Global COVID-19 lockdown highlights humans as both threats and custodians of the environment

Amanda E Bates; Richard B Primack; Brandy S Biggar; Tomas J Bird; Mary E Clinton; Rylan J Command; Cerren Richards; Marc Shellard; Nathan R Geraldi; Valeria Vergara; Orlando Acevedo-Charry; Zuania Colón-Piñeiro; David Ocampo-Guzman; Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela; Lina M Sánchez-Clavijo; Cristian M Adamescu; Sorin Cheval; Tudor Racoviceanu; Matthew D Adams; Egide Kalisa; Vincent Z Kuuire; Vikram Aditya; Pia Anderwald; Samuel Wiesmann; Sonja Wipf; Gal Badihi; Matthew G Henderson; Hanspeter Loetscher; Katja Baerenfaller; Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi; Fabio Bulleri; Iacopo Bertocci; Elena Maggi; Luca Rindi; Chiara Ravaglioli; Kristina Boerder; Julien Bonnel; Delphine Mathias; Philippe Archambault; Laurent Chauvaud; Camrin D. Braun; Simon R. Thorrold; Jacob W Brownscombe; Jonathan D Midwood; Christine M Boston; Jill L Brooks; Steven J Cooke; Victor China; Uri Roll; Jonathan Belmaker; Assaf Zvuloni; Marta Coll; Miquel Ortega; Brendan Connors; Lisa Lacko; Dinusha R M Jayathilake; Mark J Costello; Theresa M Crimmins; LoriAnne Barnett; Ellen G Denny; Katherine L Gerst; R L Marsh; Erin E Posthumus; Reilly Rodriguez; Alyssa Rosemartin; Sara N Schaffer; Jeff R Switzer; Kevin Wong; Susan J Cunningham; Petra Sumasgutner; Arjun Amar; Robert L Thomson; Miqkayla Stofberg; Sally Hofmeyr; Jessleena Suri; Rick D Stuart-Smith; Paul B Day; Graham J Edgar; Antonia T Cooper; Fabio Cabrera De Leo; Grant Garner; Paulson G Des Brisay; Michael B Schrimpf; Nicola Koper; Michael S Diamond; Ross G Dwyer; Cameron J Baker; Craig E Franklin; Ron Efrat; Oded Berger-Tal; Ohad Hatzofe; Víctor M Eguíluz; Jorge P Rodríguez; Juan Fernández-Gracia; David Elustondo; Vincent Calatayud; Philin A English; Stephanie K Archer; Sarah E Dudas; Dana R Haggarty; Austin J Gallagher; Brendan D Shea; Oliver N Shipley; Ben L Gilby; Jasmine Ballantyne; Andrew D Olds; Christopher J Henderson; Thomas A Schlacher; See article text for complete list of remaining 215 authors

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109175

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Global COVID-19 lockdown highlights humans as both threats and custodians of the environment

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Global COVID-19 lockdown highlights humans as both threats and custodians of the environment

Amanda E Bates, Richard B Primack, Brandy S Biggar, Tomas J Bird, Mary E Clinton, Rylan J Command, Cerren Richards, Marc Shellard, Nathan R Geraldi, Valeria Vergara, …

Biological Conservation, Vol.263, pp.1-18

2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109175

PMCID: PMC8135229

PMID: 34035536

Appears in COVID-19 Research

Abstract

Biodiversity

Global monitoring

Pandemic

Restoration

COVID-19

The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from 89 different studies. Hundreds of reports of unusual species observations from around the world suggest that animals quickly responded to the reductions in human presence. However, negative effects of lockdown on conservation also emerged, as confinement resulted in some park officials being unable to perform conservation, restoration and enforcement tasks, resulting in local increases in illegal activities such as hunting. Overall, there is a complex mixture of positive and negative effects of the pandemic lockdown on nature, all of which have the potential to lead to cascading responses which in turn impact wildlife and nature conservation. While the net effect of the lockdown will need to be assessed over years as data becomes available and persistent effects emerge, immediate responses were detected across the world. Thus, initial qualitative and quantitative data arising from this serendipitous global quasi-experimental perturbation highlights the dual role that humans play in threatening and protecting species and ecosystems. Pathways to favorably tilt this delicate balance include reducing impacts and increasing conservation effectiveness.

