Behavioral responses of terrestrial mammals to COVID-19 lockdowns
COVID-19 lockdowns reduced human mobility, providing an opportunity to disentangle its effects on animals from those of landscape modifications. Using GPS data, we compared movements and road avoidance of 2300 terrestrial mammals (43 species) during the 2020 lockdowns to the same period in 2019. Individual responses were variable, with no change in average movements or road avoidance behavior, likely due to variable lockdown conditions. However, under strict lockdowns,10-day, 95th percentile displacements increased by 73%, suggesting increased landscape permeability. In areas of high human footprint, animals' 1-hour, 95th percentile displacements declined by 12%, and animals were 36% closer to roads, indicating reduced avoidance during lockdowns. Overall, lockdowns rapidly altered some spatial behaviors, highlighting the variable but substantial impact of human mobility on wildlife worldwide.
Citation Information
| Publication Year | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Title | Behavioral responses of terrestrial mammals to COVID-19 lockdowns |
| DOI | 10.1126/science.abo6499 |
| Authors | Marlee A. Tucker, Aafke Schipper, Tempe S. F. Adams, Nina Attias, Tal Avgar, Natarsha Lauren Babic, Kristin Barker, Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Dominik M. Behr, Jerrold Belant, Dean Beyer, Niels Blaum, J. David Blount, Dirk Bockmühl, Ricardo Luiz Pires Boulhosa, Michael B. Brown, Bayarbaatar Buuveibaatar, Francesca Cagnacci, Justin M. Calabrese, Rok Černe, Simon Chamaillé-Jammes, Aung Nyein Chan, Michael J. Chase, Yannick Chaval, Yvette Chenaux-Ibrahim, Seth Cherry, Duško Ćirović, Emrah Çoban, Eric K. Cole, Laura Conlee, Courtemanch, Gabriele Cozzi, Sarah C Davidson, Darren DeBloois, Nandintsetseg Dejid, Vickie DeNicola, Arnaud L.J. Desbiez, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, David Drake, Michael Egan, William Fagan, Morgan J. Farmer, Julian Fennessy, Shannon P. Finnegan, Christen Fleming, Bonnie Fournier, N. Fowler, Mariela G. Gantchoff, Alexandre Garnier, Benedikt Gehr, Chris Geremia, Jacob Goheen, Morgan L. Hauptfleisch, Mark Hebblewhite, Morten Heim, Anne G. Hertel, Marco Heurich, A.J. Mark Hewison, James Hodson, Nicholas Hoffman, J. Grant C. Hopcraft, Djuro Huber, Edmund J. Isaac, Karolina Janik, Miloš Ježek, Örjan Johansson, Neil R. Jordan, Petra Kaczensky, Douglas N. Kamaru, Matthew Kauffman, Todd Kautz, Roland Kays, Allicia Kelly, Jonas Kindberg, Miha Krofel, Josip Kusak, Clayton T. Lamb, Tayler LaSharr, Peter Leimgruber, Horst Leitner, Michael Lierz, John Linnell, Purevjav Lkhagvaja, Ryan Long, José Vicente López-Bao, Matthias-Claudio Loretto, Pascal Marchand, Hans Martin, Lindsay A. Martinez, Roy T. McBride, Ashley A.D. McLaren, Erling Meisingset, Joerg Melzheimer, Evelyn Merrill, Arthur Middleton, Kevin Monteith, Seth A. Moore, Bram Van Moorter, Nicolas Morellet, Thomas Morrison, Rebekka Müller, Atle Mysterud, Michael Noonan, David O’Connor, Daniel Olson, Kirk Olson, Anna C. Ortega, Federico Ossi, Manuela Panzacchi, Robert Patchett, Brent Patterson, Rogerio Cunha de Paula, John Payne, Wibke Peters, Tyler R. Petroelje, Benjamin J. Pitcher, Boštjan Pokorny, Kim Poole, Hubert Potočnik, Marie-Pier Poulin, Robert M. Pringle, Herbert Prins, Nathan Ranc, Slaven Reljić, Benjamin Robb, Ralf Röder, Christer Rolandsen, Christian Rutz, Albert Salemgareyev, G. Samelius, Heather Sayine-Crawford, S. Schooler, Cagan H. Sekercioglu, Nuria Selva, Paola Semenzato, Agnieszka Sergiel, Koustubh Sharma, Avery L. Shawler, Johannes Signer, Vaclav Silovsky, João Paulo Silva, Richard Simon, Rachel Smiley, Douglas Smith, Erling Solberg, Diego Ellis-Soto, Orr Spiegel, Jared Stabach, Jenna Stacy-Dawes, Daniel R. Stahler, John Stephenson, Cheyenne Stewart, Olav Strand, Peter Sunde, Nathan Svoboda, Johnathan Swart, Jeffrey Thompson, Katrina L. Toal, Kenneth Uiseb, Meredith VanAcker, Marianela Velilla, Tana Verzuh, Bettina Wachter, Brittany Wagler, Jesse Whittington, Martin Wikelski, Christopher Wilmers, George Wittemyer, Julie K. Young, Filip Zieba, Tomasz Zwijacz-Kozica, Mark Huijbregts, Thomas Mueller |
| Publication Type | Article |
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Series Title | Science |
| Index ID | 70266267 |
| Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
| USGS Organization | Coop Res Unit Seattle |