Tourism and Sustainable Growth in Small (Island) Economies

This chapter provides a critique of the contribution of tourism to the sustainable growth and prosperity of small economies in the context of the challenges posed by climate change. These economies generally face unique challenges because of their small size and exposure to global shocks and extreme climatic conditions. As major source of income and employment, tourism is a key element in the growth strategies of small economies. The principal determinants of growth in of small economies are reviewed and the impacts of the tourism sector are analysed in terms of employment, multiplier effects and local linkages as well as its social and environmental impacts. The critical dependence of tourism upon long-haul air travel and large cruise ships represents a major, and possibly insuperable, challenge to the future viability of the sector in many small island economies

Reduced investment in immune function in invasion-front populations of the cane toad (Rhinella marina) in Australia

In an invasive species, selection for increased rates of dispersal at the expanding range front may favor the evolution of reduced investment into any trait that does not contribute to more rapid dispersal. Thus, populations at the invasion front may exhibit reduced investment into the immune system. To test this prediction, cane toads (Rhinella marina) from parents collected from populations across the toads' invasion history in tropical Australia were raised in a standard environment. When their immune systems were challenged by injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide, the toads' metabolic rates rose by up to 40%. The magnitude of elevation in metabolic rate was lower in toads derived from the invasion front than in those from long-established populations. Our results support the hypothesis that an animal's investment in immune defenses can be modified by selective forces that arise in the course of a biological invasion