About the Authors

Simone Branchini

Affiliation Marine Science Group, Citizen Science Lab, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Section of Biology, University of Bologna, Via F. Selmi 3, I-40126, Bologna, Italy, European Union

Marta Meschini

Affiliation Marine Science Group, Citizen Science Lab, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Section of Biology, University of Bologna, Via F. Selmi 3, I-40126, Bologna, Italy, European Union

Claudia Covi

Affiliation Marine Science Group, Citizen Science Lab, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Section of Biology, University of Bologna, Via F. Selmi 3, I-40126, Bologna, Italy, European Union

Corrado Piccinetti

Affiliation Laboratory of Fisheries and Marine Biology at Fano, University of Bologna, Viale Adriatico 1/N, I-61032, Fano (PU), Italy, European Union

Francesco Zaccanti

Affiliation Marine Science Group, Citizen Science Lab, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Section of Biology, University of Bologna, Via F. Selmi 3, I-40126, Bologna, Italy, European Union

Stefano Goffredo

s.goffredo@unibo.it

Affiliation Marine Science Group, Citizen Science Lab, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Section of Biology, University of Bologna, Via F. Selmi 3, I-40126, Bologna, Italy, European Union

Competing Interests

“STE: Scuba Tourism for the Environment” was funded in part by the tour operator Settemari (www.settemari.it), the diving agency SNSI, Scuba Nitrox Safety International (www.scubasnsi.com) and the diving centers Viaggio nel Blu (www.viaggionelblu.org). The diving agency SSI, Scuba School International (www.divessi.com) the airline Neos (www.neosair.it) and the diving center Holiday Service (www.holidaydiving.org) provided in-kind support. The project has the patronage of the ASTOI (Association of Italian Tour Operators; www.astoi.com). There are no patents, products in development or marketed products to declare. This does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: SB SG CP FZ. Performed the experiments: SB MM CC. Analyzed the data: SB MM CC. Wrote the paper: SG SB CP FZ.