Birth Countries of Bonaire's Legal Residents - The Bonaire Reporter

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Did You Know...
T hat stingrays feel
stress? The effects of ecotourism
on animal stress levels have been
well-studied for many marine animals,
including dolphins, turtles, and seabirds,
but researchers have only recently learned
that ecotourism can negatively affect the
health of stingrays. At stingray ecotourism
hotspots, boat charters and cruise ships
offer visitors the opportunity to observe
and stroke stingrays by enticing the animals
to within touching distance using
pieces of squid and fish.
To investigate what effect all of this
touching, feeding, and boating has on the
health of the stingrays, a team of researchers
compared blood samples collected from
southern stingrays (Dasyatis americana)
present at a popular stingray tourism site in
Grand Cayman to samples from rays not
exposed to tourism (Semenuik et al, 2009).
Blood tests revealed that stingrays exposed
to tourists had weaker immune systems
than rays that did not interact with tourists.
A compromised immune system might
make them more vulnerable to disease or
parasitic infections. Stingrays with injuries
caused by boats were also frequently seen
in this study. Although common sense
would suggest that stressed-out stingrays
would simply avoid areas with intense
tourist activity, the high availability of
food at these ecotourism sites likely motivates
some rays to use these areas in spite
of the added stress. Currently, there are no
regulations on the stingray ecotourism industry,
but new legislation was recently
introduced in the Cayman Islands to better
protect marine wildlife from stresses related
to ecotourism.
While not all interactions that marine
animals have with people are stressful, it is
important to remember that animals need
Bonaire Reporter- September 18,-October 2, 2009
their “personal space” and can become ill
if fed foods that are not a part of their natural
diet. Rays are not abundant in Bonaire
compared to other areas of the Caribbean,
but whenever you are fortunate enough to
see a spotted eagle ray gliding over a reef,
remember – shark and ray populations are
under tremendous pressure from overfishing,
habitat loss, and ecotourism – and
without effective conservation measures,
the opportunities we have to see these
graceful animals may become increasingly
rare. Kate Jirik
Author Kate Jirik (above) recently completed
her graduate studies on the habitat
use of stingrays and sea turtles in southern
California, U.S.A. She is currently teaching
and conducting research at CIEE Research
Station Bonaire
(www.cieebonaire.org).
References and further reading may be available for
this article. To view references and further reading
you must purchase this article from Science Direct.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?
_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V5X-4W4S374-
2&_user=10&_coverDate=08%2F31%
2F2009&_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_orig=search&_cdi=5
798&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=
1009861962&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050
221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5
=3459f15ffbecc41c75669fa5feb988b6
C.A.D. Semeniuk, S. Bourgeon, S. L. Smith and K.
D. Rothley. 2009. Hematological differences between
stingrays at tourist and non-visited sites suggest
physiological costs of wildlife tourism. Biol. Cons.
142(8):1818-1829.
Question (from page 7):
What is the name of the Bonaire keystone species?
Answer: The Bat
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