Behavioral responses of terrestrial mammals to COVID-19 lockdowns

Marlee A. Tucker*, Aafke M. Schipper, Tempe S.F. Adams, Nina Attias, Tal Avgar, Natarsha L. Babic, Kristin J. Barker, Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Dominik M. Behr, Jerrold L. Belant, Dean E. Beyer, Niels Blaum, J. David Blount, Dirk Bockmühl, Ricardo Luiz Pires Boulhosa, Michael B. Brown, Bayarbaatar Buuveibaatar, Francesca Cagnacci, Justin M. Calabrese, Rok ČerneSimon Chamaillé-Jammes, Aung Nyein Chan, Michael J. Chase, Yannick Chaval, Yvette Chenaux-Ibrahim, Seth G. Cherry, Duško Ćirović, Emrah Çoban, Eric K. Cole, Laura Conlee, Alyson Courtemanch, Gabriele Cozzi, Sarah C. Davidson, Darren DeBloois, Nandintsetseg Dejid, Vickie DeNicola, Arnaud L.J. Desbiez, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, David Drake, Michael Egan, Jasper A.J. Eikelboom, William F. Fagan, Morgan J. Farmer, Julian Fennessy, Shannon P. Finnegan, Christen H. Fleming, Bonnie Fournier, Nicholas L. Fowler, Mariela G. Gantchoff, Alexandre Garnier, Benedikt Gehr, Chris Geremia, Jacob R. 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 J. Kauffman, Todd M. Kautz, Roland Kays, Allicia P. Kelly, Jonas Kindberg, Miha Krofel, Josip Kusak, Clayton T. Lamb, Tayler N. LaSharr, Peter Leimgruber, Horst Leitner, Michael Lierz, John D.C. Linnell, Purevjav Lkhagvaja, Ryan A. 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 H. Merrill, Arthur D. Middleton, Kevin L. Monteith, Seth A. Moore, Bram Van Moorter, Nicolas Morellet, Thomas Morrison, Rebekka Müller, Atle Mysterud, Michael J. Noonan, David O’Connor, Daniel Olson, Kirk A. Olson, Anna C. Ortega, Federico Ossi, Manuela Panzacchi, Robert Patchett, Brent R. 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 H.T. Prins, Nathan Ranc, Slaven Reljić, Benjamin Robb, Ralf Röder, Christer M. Rolandsen, Christian Rutz, Albert R. Salemgareyev, Gustaf Samelius, Heather Sayine-Crawford, Sarah Schooler, Çağan H. Şekercioğlu, Nuria Selva, Paola Semenzato, Agnieszka Sergiel, Koustubh Sharma, Avery L. Shawler, Johannes Signer, Václav Silovský, João Paulo Silva, Richard Simon, Rachel A. Smiley, Douglas W. Smith, Erling J. Solberg, Diego Ellis-Soto, Orr Spiegel, Jared Stabach, Jenna Stacy-Dawes, Daniel R. Stahler, John Stephenson, Cheyenne Stewart, Olav Strand, Peter Sunde, Nathan J. Svoboda, Jonathan Swart, Jeffrey J. Thompson, Katrina L. Toal, Kenneth Uiseb, Meredith C. VanAcker, Marianela Velilla, Tana L. Verzuh, Bettina Wachter, Brittany L. Wagler, Jesse Whittington, Martin Wikelski, Christopher C. Wilmers, George Wittemyer, Julie K. Young, Filip Ziba, Tomasz Zwijacz-Kozica, Mark A.J. Huijbregts, Thomas Mueller

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

56 Scopus citations

Abstract

COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020 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 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. Animals’ 1-hour 95th percentile displacements declined by 12% and animals were 36% closer to roads in areas of high human footprint, indicating reduced avoidance during lockdowns. Overall, lockdowns rapidly altered some spatial behaviors, highlighting variable but substantial impacts of human mobility on wildlife worldwide.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1059-1064
Number of pages6
JournalScience
Volume380
Issue number6649
DOIs
StatePublished - 9 Jun 2023

Funding

FundersFunder number
Wyoming Governor’s Big Game License Coalition
Knobloch Family Foundation
Greensboro Science Center
British Ecological Society
Saxon Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism
Bowhunters of Wyoming
College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York
Barbara Watkins
Koniag Native Corporation
U.S. Bureau of Land Management
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
FEDER EU
Sigrid Rausing Trust
Naturvårdsverket
Aage V. Jensen Naturfond
Boone and Crockett Club
Center of Advanced Systems Understanding
David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
Safari Club International and Alberta Conservation Association
Wyoming Game and Fish Department
Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
Dutch Research Council NWO
Foundation for North American Wild Sheep
Kodiak Brown Bear Trust
Grand Teton Association
Disney Conservation Fund
Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
Slovenia Hunters Association and Slovenia Forest Service
Ministry of Environment and Tourism Namibia
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Bernd Thies-Stiftung
State University of New York
Aix-Marseille Université
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Old Harbor Native Corporation
U.S. Forest Service
European Commission
Miljødirektoratet
Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Parks Canada
Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst
EuroNatur Stiftung
Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation
Wyoming Game and Fish Commission
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
World Wildlife Fund
Lord Kelvin Adam Smith fund
Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory
Ecotone Telemetry company
Messerli Foundation in Switzerland
Yellowstone Forever
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Muley Fanatic Foundation
National Park Service
Wyoming Wildlife/Livestock Disease Research Partnership
Wyoming Animal Damage Management Board
Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust
North Florida Wildlife Center
Wolf Conservation Trust
Institute of Petroleum Engineering, University of Tehran
Batubay Özkan
Zoo Miami
Zoo Miami Foundation
ANR-16-CE02-0010
Radboud Excellence Initiative
Alberta Environment and Parks
American Society of Mammalogists African Graduate Student Research Fund
Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program
Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association
Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapahoe Fish and Game Department
Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute and Tanzania National Parks
Fondation Segré
Zoo Dresden
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions798091
National Science Foundation2038704, IOS-1656527, IIBR 1915347, IOS2015662, 2019822, IOS-1656642
Rufford Foundation29681-1
LANDTHIRSTANR-16-CE02-0001-01
Deutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftEXC 2117 – 422037984, HE 8857/1-1
Javna Agencija za Raziskovalno Dejavnost RSP4-0059, N1-0163
Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a TělovýchovyCZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000803, CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/19_073/0016944
Ministarstvo Prosvete, Nauke i Tehnološkog Razvoja451-03-68/2022-14/200178, 200178
Gordon and Betty Moore FoundationGBMF9881
Narodowe Centrum Badań i RozwojuPOLNOR/198352/85/2013
MORESTEP01LC1710A, 01LC1820A
Natural Environment Research CouncilNE/W00190X/1
H2020 European Research Council641918
National Aeronautics and Space Administration80NSSC21K1182
Missouri Department of ConservationPROJECT MO W103-R1
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung31003A_182286, 310030_204478
Illinois Department of Natural Resources2038704 9, LTREB 1556248
Israel Science Foundation396/20
Ministerstvo ZemědělstvíQK1910462
Not addedANR-16-IDEX-0006
Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología14-INV-208
U.S. Department of AgricultureMSN201473
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of CanadaAKW-12, RGPIN-2021-02758
Regional Government of AsturiasIDI/2021/000075
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food and Slovenian Research AgencyCRP V1-1626
National Geographic SocietyNGS-82515R-20
Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital, Gobierno de EspañaRYC-2015-18932, CGL2017-87528-R

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