@article {407,
	title = {Recreational fish feeding affects coastal fish behavior and increases frequency of predation on damselfish Chromis chromis nests},
	journal = {Marine Ecology Progress Series},
	year = {2006},
	abstract = {<p>Wildlife feeding has become an integral part of the range of activities  offered to protected area visitors. In marine protected areas (MPAs),  fish feeding may cause changes in the behavior, and thus the density and  distribution, of coastal fish species. We evaluated spatial variability  in human-positive fish behavior around the Ustica Island MPA (Italy)  and the potential indirect effects of behavioral change on other  species. Two mensurative experiments demonstrated that ca. 1/3 of the  species present in fish-feeding areas exhibited human-positive behavior,  losing instinctive fear in the presence of humans and encircling people  in the water even when food was not provided. A manipulative experiment  demonstrated that this behavioral response was learned rapidly.  Damselfishes were negatively affected by the unnatural aggregation of a  labrid species, as these aggregations frequently attacked and destroyed  the benthic nests of the damselfish. Thus, fish feeding can have both  direct and indirect effects. Therefore the MPA management goals need to  be explicitly stated on a case-by-case basis. If the aim of a reserve is  only to promote awareness of marine life and the benefits of  conservation to the public, activities such as fish feeding may be  regarded as desirable, since the human-positive behavior brought about  by this activity guarantees a visual spectacle for visitors.  Fish-feeding locations, however, cannot be regarded as natural and may  reduce the effectiveness of a reserve for scientific research.</p>},
	keywords = {assemblage, awareness, benefit, Chromis chromis, communication, conservation, Damselfishes, density, distribution, education, effectiveness, fish, fish-feeding, impact, island, Italy, management, marine protected area, Mediterranean sea, predation, protected area, protection, research, Ustica, western Mediterranean},
	author = {M. Milazzo and T-J. Willis and I. Anastasi}
}
