The main theoretical idea that underpins my research is that human use negatively impacts ecological communities. Further, conservation is necessary to protect ecologically important regions, especially if we want to continue to reap the benefits of such areas.
This is especially concerning in areas that are increasingly vulnerable due to low species diversity that are also highly regarded by humans for recreational use such as sandy beaches. People love to go to the beach with their families and it is a pastime that is appreciated globally. Due to the limited areas where beaches can be, further complicated by the limited number of sandy beaches, the very nature of their desirability means that more people flock to these rarer locations.
Sandy beaches have distinct ecological communities and processes that maintain them. Further, simply due to their locations being more exposed to environmental stressors (wind, salt, water, waves), the species that maintain these areas are already under intense pressure. When humans use these beach zones without consideration for these species and processes, the ecological community is disrupted and degrades over time. When species that stabilize the dune are disrupted, beach zones can undergo significant erosion that makes the area less desirable, usable, and potentially dangerous if erosion destabilizes other infrastructure built in the area.
Research such as what I am doing that focuses on negative anthropogenic ecological changes is important to understand the ways that humans change regions so that we can develop conservation strategies to protect against our negative impacts. Further it can help identify simple, easy to employ strategies that can be utilized while humans simultaneously still enjoy use of an area. For example, by building a walkway that prevents people from walking through the dune region or fencing off regions of the beach to protect against foot traffic and allows regeneration of species.
Keywords: Dune ecosystems, disturbance gradients, trampling, beach conservation, anthropogenic