Jackie is a current PhD candidate with her specific research interests lying in the integration of the social and biological sciences to answer applied problems in conservation. She is interested in understanding social and biological impacts of marine wildlife tourism to improve industry sustainability and conservation of targeted species and their critical habitat. Her master’s thesis, for example, focused on an assessment of the sustainability of whale shark tourism on Isla Holbox, Mexico. Her current research is part of a larger effort to assess the sustainability of whale shark tourism sites around the world (e.g. Mozambique, Maldives, Philippines, Mexico) and is the focus of her dissertation.
Among Jackie’s publications are:
Ziegler, J. A., Dearden, P., & Rollins, R. (2015). Participant crowding and physical contact rates of whale shark tours on Isla Holbox, Mexico. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, (ahead-of-print), 1-21.
Ziegler, J., Dearden, P. and Rollins, R. (2012) But are tourists satisfied? Importance-performance analysis of the whale shark tourism industry on Isla Holbox, Mexico.Tourism Management, 33: 692-701
Dearden P., Topelko K., and Ziegler, J (2007) Shark watching: Historical context and growth management. In Marine Wildlife and Tourism Management ed by J. Higham and M. Luck. CABI, Oxford.pp 66-90.
The Marine Protected Areas Research Group 