A new study, utilizing GPS data, has discovered that animals were able to move more freely during the COVID-19 lockdowns. 43 species of mammals around the world were tracked before and during the pandemic, revealing the significance of the human footprint’s impact on animals.
The study, published in the journal Science, was designed to tell the full story of how the reduction in human activity to contain the spread of COVID-19 impacted mammals. Researchers used GPS tracking data from 2,300 animals across the globe to compare their movement during the 2020 lockdowns to their movement during the same period a year earlier.
The Abstract spoke to Roland Kays, the research professor at North Carolina State University and director of Biodiversity Lab, about the study and its repercussions for wildlife.
The Abstract: What was your central role in this study?
Roland Kays: My primary function was to assist in linking all the different scientists involved in collecting data on animal movement. Scientists worldwide are streaming large volumes of data each day regarding animal locations. We leverage a database called Movebank to aid in collecting and validating their data.
TA: How did your team compare animal movement before and after the pandemic?
Kays: We standardized the animal tracking data since various studies employ different methodologies. GPS data was collected on animals at varying increments, such as every 10 minutes, offering a detailed picture of their movement, or every 10 hours, providing less information. Therefore, we evaluated animal movement on a per-hour or ten-day basis to make it comparable.
TA: What did you discover when examining the animal movements that changed the most?
Kays: We observed that animals moved less on an hourly basis, by 12% on average. However, in regions with strict lockdowns, animals moved across ten days at a 73% average rise. We theorize that this reduction in short-term and increase in long-term mobility is due to lower traffic and landscape permeability enabling animals to move more freely.
TA: You mentioned in your study that animals were closer to roads by 36% on average in high human footprint areas. Can you explain this finding?
Kays: Typically animals steer clear of roads, and now we know that human activity on the roads is making them stay away. However, the pandemic caused animals to spend more time nearer to roads in high human traffic areas. The tricky thing about this study is that there were differing levels of activity in different regions depending on the pandemic’s severity.
More information: Marlee A. Tucker et al, Behavioral responses of terrestrial mammals to COVID-19 lockdowns, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.abo6499
Citation: Q&A: Exploring how during the ‘anthropause,’ animals moved more freely (2023, June 11) retrieved 11 June 2023 from https://phys.org/news/2023-06-qa-exploring-anthropause-animals-freely.html
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