns. This study examined how rainfall patterns affect fluctuations in groundwater quality at the Coastal Park landfill in Cape Town, South Africa, and the relevance of current groundwater sampling schedules. Boreholes upstream and downstream of two large waste cells, one lined and the other unlined, were monitored for 15 weeks during the onset of the rainy season to detect changes in the groundwater level, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrate, and phosphate. Rainfall patterns strongly affected the groundwater parameters, with widely varying fluctuation patterns and lag times. Conductivity peaked downstream of the lined cell 10 weeks later than at the unlined cell, with widely different fluctuation patterns (R2 = 0.36). Ammonia peaked downstream of both the unlined and lined cells well before the early rains, with very similar fluctuation patterns (R2 = 0.97), although it peaked 6 times higher in the unlined cell. Nitrate peaked at Weeks 2 to 4 downstream of the unlined and the lined cell, with a weak correlation (R2 = 0.56). A shorter nitrate peak and a net decrease throughout the rainy season were observed downstream of the lined cell. Phosphate showed a brief, multi-fold increase at Week 3 downstream of both the unlined and lined cells, displaying pH-induced mobilisation and a very strong correlation (R2 = 0.99) between these locations. Lag times and fluctuation patterns varied depending on the presence of liners, and rainfall patterns. Therefore, the low frequency sampling required by many South African landfill waste management permits and licences cannot identify pollutant peak concentrations or describe their trends, and high frequency sampling should be considered.

Trends and impacts of temperature and fire regimes in South Africa’s coastal national parks: implications for tourism

Climate change poses significant risks on coastal national park-based tourism through its effect on accessibility, comfort levels, and spatiotemporal changes of attractions. Wildfires and extreme temperatures have become issues of concern. Due to the widespread occurrence of fires in national parks along coastal areas and the noticeable changes in temperature regimes, more needs to be done to deepen understanding of their trends and impacts and devise appropriate management regimes. This study analyses the trends and impacts of fires and temperature-related variables in six coastal South African national parks, namely Agulhas, Garden Route, West Coast, Table Mountain, Namaqua, and Addo Elephant National Park. The triangulation and convergence model of the mixed-methods research design was adopted as the inquiry strategy. Data on statistical weather variables from the South African Weather Services and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration were used to calculate temperature trends using Mann–Kendall trend tests and homogeneity analysis. Data collection included questionnaire surveys, key informant interviews, field observations, and document analysis. The study observed statistically significant (p < 0.05) changes in temperature-related variables in all coastal national parks. There is also an increase in the intensity and spatial spread of fires, resulting in increased fire damage over time. Despite the current efforts of the coastal parks to manage wildfires and the changing climatic patterns, the fire and temperature regimes are threatening the biophysical environment with resultant effects on tourism and the economic viability of the national parks. The need to reengineer the fire suppression mechanisms and temperature-resilient tourism facilities has been observed.

EXAMINING CURRENT AND FUTURE CHALLENGES OF SEA LEVEL RISE ON COASTAL NATIONAL PARKS

Over the past decade, the increase in extreme weather events requires each sector to reflect on vulnerabilities to develop strategies for ramping up climate action. Owing to the shortage of climate data, significant knowledge gaps exist in some sectors of society and the economy, particularly in developing countries such as Africa. This has caused challenges for adaptation and resilience building as governments and other stakeholders cannot leverage knowledge for policy and practice and to seek funding for climate change action. This study responds to this knowledge by examining sea level challenges and their implications on coastal national parks in South Africa. The key question for this study is the most at-risk areas regarding sea level in coastal national parks and the implications of sea level on coastal national parks. The study utilises primary, secondary and archival data to arrive at conclusions. The study also uses climate change modelling data from SSP2-4.5 and SSP3-7.0. The study found that the most vulnerable coastal park in South Africa is the Garden Route National Park, which has the highest sea level rise, which will result in the Knysna section followed by the Cape Point section of Table Mountain, which will see the areas witnessing a 1m rise in sea level around 2100. Sea level rise is a threat to infrastructure, heritage, beaches, tourism employees and tourist safety, to mention but a few. The study recommends scaling up climate change action to assist the parks in adapting and building climate change resilience.

What’s local policy got to do with it? Testing the efficacy of federal interventions to protect coastal parks from sunscreen chemical pollution in Hawaii and North Carolina

What’s local policy got to do with it? Testing the efficacy of federal interventions to protect coastal parks from sunscreen chemical pollution in Hawaii and North Carolina

Park station design in the context of cultural tourism integration

Abstract This project is the design of the tourism service station in the coastal park, which not only meets the basic functional requirements of the park service station but also reconfigures the station space with the regional cultural characteristics of Qingdao. The design process is mainly conceived in five aspects: locality, landscape, identity, symbolization, and diversification. It integrates the cultural characteristics of Qingdao coastal tourism with the park landscape to create a tourist rest space with diversified experiences. The purpose of this paper is to explore the interface between the stations' design and the various links of the cultural tourism industry chain. The project will be created as the “Window of Qingdao” in Baisha River Park.

