Anthropogenic climate change poses a significant threat to Texas’ coastal habitats and in the Galveston Bay region, there is just under 1200 square miles of freshwater marsh and undeveloped dry upland. These habitats provide residents with a variety of key ecosystem services but are threatened by global climate change. Effective management of these resources requires multidisciplinary knowledge, combining an understanding of the potential biophysical habitat alterations associated with sea level rise with the measurement of residents’ value for coastal resources. In this study, we utilize a discrete choice experiment to investigate individuals’ preferences for future conditions of Texas habitats within the Galveston Bay region. Utilizing modeled output for coverage of freshwater marsh and undeveloped dry upland in the year 2050, respondents are asked to make trade-offs between coastal conditions with no further management actions and outcomes associated with specific management interventions. From this framework, we estimate Galveston Bay regional residents’ value for freshwater marshes and undeveloped uplands. Our results indicate that individuals are willing to conserve habitat under threat from sea level rise, but that they are likely unaware of the dynamic nature of that change. As a result, residents may place less emphasis on the role of the habitat migration in response to sea level rise.

人为的气候变化对得克萨斯州的沿海生境构成了重大威胁，在加尔维斯顿湾地区，淡水沼泽和未开发的旱地不到1200平方英里。这些栖息地为居民提供了各种关键的生态系统服务，但受到全球气候变化的威胁。对这些资源的有效管理需要多学科知识，将对与海平面上升相关的潜在生物物理栖息地变化的理解与对居民沿海资源价值的衡量结合起来。在这项研究中，我们利用离散选择实验来研究个人对加尔维斯顿湾地区德克萨斯州栖息地未来状况的偏好。利用模型化的产出覆盖2050年的淡水沼泽和未开发的旱地，要求受访者在沿海条件之间做出取舍，而无需采取进一步的管理措施和与特定管理干预措施相关的结果。从这个框架中，我们估计加尔维斯顿湾地区居民对淡水沼泽和未开发的高地的价值。我们的结果表明，个人愿意在海平面上升的威胁下保护栖息地，但他们可能没有意识到这种变化的动态性质。结果，居民可能不太重视栖息地迁移在海平面上升中的作用。我们的结果表明，个人愿意在海平面上升的威胁下保护栖息地，但他们可能没有意识到这种变化的动态性质。结果，居民可能不太重视栖息地迁移在海平面上升中的作用。我们的结果表明，个人愿意在海平面上升的威胁下保护栖息地，但他们可能没有意识到这种变化的动态性质。结果，居民可能不太重视栖息地迁移在海平面上升中的作用。