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Research Article
Gábor Seress
MTA-PE Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, University of Pannonia, Veszprém
Corresponding Author
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The ubiquitous activity of humans is a fundamental feature of urban environments affecting local wildlife in several ways. Testing the influence of human disturbance would ideally need experimental approach, however, in cities, this is challenging at relevant spatial and temporal scales. Thus, to better understand the ecological effects of human activity, we exploited the opportunity that the city-wide lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic provided during the spring of 2020. We assessed changes in reproductive success of great tits (Parus major) at two urban habitats affected strikingly differently by the ‘anthropause’ and at an unaffected forest site. Although anecdotic observations suggested that urban wildlife may benefit from reduced human mobility during the lockdown, our results do not support this. First, at one of our urban sites, the strongly (-44%) reduced human disturbance in 2020 (compared to a long-term reference period) did not increase birds’ reproductive output relative to the forest habitat where human disturbance was low in all years. Second, in the other urban habitat, recreational human activity considerably increased (+ 40%) during the lockdown and this was associated with strongly reduced nestling body size compared to the pre-COVID reference year. Analyses on meteorological conditions and the lockdown-induced changes in air pollution suggest that these factors are not likely to explain our results. Our study supports that intensified human disturbance can have adverse fitness consequences in urban populations. It also highlights that a few months of ‘anthropause’ is not enough to counterweight the detrimental impacts of urbanization on local wildlife populations.
Keywords
human presence, urban, forest, breeding success, Parus major
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CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
Version 1
Posted 30 Apr, 2021
No community comments so far
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 21 Jun, 2021
Reviews received
Received 18 Jun, 2021
Reviewers agreed
On 30 May, 2021
Reviews received
Received 14 May, 2021
Reviewers agreed
On 27 Apr, 2021
Reviewers agreed
On 26 Apr, 2021
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 26 Apr, 2021
Editor assigned
On 26 Apr, 2021
Editor invited
On 26 Apr, 2021
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On 26 Apr, 2021
First submitted
On 22 Apr, 2021
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Subject Areas
Behavioral Ecology
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This preprint is under consideration at Scientific Reports. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research Article
Gábor Seress
MTA-PE Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, University of Pannonia, Veszprém
Corresponding Author
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
Version 1
Posted 30 Apr, 2021
No community comments so far
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 21 Jun, 2021
Reviews received
Received 18 Jun, 2021
Reviewers agreed
On 30 May, 2021
Reviews received
Received 14 May, 2021
Reviewers agreed
On 27 Apr, 2021
Reviewers agreed
On 26 Apr, 2021
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 26 Apr, 2021
Editor assigned
On 26 Apr, 2021
Editor invited
On 26 Apr, 2021
Submission checks complete
On 26 Apr, 2021
First submitted
On 22 Apr, 2021
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Behavioral Ecology
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
The ubiquitous activity of humans is a fundamental feature of urban environments affecting local wildlife in several ways. Testing the influence of human disturbance would ideally need experimental approach, however, in cities, this is challenging at relevant spatial and temporal scales. Thus, to better understand the ecological effects of human activity, we exploited the opportunity that the city-wide lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic provided during the spring of 2020. We assessed changes in reproductive success of great tits (Parus major) at two urban habitats affected strikingly differently by the ‘anthropause’ and at an unaffected forest site. Although anecdotic observations suggested that urban wildlife may benefit from reduced human mobility during the lockdown, our results do not support this. First, at one of our urban sites, the strongly (-44%) reduced human disturbance in 2020 (compared to a long-term reference period) did not increase birds’ reproductive output relative to the forest habitat where human disturbance was low in all years. Second, in the other urban habitat, recreational human activity considerably increased (+ 40%) during the lockdown and this was associated with strongly reduced nestling body size compared to the pre-COVID reference year. Analyses on meteorological conditions and the lockdown-induced changes in air pollution suggest that these factors are not likely to explain our results. Our study supports that intensified human disturbance can have adverse fitness consequences in urban populations. It also highlights that a few months of ‘anthropause’ is not enough to counterweight the detrimental impacts of urbanization on local wildlife populations.
Figure 1
Figure 2
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