Changes in the nocturnal activity of birds during the COVID–19 pandemic lockdown in a neotropical city

F A Estela,M García–Arroyo,E Arbeláez–Cortés,C E Sánchez–Sarria,I Macgregor–Fors,C M Wagner–Wagner,D Ocampo,A Perlaza–Gamboa

doi:10.32800/abc.2021.44.0213

Abstract

The COVID–19 lockdown provided the opportunity to measure species biodiversity in urban environments under conditions divergent from regular urban rhythms. For 90 days, including weeks of strict lockdown and the subsequent relaxation of restrictions, we measured the presence and abundance of birds that were active at night at two sites in the city of Cali, Colombia. Our results show that species richness of nocturnal birds decreased 40 % to 58 % during the weeks with more human activity, adding further evidence to the biodiversity responses of the ‘anthropause’ on urban environments.

Highlights

Changes in the nocturnal activity of birds during the COVID–19 pandemic lockdown in a neotropical city
The 'anthropause' (Rutz et al, 2020) produced by the COVID–19 strict lockdowns provided a unique and probably unrepeatable opportunity to measure the effect of pervasive influence of human activities on urban animals
Lockdowns reduced the effect of human–induced pressures such as anthropogenic noise (Bates et al, 2020)

Summary

Introduction

Changes in the nocturnal activity of birds during the COVID–19 pandemic lockdown in a neotropical city. The 'anthropause' (Rutz et al, 2020) produced by the COVID–19 strict lockdowns provided a unique and probably unrepeatable opportunity to measure the effect of pervasive influence of human activities on urban animals. The effects of artificial light at night (ALAN, sensu Gaston, 2018) and noise on urban wildlife populations have long been a subject of study (Fröhlich and Ciach, 2019).

Results

Conclusion