Bridging ethology and ecotourism: A case study of Shrimp Watching tourism in Thailand

Ethological studies not only provide insights on how and why animals perform extraordinary behaviors, but they also provide an opportunity to understand how animals are disturbed by human activities in the Anthropocene. Ecotourism, a popular recreational activity, is a worldwide growing business that can be used as a tool for biodiversity conservation. However, a lack of fundamental knowledge and effective management plans for an ecotourism site may lead to an increase in anthropogenic disturbances and ultimately degrade a site’s biodiversity. In Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand, locals discovered a unique migration of freshwater shrimp known as “Parading Behavior”, an unusual type of upstream migration in which hundreds of thousands of shrimp climb out of water and walk on land to the headwater. This behavior has captured public attention and Shrimp Watching tourism has been promoted as a must-see event at Ubon Ratchathani. While striking, this behavior is poorly understood. Preliminary evidence suggests that tourists might disturb the shrimp population during migrating. Unfortunately, we know very little about the biology of, and anthropogenic threats to, the shrimp. Therefore, my dissertation aims to: (1) understand proximate and ultimate causes of the parading behavior, (2) investigate the effect of light from tourists on parading shrimp, and (3) evaluate perceptions toward the parading shrimp from locals, stakeholders, and tourists. I use the results from these behavioral studies together with an understanding of tourists, locals, and stakeholders' attitudes toward the parading shrimp to mitigate the anthropogenic disturbances and design an effective sustainable ecotourism management plan