The Center for Biodiversity Outcomes is working with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute to assess the physiological impacts that whale watching may be having on humpback whales and the socio-economic impacts of the industry on the local community in Panama.

This work simultaneously pushes the frontiers of animal behavior, physiology and ecological-economics, integrating these fields to improve conservation decision-making and to develop models that balance trade-offs between behavior, physiological stress, anthropogenic impacts, benefits from ecosystem use, and costs of conservation strategies.

The team plans to collect data on whale behavior and physiology, and socio-economic data on tourism demand, costs associated with wildlife viewing opportunities and stakeholder perceptions of whale watching. This will be used to estimate a demand model for the whale watching industry and the local economic impact of this activity in the Las Perlas archipelago.

This model will strengthen the Conservation Management Plan that was developed by the authorities of Panama for the Las Perlas Archipelago to provide more effective protection measures there as well as in other nearby whale-watching destinations in neighboring regions.

This project advances previous collaborations between ASU and STRI in the region.

Partners

• Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
• Utah State University
• Universidad San Francisco de Quito