Urban wildlife in times of COVID-19: What can we infer from novel carnivore records in urban areas?

Silva‐Rodríguez, Eduardo A.; Galvéz, Nicolás; Swan, George J. F.; Cusack, Jeremy J.; Moreira‐Arce, Darío

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142713

Cited by 58 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…These have caused remarkable changes in the appearance of many rivers and beaches in the world, making them look cleaner as a result of clear waters and improved surface water quality ( Kumar et al 2020 ; Zambrano-Monserrate et al, 2020 ). Wildlife has reclaimed their territory and many media sources and publications have reported sightings of wild animals, including endangered species, not commonly seen in certain areas for a long time in temporarily less-disturbed habitats ( Manenti et al 2020 , Sencilla, 2020 ; Silva-Rodríguez et al, 2020 ). Whilst the decrease in tourism has positively affected wildlife, a reduction on enforcement and controls has also opened the doors to increased wildlife crime threats ( Kumar et al 2020 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

One welfare impacts of COVID-19 – A summary of key highlights within the one welfare framework

Pinillos¹

2021

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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One Welfare describes the interconnection between animal welfare, human wellbeing and their physical and social environment. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is the cause of COVID-19 and emerged as a human pathogen in 2019 although is thought to have a zoonotic source. The original wildlife reservoir and any potential intermediate hosts have not yet been identified. The combination of the virus zoonotic condition together with the impacts of disease control measures has exposed clear interconnections between animals, people and their environment from both a health and a welfare perspective. The One Welfare Framework comprises five sections that can help understand the different One Welfare levels on which the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the world. This paper uses the One Welfare Framework to provide an overview of examples, within each of the five sections, where evidence is and/or can be made available to document COVID-19 impacts on One Welfare. The paper identifies a number of areas where further research and evidence gathering is required to better understand the different One Welfare impacts. Based on evidence summarised in this paper the author recommends that those responsible for managing the COVID-19 impacts and for planning the future recovery phase of the pandemic should consider adopting a holistic approach, including both health and welfare, by adopting & One Health, One Welfare& policies.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

One welfare impacts of COVID-19 – A summary of key highlights within the one welfare framework

Pinillos¹

2021

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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“…Interestingly, the response of wildlife to changes in the functioning of human society and economy was also rapid. The first phenomenon noticed was that the reduction in human disturbance allowed wildlife to exploit built-up habitats and to increase daily activity [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Since the beginning of the pandemic, evidence of the presence of wild animal species in areas where they have not been seen for a long time has been shared on social media [ 7 , 12 , 13 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Is Wildlife Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic? Lockdown Effect on the Road Mortality of Hedgehogs

Łopucki

Kitowski

Perlińska-Teresiak

et al. 2021

Animals

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Globally, wildlife is affected by unprecedented changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, the lockdown effect on the traffic-related mortality in hedgehogs in an urban area was studied. Comparing the pre-pandemic (2018 and 2019) and pandemic (2020) years, we showed that hedgehog roadkill levels during the lockdown period were over 50% lower (which means a decrease greater than the decrease in road traffic in the same period measured by the number of accidents or the average number of vehicles per day). Based on literature data, we showed that this may mean at least tens of thousands of hedgehogs have survived on a national scale. We report the need to start intensive research on the possible demographic and genetic effects of this unique phenomenon. We also ask how stable the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic will be on wildlife and whether the lockdown (which is an anthropause) may reverse the negative trends in the decline in the number of wild species, including hedgehogs.

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“…The increased number of puma records we report here in the last 4 to 6 years compared to previously studied years is most probably due to a sustained increase in awareness of the general public and use of social media to share wildlife sightings, especially near human settlements. A growing interest of citizens in wildlife watching, new technologies for observing and capturing images, such as camera traps and the ease of sharing records through social networks, increasingly shows that it is not unusual for carnivores to move through urban areas [ 61 , 62 , 63 ]. However, this trend may also be attributable in part to a real increase in puma presence/abundance in the region, due to greater protection for the species, however, with our current data, we cannot assess this.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some carnivores approach cities profiting from resources generated by humans or even establish their ecological niche in cities [ 65 , 66 , 67 ]. However, urban wildlife ecology studies, especially in carnivores, are scarce in South America [ 63 , 68 ]. Therefore, all these possible explanations should still be considered as hypotheses under analysis and evaluated with caution in an inter-disciplinary approach [ 63 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Puma (Puma concolor) in the Neighborhood? Records Near Human Settlements and Insights into Human-Carnivore Coexistence in Central Chile

Ramírez-Álvarez

Napolitano

Salgado

2021

Animals

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The wildland–urban interface lies at the confluence of human-dominated and wild landscapes—creating a number of management and conservation challenges. Wildlife sightings near human settlements have appeared to increase in the last years. This article reports 51 records of presences, sightings, and livestock attacks of Puma concolor, a large-sized felid, collected from 2012 to 2020 across the O’Higgins region in central Chile. Puma records were concentrated in the east of the region in the Andes Range and foothills (90%). The number of puma records is higher in the last four to six years than in previously studied years. Of the 51 records, 23.5% are between 0 and 999 m from the nearest human settlement (classified as very close), 25.5% are between 1000 and 4999 m (moderately close), and 51% are over 5000 m (distant). Most of the sightings are recorded in the summer (35%) and spring (29%). We identify an area of approximately 9000 km2 of suitable habitat as the most probable corridor effectively connecting pumas moving between eastern and western areas, encompassing the Angostura de Paine mountain range. Our results contribute to the understanding of the presence and movements of P. concolor near urban areas and human settlements, confirming their persistence in and adaptation to human-dominated landscapes. We also provide insights into human–carnivore coexistence in the current global context in the densely populated central Chile.

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Urban wildlife in times of COVID-19: What can we infer from novel carnivore records in urban areas?

Cited by 58 publications

References 34 publications

One welfare impacts of COVID-19 – A summary of key highlights within the one welfare framework

One welfare impacts of COVID-19 – A summary of key highlights within the one welfare framework

How Is Wildlife Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic? Lockdown Effect on the Road Mortality of Hedgehogs

Puma (Puma concolor) in the Neighborhood? Records Near Human Settlements and Insights into Human-Carnivore Coexistence in Central Chile

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