Open AccessWhat can we learn from wildlife sightings during the COVID‐19 global shutdown?
Author(s) -
Zellmer Amanda J.,
Wood Eric M.,
Surasinghe Thilina,
Putman Breanna J.,
Pauly Gregory B.,
Magle Seth B.,
Lewis Jesse S.,
Kay Cria A. M.,
Fidino Mason
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
ecosphere
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.255
H-Index - 57
ISSN - 2150-8925
DOI - 10.1002/ecs2.3215
Subject(s) - wildlife , wildlife conservation , citizen science , environmental planning , environmental resource management , urban ecosystem , urban ecology , geography , pandemic , covid-19 , ecology , urban planning , environmental science , nature conservation , biology , medicine , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , botany
During the worldwide shutdown in response to the COVID‐19 pandemic, many reports emerged of urban wildlife sightings. While these images garnered public interest and declarations of wildlife reclaiming cities, it is unclear whether wildlife truly reoccupied urban areas or whether there were simply increased detections of urban wildlife during this time. Here, we detail key questions and needs for monitoring wildlife during the COVID‐19 shutdown and then link these with future needs and actions with the intent of improving conservation within urban ecosystems. We discuss the tools ecologists and conservation scientists can use to safely and effectively study urban wildlife during the shutdown. With a coordinated, multicity effort, researchers and community scientists can rigorously investigate the responses of wildlife to changes in human activities, which can help us address long‐standing questions in urban ecology, inspire conservation of wildlife, and inform the design of sustainable cities.