Red tides and participation in marine-based activities: Estimating the response of Southwest Florida residents

• Published in: Harmful algae Vol. 9; no. 3; pp. 333 - 341
• Main Authors: Morgan, Kimberly L., Larkin, Sherry L., Adams, Charles M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier B.V 01.03.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Algae; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Autoecology; Behavior; Biological and medical sciences; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; HABs; Harmful algal blooms; Karenia brevis; Multinomial logit; Plant cytology, morphology, systematics, chorology and evolution; Plants and fungi; Probit; Red tides; Thallophyta; Florida; United States; North America; America; ASW, USA, Florida; Multinomial logit; Harmful algal blooms; Behavior; HABs; Probit; Red tides; Participation; Algae; Marine environment; Aquatic environment; Red tide; Bloom; Sedentary; Harmful alga
• ISSN: 1568-9883; 1878-1470
• DOI: 10.1016/j.hal.2009.12.004

Blooms of Karenia brevis (red tide) can kill marine life and irritate human respiratory systems. Knowing how and why participation in marine-based activities (beach-going, fishing, and coastal restaurant patronage) is affected during a red tide is fundamental to estimating the changes in use that occur. Using a sample of residents in Southwest Florida, participant choice models for each activity were estimated to determine the likelihood of alternate behavioral decisions during a red tide event. We find that factors influenced by extension activities have a larger impact than socioeconomic factors commonly hypothesized to affect individual response behavior.