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Abstract
Understanding different user-group values, preferences, and perceptions can lead to more efficient and effective management decisions, reducing conflict and helping to balance eco-societal goals. User perceptions of reef condition, ecological health, and impacts to reefs can provide valuable information to managers on motivations, values, willingness to comply with regulations, satisfaction of experience, and potential sources of conflict. Perceptions and values within user groups are heterogeneous in terms of motivations, satisfactions, and characteristics. Specialized divers tend to have more specifi c resource requirements. This study uses specialization theory to subdivide divers in the Florida Keys into meaningful specialization categories to achieve a more sophisticated understanding of diver perceptions of reef condition. The responses to six structured questions were analyzed to assess perceptions of ecological health and impacts to reefs. Overall, the survey results were varied, with only highly specialized divers showing significantly different responses to hypothetical variations in reef condition.
Parent Publication
Citation
Young, Sarah; Loomis, David. 2010. Diver perceptions of Florida Keys Reef conditions by specialization level. In: Watts, Clifton E., Jr.; Fisher, Cherie LeBlanc, eds. Proceedings of the 2009 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-66. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 24-29.
