Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Exploring the efficacy of an aquatic invasive species prevention campaign among water recreationists

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biological Invasions Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Water recreationists regularly engage in behavior that can contribute to the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS), which can result in costly consequences for managers. As AIS prevention is more cost-effective than response, educational campaigns are implemented as a preventative management strategy. However, little is known about the efficacy of education campaigns in promoting recreationists’ knowledge, personal responsibility, and engagement in behaviors that can prevent AIS spread. This study explored the Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!™ (SAH!) campaign by conducting survey and focus group research with water recreationists’ in Illinois and Indiana. Results from the survey research indicate moderate campaign success (55 % were aware of the SAH! campaign), and that awareness is significantly related to increases in knowledge, personal responsibility, and engagement in four of the six recommended control behaviors. Additionally, findings demonstrate that boater-anglers were most aware of the campaign (69 %), most knowledgeable of AIS species, and felt the most personal responsibility for AIS control. However, focus group results demonstrate the need for campaign enhancement, including streamlining campaign messaging and increasing campaign exposure. Policy informed by our recommendations may improve the efficacy of educational campaigns to manage recreation behavior and corresponding environmental impacts among multiple water recreationist groups.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Disposing of unused bait was not included in the comparative analysis, as the behavior does not apply boaters that are not anglers. High pressure and hot water rinsing, as well as drying equipment for 5 days, were included as these behaviors are not just recommended for boaters and boater-anglers but also recommended for shore anglers.

  2. It is important to note that focus group discussions did not include any blaming of specific type of water recreationist for AIS spread.

References

  • Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force [ANS] (2014) Protect Your Waters and Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers! US Fish & Wildlife Service, US Coast Guard. http://protectyourwaters.net/. Accessed 3 Sept 2014

  • Barbour R (2008) Doing focus groups. Sage, Thousand Oaks

    Google Scholar 

  • Cacioppo JT, Petty RE (1979) Effects of message repetition and position on cognitive response, recall, and persuasion. Pers Soc Psychol 37(1):97–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke Murray C, Pakhomov EA, Therriault TW (2011) Recreational boating: a large unregulated vector transporting marine invasive species. Divers Distrib 17(6):1161–1172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cottrell SP (2003) Influence of sociodemographics and environmental attitudes on genera responsible environmental behavior among recreational boaters. Environ Behav 35:347–375

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuddington K, Currie WJS, Koops MA (2014) Could an Asian carp population establish in the Great Lakes from a small introduction? Biol Invasions 16(4):903–917

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darbyson EA, Hanson JM, Locke A, Willison JM (2009) Settlement and potential for transport of clubbed tunicate (Styela clava) on boat hulls. Aquat Invasions 4(1):95–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eiswerth ME, Yen ST, van Kooten GC (2011) Factors determining awareness and knowledge of aquatic invasive species. Ecol Econ 70:1672–1679

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gates KK, Guy CS, Zale AV, Horton TB (2009) Angler awareness of aquatic nuisance species and potential transport mechanisms. Fish Manag Ecol 16(6):448–456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guagnano GA, Stern PC, Dietz T (1995) Influences on attitude-behavior relationships: a natural experiment with curbside recycling. Environ Behav 27(5):699–718

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halpenny EA (2010) Pro-environmental behaviours and park visitors: the effect of place attachment. J Environ Psychol 30(4):409–421

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ham SH (2013) Interpretation: making a difference on purpose. Fulcrum publishing, Golden

    Google Scholar 

  • Haska CL, Yarish C, Kraemer G, Blaschik N, Whitlatch R, Zhang H, Lin S (2012) Bait worm packaging as a potential vector of invasive species. Biol Invasions 14(2):481–493

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins SN, Zanden MV (2010) What a difference a species makes: a meta-analysis of dreissenid mussel impacts on freshwater ecosystems. Ecol Monogr 80(2):179–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinterthuer A (2012) The explosive spread of Asian Carp. Bioscience 62(3):220–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jerde CL, Chadderton WL, Mahon AR, Renshaw MA, Corush J, Budny ML, Mysorekar S, Lodge DM (2013) Detection of Asian carp DNA as part of a Great Lakes basin-wide surveillance program. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 70(4):522–526

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson LE, Ricciardi A, Carlton JT (2001) Overland dispersal of aquatic invasive species: a risk assessment of transient recreational boating. Ecol Appl 11:1789–1799

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karatayev AY, Burlakova LE, Padilla DK (2015) Zebra versus quagga mussels: a review of their spread, population dynamics, and ecosystem impacts. Hydrobiologia 746(1):97–112

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly NE, Wantola K, Weisz E, Yan ND (2013) Recreational boats as a vector of secondary spread for aquatic invasive species and native crustacean zooplankton. Biol Invasions 15(3):509–519

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kilian JV, Klauda RJ, Widman S, Kashiwagi M, Bourquin R, Weglein S, Schuster J (2012) An assessment of a bait industry and angler behavior as a vector of invasive species. Biol Invasions 14(7):1469–1481

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirschner P (2002) Cognitive load theory: implications of cognitive load theory on the design of learning. Learn Instr 12:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krueger RA, Casey MA (2009) Focus groups: a practical guide for applied research. Sage, Thousand Oaks

