Over the past two decades, developing countries have recognized the economic value of attractive marine resources and the need to actively protect these resources. Many of these conservation projects rely on limiting extractive activities to protect habitats, which restricts local livelihoods, and promoting marine resource-based tourism to provide financing for conservation. Using a political ecology framework, this dissertation investigates two connected aspects of tourism and conservation: tourists' seafood consumption and the Go Blue Central America, a geotourism project initiated by National Geographic. It also explains the value of considering the local environmental knowledge of a diverse group of resource users, with a specific focus on professional scuba divers. Given the importance of scuba diving as an activity and tourism attractor on Utila, professional scuba divers on the island are well-positioned to serve as a source of environmental knowledge data on Utila's dive sites, including on their condition, species sightings, and changes over time. This knowledge is not without its problems as it may lead to conceptions of local participation that fail to include those actually from the community of concern. Thus, this dissertation calls attention to the possibilities of using divers' environmental knowledge in conservation and environmental management while also remaining attuned to the potential complications that may arise from doing so. Ultimately, this dissertation calls for the development of additional tourism alternatives and more comprehensive tourism planning and management which includes the potential for damage done by nonextractive resource users. For Utila, this will entail altering existing business practices to increase local ownership, shifting away from backpacker and budget oriented tourism toward a more expensive product, and involving more of the local community in the decision-making processes which affect tourism and the environment.

Artificial reefs are being built in most parts of the world for a wide variety of purposes. Divingtourism is a common motivator for the construction of many reefs, particularly in the tropics,although the most widely used purpose is to improve or reconstruct hard bottom habitats andincrease the yield from fisheries. There are two main reasons for why aquatic life is attracted toartificial reefs. They provide excellent protection by often being hollow or filled with crevicesand cavities and increasing opportunities for improved foraging through accumulating biomassand extending the foraging range of an organism by acting like stepping stones. Sweden is acoastal country with few artificial reefs. In this study, two reefs were constructed in the sea offthe coast of Halmstad, Sweden to test small scale artificial reef production, marine organismcolonisation of the reefs during the first year, and to increase the local marine life diversity.Many marine organisms that would not normally occur in the sites where the reefs wereconstructed were observed, such as Symphodus melops and Anguilla anguilla. The reefs alsoprovided a new “clean slate” substrate for the settling of sessile organisms such as Urticina felinaor partially sessile organisms (i.e. during a certain stage of their life-cycle) such as some speciesof Cnidaria polyps. The tested method to construct these reefs was relatively cost effective for itspurpose. However a few minor but vital improvements, such as better binding materials, areneeded. Local marine life in the area has become more diverse during the experiment and thatalone is enough reason to motivate construction of similar reefs along the Swedish coast. / Artificiella rev anläggs runt om i världen med en mängd olika syften. Det är vanligt att dykturism används som anledning för att bygga artificiella rev, speciellt i tropikerna. Restaurering av hårdbottenrev och mål att öka kommersiella fiskebestånd är dock de största motiveringarna. Det finns två huvudsakliga orsaker till varför akvatiskt liv attraheras av konstgjorda rev. De erbjuder utmärkt skydd i form av håligheter och sprickor, samt att de ökar möjligheterna för födosök genom att ackumulera biomassa och fungera som ”stepping stones”, det vill säga utöka födosökningsområdet. Sverige är ett kustland med få artificiella rev. Två rev anlades i Laholmsbukten, Kattegatt, just utanför Tjuvahålan i Halmstad med syftet att undersöka effektiviteten och nyttan av småskaliga rev, att studera marina organismers kolonisering av reven och att öka den lokala biodiversiteten. Många marina organismer som inte borde förkommit i området där reven anlagts tidigare observerades. Ett par exempel är Symphodus melops) och (Anguilla anguilla). Reven fungerade även som rena underlag för sessila organismer att fästa på. Djur som till exempel havsros (Urticina felina) och Cnidariapolyper noterades. Metoden för att konstruera reven visade sig vara kostnadseffektiv i förhållande till syftet, men några viktiga steg, bland annat fästmaterialet, behöver förbättras. Den lokala artmångfalden ökade efter anläggningen av reven och borde vara nog motivering för att fortsätta bygga liknande rev längs den svenska kusten.

Koh Chang Marine National Park is a popular tourist destination located off the east coast of Thailand. Coral reefs are one of the park's main attractions, and thousands of visitors from around the globe enjoy the opportunity to snorkel or dive in the park's clear, warm waters. Rapid growth in Koh Chang's marine tourism industry over the last decade raises concerns about the ability of some reefs to sustain a healthy and attractive environment. Ecological and social impacts associated with increased levels of marine recreation can transform and even permanently destroy both the character of coral reef ecosystems and the quality of the recreation experience, ultimately resulting in declines in tourism demand. The broad objective of this study was to establish a baseline understanding of the social dimensions of the snorkeling industry in Koh Chang, Thailand, and to recommend a suite of management actions that will sustain economic benefits while still yielding the benefits of protecting aesthetic and biological values. The recreation carrying capacity, Recreation Opportunity Spectrum, and Limits of Acceptable Change concepts were used to guide and inform the research. Data were collected using three primary methods: participant observation, unstructured interviews, and structured questionnaires. Personal observations and unstructured interviews allowed for an assessment of the park's environmental, social, and managerial settings. The tour operator questionnaire was designed to measure the size and characteristics of the snorkeling industry, awareness of environmental impacts, and support for visitor management strategies. The questionnaire was completed by eight tour operators. The visitor survey was designed to gain an understanding of the demographics of snorkelers, satisfactions, knowledge and awareness, and crowding. The survey was completed by 716 snorkelers. Results of the visitor survey suggest that snorkelers have a similar demographic profile compared with reef visitors in other parts of the world. Features of the snorkeling trip that had the greatest potential to add to, or detract from visitor experiences were related to the quality of the natural environment, a finding that is consistent with other studies of snorkelers and divers in coral reef settings. The social conditions were rated among the least important influences on visitors' experiences, a somewhat surprising finding as the number of other people is an important indicator of quality of the visitor experience in terrestrial environments. Overall, visitors were generally satisfied with the physical, natural, and social conditions, but the degree of satisfaction varied among individual snorkeling trip features. The lowest levels of satisfaction were expressed for the social conditions and several features related to the quality and condition of the natural environment. Low levels of satisfaction were also expressed for a number of service features. Results from personal observations, unstructured interviews, and questionnaires suggest that the environmental impacts of use may be significant. On a daily basis, reefs were touched, abraded, kicked, and stepped on by snorkelers, and these inappropriate behaviours can cause considerable damage to benthic organisms and the aesthetic appeal of the reefs. Tour operators' perceptions of impact were close to those defined in the recreation ecology literature, but operators may not be aware of the impact of their own behaviour on the marine environment. Over half of visitors perceived the impact of snorkeling on the reef to be "large/very large", suggesting that visitors have some awareness of the environmental impacts of use. The social impacts of use were also significant, as over 90% of visitors reported feeling at least slightly crowded, and 20% felt extremely crowded. Study results also showed that snorkelers are not a homogenous group. Variability in visitor response was explained in part by the recreation specialization framework, and country of origin. Differences between visitors' level of commitment to snorkeling and the underwater world were apparent between specialists and generalists, and specialization helped explain variability in environmental preferences, sensitivity to environmental impact, knowledge and awareness, and sensitivity to crowding. Visitors with different cultural backgrounds also had significantly different participation characteristics, satisfaction levels, knowledge and awareness, and crowding perceptions. Snorkelers are not homogenous, but unfortunately, the recreation settings provided are. Results from personal observations and interviews suggest that tour operators provide a single, uniform type of snorkeling experience that can be characterized as undeveloped with low levels of regimentation and moderate to high levels of use. Given the variability in the visitor population, provision of a single recreation opportunity may leave many snorkelers less than fully satisfied. This study identified several imminent threats to the quality of the visitor experience, reef conservation, and the sustainable' of the snorkeling industry. Active visitor management planning and resource protection programmes are urgently needed to balance park uses with the capability of the reefs to sustain such use indefinitely. Recommendations that contribute to improved visitor management and reef conservation are provided.

The purpose of this research project was to develop and validate a physical fitness test battery and maintenance standards for Canadian Forces diving personnel. Four dive groups were studied including: Clearance; Ship's Team; Port Inspection; and Cbt divers. Seven sub-studies were conducted during the development and validation of the Canadian Forces Diver Physical Fitness Test (CF DPFT) and standards: 1) development of a preliminary test battery; 2) validation of the finalized test battery; 3) physiological demands comparison between field tasks and a simulated circuit; 4) development of the minimal standards for land-based activities; 5) development of the minimal standards for water-based activities; 6) determination of test-retest reliability; and 7) an assessment of adverse impact. The CF DPFT was developed and validated through various sources of information, including: feedback from subject matter experts; literature reviews; physiological measurements; interviews; focus groups; observations; and video analyses. The proposed CF DPFT provides a valid assessment of the minimum level of fitness CF diving personnel require in order to complete all CF-related diving duties safely and efficiently.

ABSTRACT EFFECTS OF SCUBA DIVING ON MIDDLE EAR PRESSURE &Ouml / zyurt, Deniz MS. Department of Physical Education and Sports Supervisor : Prof. Dr. Feza Korkusuz Co-Supervisor: Dr. Mehmet &Ouml / zekmek&ccedil / i April 2006, 42 pages Since / the self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (scuba) was developed / the growth in the recreational diving population leaded an increase in diving-related injuries, mostly about the ear barotraumas. Previous findings show that inexperienced divers are more predisposed to ear barotraumas. This study was performed to see the dive related alterations of the middle ear pressure and the compliance of the tympanic membrane due to experience (experienced - skin divers and/or underwater rugby players and inexperienced -not use to skin diving or such water sports) and depth (3m and 12m) in 22 novice divers with normal pre-dive audiometry, tympanometry, and otorhinolaryngologic examination. Pre dive otologic inspections were taken and pre dive / post dive tympanograms were measured for each depth. In 8 ears of the 5 inexperienced divers either hyperemia or hemotympany were observed in the second day&amp / #8217 / s (12m) otoscopic inspections. In the first post dive tympanometric measurements / middle ear pressure changes were observed in 19 ears of 14 divers. The compliance was not changed in 5 ears of 3 divers and increased in the reminder. In the second tympanometric measurements, 12 ears of the 8 divers showed negative middle ear pressure and compliance was not changed in 10 ears of 5 divers and increased in the reminder. Due to experience and middle ear pressure changes of each day / no meaningful, statistically significant correlation was found. Also no meaningful correlations were found neither for experience and compliance. A correlation of .542 between experience status and otologic inspection prior to 12m depth dives was a contradiction to the hypothesis there would not be any significant difference between experienced and well trained inexperienced groups as the otologic variations such as hyperemia or hemotympany were only seen in inexperienced novices. Again / the correlation of .571 showed that 3m depth dives had grater frequency of middle ear pressure changes than 12m depth dives. Similarly / due to the compliance correlation of .516, 3m depth dives had a grater frequency of compliance increases than 12m depth dives. These results however should be reconsidered as the 3m depth was the first open water dive day and 12m depth was the next day which the novices could use to the open water conditions.

This thesis explores the role of comfort in adventure leisure and in recreational SCUBA diving in particular. In this chapter the study’s central elements of comfort, constraints and negotiation will be introduced. Human engagement with marine locations provides background to the evolution of SCUBA diving as a leisure activity. The concept of comfort is then introduced, with attention given to what comfort means from a range of disciplines. Following this, the use of the term comfort in adventure, leisure and tourism research is reviewed. Divers’ constraints to comfort are also briefly examined here in this introduction, to build understanding of how comfort can be experienced during adventure, and SCUBA diving. Leisure constraints-negotiation research is discussed briefly and linked to SCUBA diving experiences. The objectives of this study are then presented prior to introducing the qualitative research paradigm that guides the research, and the thesis outline.

This thesis explores the role of comfort in adventure leisure and in recreational SCUBA diving in particular. In this chapter the study’s central elements of comfort, constraints and negotiation will be introduced. Human engagement with marine locations provides background to the evolution of SCUBA diving as a leisure activity. The concept of comfort is then introduced, with attention given to what comfort means from a range of disciplines. Following this, the use of the term comfort in adventure, leisure and tourism research is reviewed. Divers’ constraints to comfort are also briefly examined here in this introduction, to build understanding of how comfort can be experienced during adventure, and SCUBA diving. Leisure constraints-negotiation research is discussed briefly and linked to SCUBA diving experiences. The objectives of this study are then presented prior to introducing the qualitative research paradigm that guides the research, and the thesis outline.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2005. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2011. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-95). Also available on the World Wide Web.

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