Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2025, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (4): 77-94.doi: 10.11978/2024224

• Marine Ecology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of tourism disturbance on macrobenthic communities in intertidal zones of Quanfu Island and Yinyu Island, Xisha

WANG Yanyan1(), SONG Danying1(), CHEN Zhi2   

  1. 1. MTA Education Center, Tourism College, Hainan Tropical Ocean University, Sanya 572022, China
    2. Key Laboratory of Utilization and Conservation for Tropical Marine Bioresources, Ministry of Education, Hainan Tropical Ocean University, Sanya 572022, China
  • Received:2024-11-28 Revised:2024-12-10 Online:2025-07-10 Published:2025-07-31
  • Contact: SONG Danying
  • Supported by:
    Hainan Provincial Philosophy and Social Sciences Planning Project Fund(HNSK(ZC)21-106); Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(721RC596); National Natural Science Foundation of China(32002389)

Abstract:

To examine the effects of tourism disturbance on macrobenthic communities in the intertidal zones of Xisha Islands, this study compared the species number, species similarity index, abundance, biomass, index of relative importance, W-statistic index, and biodiversity indices between Quanfu Island, Yinyu Island, and adjacent non-tourist areas. The results revealed that: (1) natural fluctuations in macrobenthic communities were evident in Xisha’s intertidal zones, as demonstrated by background data from both tourist and non-tourist areas; (2) comprehensive difference analysis using standard values indicated that tourism disturbance imposed additional negative effects, with particularly significant effects on species number and Shannon-Wiener diversity index; (3) comparison of P-values across all tested indices confirmed a declining trend in species diversity due to tourism disturbance, suggesting that continued accumulation of such effects may lead to more severe damage to macrobenthic community in Quanfu and Yinyu Islands; and (4) proper tourism management measures showed potential protective benefits for endangered species. This study provides valuable insights for balancing tourism development and biodiversity conservation in Xisha Islands.

Key words: tourism disturbance, Xisha Islands, intertidal zones, macrobenthic community, tourism management

CLC Number: 

  • P735