Details

Title: Global COVID-19 lockdown highlights humans as both threats and custodians of the environment
Authors: Amanda E Bates (Corresponding Author) - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Richard B Primack (Author) - Boston University
Brandy S Biggar (Author) - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Tomas J Bird (Author) - Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre (Canada)-NAFC
Mary E Clinton (Author) - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Rylan J Command (Author) - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Cerren Richards (Author) - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Marc Shellard (Author) - King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Nathan R Geraldi (Author) - King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Valeria Vergara (Author) - Ocean Wise Conservation Association (Vancouver, Canada)-OWCA
Orlando Acevedo-Charry - Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt (Colombia)-IBA
Zuania Colón-Piñeiro - University of Florida
David Ocampo-Guzman - Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt (Colombia)-IBA
Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela - Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt (Colombia)-IBA
Lina M Sánchez-Clavijo - Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt (Colombia)-IBA
Cristian M Adamescu - University of Bucharest
Sorin Cheval - National Meteorological Administration (Bucharest, Romania)-NMA
Tudor Racoviceanu - University of Bucharest
Matthew D Adams - University of Toronto
Egide Kalisa - University of Toronto
Vincent Z Kuuire - University of Toronto
Vikram Aditya - Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment
Pia Anderwald - Swiss National Park
Samuel Wiesmann - Swiss National Park
Sonja Wipf - Swiss National Park
Gal Badihi - University of St Andrews
Matthew G Henderson - University of St Andrews
Hanspeter Loetscher - Nature and Environment of the Grisons (Chur, Switzerland)- NEG
Katja Baerenfaller - University of Zurich
Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi - University of Pisa
Fabio Bulleri - University of Pisa
Iacopo Bertocci - University of Pisa
Elena Maggi - University of Pisa
Luca Rindi - University of Pisa
Chiara Ravaglioli - University of Pisa
Kristina Boerder - Dalhousie University
Julien Bonnel - Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Delphine Mathias - Société d'Observation Multi-Modale de l'Environnement (France)-SOMME
Philippe Archambault - Université Laval
Laurent Chauvaud - Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer
Camrin D. Braun - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Simon R. Thorrold - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Jacob W Brownscombe - Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Jonathan D Midwood - Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Christine M Boston - Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Jill L Brooks - Carleton University
Steven J Cooke - Carleton University
Victor China - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Uri Roll - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Jonathan Belmaker - Tel Aviv University
Assaf Zvuloni - Israel Nature and Parks Authority (Jerusalem, Israel)-INPA
Marta Coll - Ecopath International Initiative
Miquel Ortega - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Brendan Connors - Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Lisa Lacko - Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Dinusha R M Jayathilake - University of Auckland
Mark J Costello - Nord University
Theresa M Crimmins - University of Arizona
LoriAnne Barnett - University of Arizona Cancer Center
Ellen G Denny - University of Arizona
Katherine L Gerst - University of Arizona
R L Marsh - University of Arizona
Erin E Posthumus - University of Arizona Cancer Center
Reilly Rodriguez - University of Arizona Cancer Center
Alyssa Rosemartin - University of Arizona Cancer Center
Sara N Schaffer - University of Arizona
Jeff R Switzer - University of Arizona
Kevin Wong - University of Arizona
Susan J Cunningham - University of Cape Town
Petra Sumasgutner - University of Vienna
Arjun Amar - University of Cape Town
Robert L Thomson - University of Cape Town
Miqkayla Stofberg - University of Cape Town
Sally Hofmeyr - University of Cape Town
Jessleena Suri - University of Cape Town
Rick D Stuart-Smith - University of Tasmania
Paul B Day - Carijoa - Marine Environmental Consulting (Perth, Western Australia)-MEC
Graham J Edgar - University of Tasmania
Antonia T Cooper - University of Tasmania
Fabio Cabrera De Leo - University of Victoria
Grant Garner - University of Victoria
Paulson G Des Brisay - Environment and Climate Change Canada
Michael B Schrimpf - University of Manitoba
Nicola Koper - University of Manitoba
Michael S Diamond - University of Washington
Ross G Dwyer (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Cameron J Baker - The University of Queensland
Craig E Franklin - The University of Queensland
Ron Efrat - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Oded Berger-Tal - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ohad Hatzofe - Israel Nature and Parks Authority (Jerusalem, Israel)-INPA
Víctor M Eguíluz - Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems
Jorge P Rodríguez - Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems
Juan Fernández-Gracia - Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems
David Elustondo - Universidad de Navarra
Vincent Calatayud - Mediterranean Center for Environmental Studies
Philin A English - Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Stephanie K Archer - Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium
Sarah E Dudas - Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Dana R Haggarty - Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Austin J Gallagher - University of Miami
Brendan D Shea - Beneath the Waves (United States)
Oliver N Shipley - Beneath the Waves (United States)
Ben L Gilby (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Jasmine Ballantyne (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Andrew D Olds (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Christopher J Henderson (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Thomas A Schlacher (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
See article text for complete list of remaining 215 authors (Author)
Publication details: Biological Conservation, Vol.263, pp.1-18
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date published: 2021
DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109175
ISSN: 1873-2917
PMID: 34035536; PMC8135229
Grants: Investigating movement, distribution, abundance and diet to support management objectives for threatened riverine predators in Northern Australia, LP140100222, Australian Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - ARC
Organisation Unit: School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99584807902621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Biodiversity Conservation; Ecology; Environmental Sciences

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