Concepedia

Marine Biota and Psychological Well-Being

Deborah Cracknell, Mathew P. White, Sabine Pahl, Wallace J. Nichols, Michael H. Depledge

Environment and Behavior · 2015 · 99 citations · 48 references

Open access

TL;DR

Exposure to natural environments has calming, stress‑reducing effects that may be amplified by higher species richness. The study examined behavioral, physiological, and psychological responses to increasing marine biota levels in a large aquarium exhibit across three restocking stages. Using a natural experiment design, the researchers compared responses across unstocked, partially stocked, and fully stocked stages of the exhibit. Higher biota levels were linked to longer exhibit viewing, lower heart rate, improved mood, and greater interest, suggesting that even managed environments can confer well‑being benefits, especially for those lacking access to natural settings.

Abstract

Exposure to natural environments can have calming and stress-reducing effects on humans. Moreover, previous studies suggest that these benefits may be greater in areas with higher species richness. Our study took advantage of a “natural experiment” to examine people’s behavioral, physiological, and psychological reactions to increases in levels of marine biota in a large aquarium exhibit during three stages of restocking: Unstocked, Partially stocked, and Fully stocked. We found that increased biota levels were associated with longer spontaneous viewing of the exhibit, greater reductions in heart rate, greater increases in self-reported mood, and higher interest. We suggest that higher biota levels, even in managed settings, may be associated with important well-being and health benefits, particularly for individuals not able to access the natural analogues of managed environments.