Predicting poaching risk in marine protected areas for improved patrol efficiency.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are effective resource management and conservation measures, but their success is often hindered by non-compliant activities such as poaching. Understanding the risk factors and spatial patterns of poaching is therefore crucial for efficient law enforcement. Here, we conducted explanatory and predictive modelling of poaching from recreational fishers within no-take zones of Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) using Boosted Regression Trees (BRT). Combining patrol effort data, observed distribution of reported incidents, and spatially-explicit environmental and human risk factors, we modeled the occurrence probability of poaching incidents and mapped poaching risk at fine-scale. Our results: (i) show that fishing attractiveness, accessibility and fishing capacity play a major role in shaping the spatial patterns of poaching; (ii) revealed key interactions among these factors as well as tipping points beyond which poaching risk increased or decreased markedly; and (iii) highlight gaps in patrol effort that could be filled for improved resource allocation. The approach developed through this study provide a novel way to quantify the relative influence of multiple interacting factors in shaping poaching risk, and hold promises for replication across a broad range of marine or terrestrial settings.

Identifying indicators of aesthetics in the Great Barrier Reef for the purposes of management.

The aesthetic appreciation of natural places is one of the most fundamental ways in which people relate to their environment. It provides wellbeing, an opportunity for recreation and reflection, a sense of place, and cultural enrichment. It also motivates people to take care of natural places and to conserve them for current and future appreciation. Aesthetically valuable places also support significant economic activity. However, there is little guidance available to assist environmental managers and policy-makers to consider and integrate aesthetic values into decision-making processes. In this study, we present an approach for developing robust and practical indicators of aesthetic value to enable environmental managers to consider, assess and report on aesthetic condition and trend. We demonstrate its utility using the case of the Great Barrier Reef, a region currently undergoing significant social, economic and environmental change and an area formally protected, in part, for its aesthetic values. A qualitative scoping study with 30 key informants identified over 180 potential qualities contributing to reef aesthetics. We tested five for their utility in capturing key aspects of the coral reef aesthetic: (i) coral cover, (ii) coral pattern, (iii) coral topography, (iv) fish abundance, and (v) visibility. We asked 1,417 online Australians to aesthetically rate 50 out of 181 underwater coral reef images that varied in relation to these five attributes. Coral topography, fish abundance, and visibility were significantly correlated with aesthetic ratings, whilst coral cover and coral pattern were not. We also tested for demographic patterns in aesthetic ratings. Our pilot study has demonstrated that readily measurable characteristics of coral reefs can provide useful indicators of aesthetic quality, opening up opportunities for coral reef managers and policymakers to assess and track changes in aesthetics in ways that are relevant to the public. There is considerable scope to further advance capacity for monitoring and managing aesthetic values of coral reefs through additional research that resolves nuances in the meanings associated with aesthetics in coral reef settings.

Motivational drivers of action in response to an environmental biosecurity incursion.

BACKGROUND: Environmental changes caused by plant pathogen incursions can have significant economic and social impacts on agricultural communities. Proactive and vigilant biosecurity actions on-ground are essential in preventing outbreaks from occurring and/or spreading. However, little is known about psychological drivers for action. EXPERIMENTAL: This study examined social and psychological drivers for proactive biosecurity action amongst banana farm owners (N = 57) in a region of northern Australia. This region was experiencing a biosecurity emergency after the incursion of a non-eradicable plant disease, Panama Tropical Race 4 (TR4). A telephone survey measured the influence of threat perceptions, response costs, biosecurity knowledge, self-efficacy, intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, and income dependency from bananas, as potential drivers for increased biosecurity activity on-farm. RESULTS: A regression model accounted for 47% of variance in proactive biosecurity action, with income dependency as the strongest individual predictor of action. Self-efficacy, intrinsic reward, and extrinsic reward were also significant individual predictors of motivation to act. Interestingly, perceived threat of TR4 and response costs were not predictors of biosecurity action. IMPLICATIONS: These results suggest that perceptions of threat and personal costs of action are less important in motivating proactive engagement and adoption of biosecurity behaviours in the early stages of a biosecurity incursion. These first few months are, instead, characterised by values placed on social approval and peer comparisons as motivating factors for farmers to engage in on-farm biosecurity. An understanding of drivers for proactive action during an incursion has global implications for tailoring communications and on-ground support delivery during a disaster event. This information is also useful for government and industries seeking to improve biosecurity engagement, environmental management and policy delivery.