Visitation to national parks in California shows annual and seasonal change during extreme drought and wet years

This study examines the influence of drought indicators on recreational visitation patterns to National Park Service units in California (USA) from 1980 to 2019. We considered mountain, arid, and coastal park types across a climate gradient where seasonal recreational opportunities are directly or indirectly dependent on water resources. Significant departures from the normal hydroclimate, reflected by drought or unusually wet conditions, can lead visitors to change their behavior, including recreating at a different time or place. Drought conditions can facilitate earlier seasonal access at higher elevation parks, but displace visitors in other seasons and parks. Wetter-than-average conditions can displace visitors due to snowpack or flooding, but also facilitate other activities. We found a decrease in annual visitation at popular mountain parks including Yosemite (-8.6%) and Sequoia and Kings Canyon (-8.2%) during extreme drought years due to lower-than-average attendance in peak summer and fall months. Extreme wet years also had significantly reduced annual visitation in Sequoia and Kings (-8.5%) and Lassen Volcanic (-13.9%) due to declines in spring and summer use as snowpack restricts road access. For arid parks, drought status did not have a statistically significant effect on annual visitation, although extreme drought led to less use during the hottest months of summer at Death Valley, and extreme wet conditions at Pinnacles led to less visitation throughout the year (-16.6%), possibly from impacts to infrastructure associated with flooding. For coastal park units, extreme drought led to year-round higher levels of use at Redwood (+27.7%), which is typically wet, and less year-round use at Channel Islands (-23.6%), which is relatively dry, while extreme wet years led to higher levels of annual use at Channel Islands (+29.4%). Collectively, these results indicate the effect of extreme drought or wet years on park visitation varies by park depending on geography and recreational activities offered.

Behaviorally segmented audiences for managing sunscreen chemical pollution risk in protected coastal natural resource areas.

This audience segmentation of visitors at coastal parks in Hawaii and North Carolina addresses an emergent natural resource management concern and risk to aquatic ecosystems: sunscreen chemical pollution. Four audiences were identified that correspond to different behavioral profiles: sunscreen protection tourists, multimodal sun protection tourists, in-state frequent park visitors, and frequent beachgoers who skip sunscreen. The second-largest audience, sunscreen protection tourists, represents 29% of visitors at Cape Lookout National Seashore and 25% at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park. This group ranks of most concern for chemical pollution because they use sunscreen, but not typically mineral formulations or other methods such as protective clothing, and they have lower levels of sunscreen chemical issue awareness. The identification of similar audience segments across regions with differing cultural characteristics and sunscreen regulation status suggests the robustness of the model and its indicator variables, with implications for both environmental protection and public health. Further, coastal visitors' interest in enacting pro-environmental sun protection behaviors during their next park or beach visit indicates the potential for natural resource managers to holistically address risks in both domains through targeted interventions with audiences of most concern.

Promoting environmentally friendly sun-protection behaviors among coastal state residents

Promoting environmentally friendly sun-protection behaviors among coastal state residents

Spatial differences in thermal comfort in summer in coastal areas: A study on Dalian, China

Thermal comfort is an important indicator for evaluating the environment of urban public space, and appropriate thermal comfort can effectively prolong the duration of outdoor activities. In the existing studies, there is a lack of thermal comfort comparison between hot spots and cold spots. In this study, we selected the coastal city of Dalian in China as our study area and conducted field investigations on the thermal comfort of two landmark resorts, namely, a downtown commercial street and coastal leisure park. The study was conducted on typical summer days and consisted of interviewing several residents to understand their thermal comfort requirements. We investigated the thermal expectations of the interviewees through meteorological measurements and questionnaires. The universal thermal climate index (UTCI) was used to determine the thermal benchmarks of the on-site subjects. The results indicated that (1) globe temperature and air temperature were the most important factors that affected thermal comfort, followed by relative humidity and wind speed in summer daytime. (2) Shaded spaces are more comfortable than open spaces, and tree shade is preferred over artificial shade in coastal park. (3) The neutral UTCI (NUTCI) of the respondents were 24.1°C (coastal park) and 26.0°C (commercial street); the neutral UTCI ranges (NUTCIR) were 20.8–27.4°C (coastal park) and 23.3–28.7°C (commercial street). (4) The upper thermal acceptable range limits of the coastal park and commercial street were 30.2 and 32.1°C, respectively, which were substantially higher than the upper NUTCIR limit, indicating that the residents in Dalian were well-adapted to hot weather. The results can provide a good reference for determining ideal design strategies to optimize the thermal environment of urban outdoor recreation spaces in summers and improve the quality of life in coastal cities.