Coastal tourism is expanding worldwide, mostly owing to the attraction to relevant ecosystem services such as the scenic beauty and recreational activities. The aim of this study was to analyze the value of these, using hedonic analysis by assessing how prices of hotel rooms are related to the scenic view, location, non-ecosystem amenities, and size of the hotels in three touristic areas of Veracruz, México. We found that, besides the size of the hotel and the number of non-ecosystem amenities, room prices increased by 8% and 57%, depending on the ocean view and accessibility to the beach, respectively. These results help to understand why hotels are built very close to the coastline, despite the high risk of extreme and frequent meteorological events. The unorganized and intense development of the tourist industry may act in contrast to the necessity for conservation of the natural ecosystems, rendering this activity highly unsustainable. The question is how to deal with the dilemma of tourism growth and conservation. We suggest some alternatives that might help with the conservation of natural ecosystems, while maintaining the combined provision of simultaneous coastal ecosystem services such as an aesthetically pleasing view and recreation, as well as additional services such as storm protection.

Climate change is currently considered one of the main phenomena affecting marine species through expansion or contraction of their distribution. Being ectothermic organisms, sharks of the family Carcharhinidae could be highly susceptible to the effects of climate change. These sharks are of great ecological importance, which is reflected in their role in the integrity of coastal and oceanic ecosystems as top predators that act to maintain the stability of the food chain, as well as providing economic value through fishing, consumption, and ecotourism. Currently, their populations are threatened by fishing pressure and anthropogenic activities, including meeting the demand for shark fins. Despite the ecological and economical importance of carcharhinid sharks, knowledge regarding how they are impacted by climate change remains scarce. Ecological niche modeling is a tool that allows analysis of future potential distributions under different climate change scenarios and could contribute to future planning activities and improved conservation outcomes for sharks. We generated models in Maxent in order to predict the potential geographic distribution of 25 carcharhinid sharks that inhabit Mexican waters, projecting this onto future climate change scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0, and RCP8.5) to calculate the potential losses and gains in their distribution areas by the year 2050. The greatest shifts in suitable areas were observed for the sharksTriaenodon obesus(gained area) andCarcharhinus porosus(lost area). Overall, under all four RCP future scenarios, six species presented gains in suitable area and 19 species presented losses. The greatest loss of suitable area for carcharhinid sharks was found with RCP8.5; however, under this high-emissions global warming scenario, seven species actually showed an increase in distribution area. Our results therefore indicate that climate change could reduce suitable areas for most of the species by 2050. Assessment of the distribution of shark species under climate change is urgently required in order to prioritize conservation efforts toward the most vulnerable species and to ensure the natural function of marine ecosystems, thus maintaining the important ecosystem services they provide to human society.

The ecosystem services (ESs) approach has been used as a powerful tool for the analysis of socio-ecological systems to investigate the relationship between society and the environment. The aim of this article is to analyze the social perceptions of stakeholders, forms of use (sociocultural and economic), and the conservation of beaches and coastal dunes in Yucatán, Mexico. Interviews were held with focus groups to analyze the forms of use, social perceptions of stakeholders, and the conservation of beaches and coastal dunes in Yucatán, Mexico. The results indicate that these ecosystems are important to different types of activities related to regulating, provisioning, and cultural services. However, degradation is identified as a consequence of contamination and land-use change. The main identified threats are natural phenomena, followed by the presence of garbage, human presence in natural environments, infrastructure construction, and privatization of beaches. The opinions (e.g., conservation, ecosystem services provision, drivers of change), emotions (e.g., joy, fear, sadness), and knowledge of the local community and tourists with respect to these ecosystems were evidenced. In general, there is an absence of conservation and sustainable management projects. However, community perceptions provide an opportunity to outline public conservation strategies in which the community, as a component of these socio-ecosystems, can be fully involved in their implementation.

The promotion of tourism without planning or management can lead the degradation of ecosystems and conflictive social dynamics. This study was conducted in a coastal location where tourism has recently intensified and aimed to reconstruct the preliminary history of tourism and analyze which social groups were involved in tourism and conservation for conducting an ecotourism management. A qualitative content analysis was conducted based on the perceptions of developers, authorities, and tourists in the locality. The results identify social groups involved in the use of ecosystems within the context of local tourism, their interactions, interests, and actions. An analysis of actions contrary to the conservation of these ecosystems that cause land use conflicts and hinder the development of endogenous local tourism was conducted. Social movements and collective actions reveal common interests and values among the inhabitants of Sisal that reveal the potential for transformation into a sustainable tourism project for endogenous local development.

The invasion of natural communities by exotic plants, which may turn into invasive or potentially invasive, is one of the most severe known threats to biodiversity, and coastal dunes are among the most affected habitats. Mexico’s coastal dunes are abundant and contain high plant biodiversity but attempts to determine the occurrence and impact of exotic plants are absent. First, we explored the number of invasive plant species found on Mexican coastal dunes. Second, we analyzed if the coastal dune flora native from Mexico acts as a source of invasive species worldwide. We found the relevant spread of exotic plants towards and from Mexico, reaching high percentages: 5% of the coastal dune flora are considered exotic plants; this increases to 8.7% when only plants typical of the coastal dune environment are considered. The Mexican coastal dunes flora is also a relevant source of invasive plants affecting all continents. Furthermore, almost half of the 35 worst worldwide invasive plants (according to the Global Invasive Species Database GISD) grow on Mexican coastal dunes, most native to Mexico and invasive elsewhere. Indeed, the worldwide exchange of coastal dune flora between Mexico and the world seems massive, relevant and highlights the need for worldwide and countrywide management and control strategies.

Oenothera drummondii is a coastal dunes plant species from the North American continent that has affected the natural structure and dynamics of Spanish, Israeli, and Chinese shores as an invasive species. In South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and France, it is reported as a naturalized species. Ecological niche and species distribution modeling has been widely used as a tool to find potential global invasions and assess invasion effects. Herein, we modeled the ecological niche and the potential distribution of Oenothera drummondii, using the Köppen–Geiger climate classification, bioclimatic variables and occurrence records that have been validated in their native and non-native distribution. In the native area, the temperature and precipitation values are higher compared to non-native zones, where the low temperatures and the absence of humidity are the main climatic limitations for the species. In the environmental space, new distribution areas were identified and a partial overlap between the native and non-native niches detected. This suggests that climate matching is not occurring for the species, and that the potential invasion of coastal dune areas seems to be higher than previously observed. Therefore, new potential invasion areas, where the species is not yet distributed, were also identified. Our predictions could be used to establish ecosystem management measures to mitigate the invasion of Oenothera drummondii, helping to prevent possible negative impacts on fragile coastal ecosystems.