    Google Scholar 

  • Larson DL, Phillips-Mao L, Quiram G, Sharpe L, Stark R, Sugita S, Weiler A (2011) A framework for sustainable invasive species management: environmental, social, and economic objectives. J Environ Manag 92(1):14–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindgren CJ (2006) Angler awareness of aquatic invasive species in Manitoba. J Aquat Plant Manag 44:103–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Litvak MK, Mandrak NE (1993) Ecology of freshwater bait fish use in Canada and the United States. Fisheries 18(12):6–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovell SJ, Stone SF, Fernandez L (2006) The economic impacts of aquatic invasive species: a review of the literature. J Agric Resour Econ 35(1):195–208

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahon AR, Nathan LR, Jerde CL (2014) Meta-genomic surveillance of invasive species in the bait trade. Conserv Genet Res 6(3):563–567

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marion JL, Reid SE (2007) Minimising visitor impacts to protected areas: the efficacy of low impact education programmes. J Sustain Tour 15(1):5–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marzano M, Dandy N, Bayliss HR, Porth E, Potter C (2015) Part of the solution? Stakeholder awareness, information and engagement in tree health issues. Biol Invasions 17(7):1961–1977

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer J, Seekamp E, Casper J, Blank G (2015) An examination of behavior change theories to predict behavioral intentions of organism-in-trade hobbyists using seemingly unrelated regression technique. Hum Ecol Rev 21(2):65–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Mercier H, Sperber D (2011) Why do humans reason? Arguments for an argumentative theory. Behav Brain Sci 34(02):57–74

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moon K, Blackman DA, Brewer TD (2015) Understanding and integrating knowledge to improve invasive species management. Biol Invasions 17(9):2675–2689

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oele DL, Wagner KI, Mikulyuk A, Seeley-Schreck C, Hauxwell JA (2014) Effecting compliance with invasive species regulations through outreach and education of live plant retailers. Biol Invasions 17(9):2707–2716

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker-Stetter SL, Witzel LD, Rudstam LG, Einhouse DW, Mills EL (2005) Energetic consequences of diet shifts in lake Erie rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax). Can J Fish Aquat Sci 62:145–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raymond CM, Brown G, Robinson GM (2011) The influence of place attachment, and moral and normative concerns on the conservation of native vegetation: a test of two behavioural models. J Environ Psychol 31(4):323–335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosaen AL, Grover EA, Spencer CW (2012) The costs of aquatic invasive species to great lakes states. Anderson Economical Group, East Lansing

    Google Scholar 

  • Rothlisberger JD, Chadderton WL, McNulty J, Lodge DM (2010) Aquatic invasive species transport via trailered boats: what is being moved, who is moving it, and what can be done. Fisheries 35(3):121–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sahin E (2013) Predictors of Turkish elementary teacher candidates’ energy conservation behaviors: an approach on value-belief-norm theory. Int J Environ Sci Educ 8(2):269–283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw BR, Howell A, Genskow K (2014) Evaluation of a movie theater advertisement campaign to promote behaviors that prevent spread of aquatic invasive species. Soc Nat Resour 27(7):768–776

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shu SB, Carlson KA (2014) When three charms but four alarms: identifying the optimal number of claims in persuasion settings. J Mark 78(1):127–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stern PC, Dietz T, Abel TD, Guagnano GA, Kalof L (1999) A value-belief-norm theory of support for social movements: the case of environmentalism. Hum Ecol Rev 6(2):81–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiers I, Crohain N, Josens G, Triest L (2011) Impact of three aquatic invasive species on native plants and macroinvertebrates in temperate ponds. Biol Invasions 13:2715–2726

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strecker AL, Arnott SE, Yan ND, Girard R (2006) Variation in the response of crustacean zooplankton species richness and composition to the invasive predator Bythotrephes. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 63:2126–2136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winter P, Cialdini R, Bator RJ, Rhoads K, Sagarin BJ (1998) An analysis of normative messages in signs at recreation settings. J Interpret Res 3(1):39–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Yan ND, Girard R, Boudreau S (2002) An introduced predator (Bythotrephes) reduces zooplankton species richness. Ecol Lett 5:481–485

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yan ND, Leung B, Lewis MA, Peacor SD (2011) The spread, establishment and impacts of the spiny water flea, Bythotrephes longimanus, in temperate North America: a synopsis of the special issue. Biol Invasions 13(11):2423–2432

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu B, Georgian SE (2014) Interactions between invasive Eurasian watermilfoil and native water stargrass in Cayuga Lake, NY, USA. J Plant Ecol 7(6):499–508

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Funding for this work was provided by the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Summer Student Internship Program, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. We would like to thank Natalie Mountjoy, Ph.D. for her assistance with the focus group research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 8004, Raleigh, NC, 27695-8004, USA

    Erin Seekamp, Allie McCreary & Jessica Mayer

  2. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, 1816 South Oak Street, MC 652, Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

    Sarah Zack, Patrice Charlebois & Lainey Pasternak

Authors
  1. Erin Seekamp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Allie McCreary
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jessica Mayer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sarah Zack
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Patrice Charlebois
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Lainey Pasternak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Erin Seekamp.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Seekamp, E., McCreary, A., Mayer, J. et al. Exploring the efficacy of an aquatic invasive species prevention campaign among water recreationists. Biol Invasions 18, 1745–1758 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-016-1117-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-016-1117-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation