Behavioral responses of terrestrial mammals to COVID-19 lockdowns

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.

Supported by the Radboud Excellence Initiative (to M.T.), the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research [MORESTEP, 01LC1710A and 01LC1820A (to T.M. and N.D.)], the National Science Foundation [IIBR 1915347 (to J.M.C., C.H.F., and W.F.F.)], Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development [451-03-68/2022-14/ 200178 (to D.C.)], Dutch Research Council NWO program “Advanced Instrumentation for Wildlife Protection” (to H.H.T.P. and J.A.J.E.), Fondation Segré, RZSS, IPE, Greensboro Science Center, Houston Zoo, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, Nashville Zoo, Naples Zoo, Reid Park Zoo, Miller Park, WWF, ZCOG, Zoo Miami, Zoo Miami Foundation, Beauval Nature, Greenville Zoo, Riverbanks zoo and garden, SAC Zoo, La Passarelle Conservation, Parc Animalier d’Auvergne, Disney Conservation Fund, Fresno Chaffee zoo, Play for nature, North Florida Wildlife Center, Abilene Zoo, a Liber Ero Fellowship (to C.T.L.), the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program, Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, Teck Coal (to K.P.), and the Grand Teton Association. The collection of Norwegian moose data was funded by the Norwegian Environment Agency, the German Ministry of Education and Research via the SPACES II project ORYCS [FKZ:01LL1804A (to N.B.)], the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wyoming Game and Fish Commission, Bureau of Land Management, Muley Fanatic Foundation (including Southwest, Kemmerer, Upper Green, and Blue Ridge Chapters), Boone and Crockett Club, Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust, Knobloch Family Foundation, Wyoming Animal Damage Management Board, Wyoming Governor’s Big Game License Coalition, Bowhunters of Wyoming, Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association, Pope and Young Club, US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation, Wild Sheep Foundation, Wyoming Wildlife/Livestock Disease Research Partnership, the US National Science Foundation [IOS-1656642 and IOS-1656527 (to R.A.L. and R.M.P.)], the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness [RYC-2015-18932; CGL2017-87528-R AEI/FEDER EU (to J.V.L.B.)], and by a GRUPIN research grant from the Regional Government of Asturias [IDI/2021/000075 (to J.V.L.B.)], Sigrid Rausing Trust, Batubay Özkan, Barbara Watkins, NSERC Discovery Grant [RGPIN-2021-02758 (to M.J.N.)], the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration act under Pittman-Robertson project [AKW-12 (to N.J.S.)], the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Czech Republic [CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000803; CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/19_073/0016944 (to M.J., M.S.P., and V.S.)], the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic [QK1910462 (to M.J., M.S.P., and V.S.)], Rufford Foundation [grant 29681-1(to D.N.K.)], an American Society of Mammalogists African Graduate Student Research Fund (to D.N.K.), the German Science Foundation [HE 8857/1-1 (to A.G.H.)], the Israeli Science Foundation [grant 396/20 (to O.S.)], the BSF-NSF [2019822 and IOS2015662 (to O.S.)], the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food and Slovenian Research Agency (CRP V1-1626), the Aage V. Jensen Naturfond (project: Kronvildt - viden, værdier og værktøjer), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany’s Excellence Strategy [EXC 2117 – 422037984 (to M.W.)], National Centre for Research and Development in Poland POLNOR/198352/85/2013 (project GLOBE), the Slovenian Research Agency [P4-0059 and N1-0163 (to M.K.)], the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, Disney Conservation Fund, Whitley Fund for Nature, Acton Family Giving, Zoo Basel, Columbus, Bioparc de Doué-la-Fontaine, Zoo Dresden, Zoo Idaho, Kolmården Zoo, Korkeasaari Zoo, La Passarelle, Zoo New England, Tierpark Berlin, Tulsa Zoo, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Government of Mongolia, the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration act and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the National Science Foundation [LTREB 1556248 and 2038704 9 (to M.H., E.H.M., and H.M.)], Parks Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Alberta Environment and Parks, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Safari Club International and Alberta Conservation Association, the Consejo Nacional de Ciencias y Tecnología (CONACYT) of Paraguay [14-INV-208 and PRONII], the Norwegian Environment Agency and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, EU funded Interreg SI-HR 410 Carnivora Dinarica project, Paklenica and Plitvice Lakes National Parks, UK Wolf Conservation Trust, EURONATUR and Bernd Thies Foundation, the Messerli Foundation in Switzerland and WWF Germany, the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions [grant agreement 798091 (to M.-C.L.)], NASA Ecological Forecasting Program [80NSSC21K1182], the Ecotone Telemetry company (to S.C.-J.), the French National Research Agency (to S.C.-J.), LANDTHIRST [ANR-16-CE02-0001-01 (to S.C.-J.)], grant REPOS awarded by the i-Site MUSE thanks to the “Investissements d’avenir” program [ANR-16-IDEX-0006 (to S.C.-J.)], the ANR Mov-It project [ANR-16-CE02-0010 (to A.J.M.H. and N.M.)], the USDA Hatch Act Formula Funding (MSN201473), the Fondation Segre and North American and European Zoos listed at http://www.giantanteater.org/, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (to D.O., T.A., and J.K.Y.), the Yellowstone Forever and the National Park Service (to D.R.S, D.W.S., and C.G.), Missouri Department of Conservation, Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Grant PROJECT MO W103-R1, and State University of New York, SNSF [31003A_182286 and 310030_204478 (to G.C.)], various donors to the Botswana Predator Conservation Program (to G.C.), data from collared caribou in the Northwest Territories (to A.P.K., J.H., B.F., and H.S.C.) were made available through funds from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories. The European Research Council Horizon2020 [AfricanBioServices 641918], the British Ecological Society, the Paul Jones Family Trust, and the Lord Kelvin Adam Smith fund, the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute and Tanzania National Parks (to J.G.C.H. and T.M.). The Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapahoe Fish and Game Department and the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Kodiak Brown Bear Trust, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Koniag Native Corporation, Old Harbor Native Corporation, Afognak Native Corporation, Ouzinkie Native Corporation, Natives of Kodiak Native Corporation and the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and the Slovenia Hunters Association and Slovenia Forest Service. F.C. was partly supported by the Resident Visiting Researcher Fellowship, IMéRA/Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille. This work was partially funded by the Center of Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), which is financed by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and by the Saxon Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism (SMWK) with tax funds on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament. This article is a contribution of the COVID-19 Bio-Logging Initiative, which is funded in part by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF9881) and the National Geographic Society (NGS-82515R-20) (both grants to C.R.).

Peer reviewed