Extracted data from primary literature examining impacts of recreational activities on freshwater ecosystems

Aquatic ecosystems are attractive sites for recreation. However, human presence at or on aquatic ecosystems can have a range of ecological impacts, creating trade-offs between recreation as ecosystem service and biodiversity conservation. There is currently no synthesis of evidence regarding the ecological impacts associated with various forms of aquatic recreation, to compare the magnitude of effects between types of recreation. Therefore, conservation conflicts surrounding water-based recreation are difficult to manage. We conducted a global meta-analysis, differentiating various recreational impacts and the type of recreational uses in four categories: shore use, shoreline angling, swimming and boating; and studied ecological impacts directed at three levels of biological organization: individuals, populations, and communities. We screened over 13,000 articles and identified 94 suitable studies providing 701 effect sizes for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Aggregated across all anima...