Characteristics of urban park recreation and health during early COVID-19 by on-site survey in Beijing.

The positive health effects of green space have received increasing attention, however, on-site surveys and city-level research to reveal the relationship between urban park recreation and urbanite health in metropolitan areas during a post-pandemic period are lacking. We conducted an on-site survey using a questionnaire with 225 respondents from 22 urban parks distributed across the metropolitan area of Beijing during the early COVID-19 eased period with another 1346 respondents in 2021 to make verification. We identified factors that could influence public perceptions of park quality and human health (i.e., physical, mental, and social health) and revealed gender differences in perceptions of park characteristics. The correspondence pattern of perceived urban park quality with social health is distinct from that of physical and mental health. Due to the strict social distancing policy in early COVID-19 period, urban parks in different levels of urbanization environment could exert varied health effects.

Effect of the Changing Climate and Urban Ecology on Spreading of Infectious Diseases Including SARS-CoV-2

Globalisation, industrialisation, and ease of international travel are making a huge impact on urban ecology. It is also influencing the climate, exaggerated by increased pollution, global temperature, and greenhouse gasses. All these factors together play a pivotal role in the increased emergence of infectious human diseases like fungal, bacterial, and viral. Many microorganisms are commensal and coâ€exist as microflora of healthy individuals. However, when the immune system is compromised due to disruption of mucosal barriers or presence of other environmental factors including increased air pollution, these microorganisms get an opportunity to invade and cause infections. In a similar way, the ongoing COVIDâ€19 pandemic, mediated by SARSâ€CoVâ€2, has also led to an increase in a number of nosocomial infections and secondary infections or superinfections like bacterial, fungal, and viral. Several studies have suggested that adaptation to higher temperatures is one of the key contributors to the emergence of many fungus like Candida auris and mucormycetes. Even bacteria like Acinetobacter baumannii, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, etc. or viral infections mediated by Ebola, H1N1, Encephalitis, and SARSâ€CoVâ€2 become more virulent with change in climate and urban ecology. Lifestyle change including uncontrolled intake of animal foods which possibly resulted in the zoonotic transfer of SARSâ€CoVâ€2 to humans, an increase in sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS due to uncontrolled lifestyles in a modern urban society are few other examples. Although these are the results of humans’ need and greed, it is not too late to take actions towards sustainable developments and adopting preventive plans to save the future world. This chapter mainly attempts to understand how such changes in environmental factors, altered climate, and urban ecology can lead to emergence of several infectious diseases, followed by a discussion of preventive measures to keep a steady but sustainable global development of human lives. © 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Changes in the feeding ecology of an opportunistic predator inhabiting urban environments in response to COVID-19 lockdown.

Urban-dwelling species present feeding and behavioural innovation that enable them to adjust to anthropogenic food subsidies available in cities. In 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 virus outbreak resulted in unprecedented reduction in the human activity worldwide associated with the human lockdown. This situation opened an excellent opportunity to investigate the capability of urban wildlife to cope with this anthropopause event. Here, we investigated the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on the feeding strategies of the urban yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) population inhabiting the highly dense city of Barcelona (NE Spain). We compared the diet of chicks (through stomach content and stable isotope analyses) sampled randomly around the city of Barcelona before (2018 and 2019), during (2020) and after (2021) the COVID-19 lockdown. The results revealed that the anthropopause associated with the lockdown had an effect on the diet of this urban-dwelling predator. The diversity of prey consumed during the lockdown was lower, and consumption of urban birds (pigeons and parakeets) and marine prey (fishery discards and natural prey) decreased during the year of lockdown. Although it was not analysed, these diet changes probably were associated with variations in the availability of these resources due to the decrease in human activity during the lockdown. These results demonstrate the trophic flexibility of urban-dwelling species to cope with the changes in the availability of human-related anthropogenic resources in urban marine ecosystems.

Go-Along Interviews as a Method for Social-Ecological Research on Urban Nature

The application of go-along interviews allows an integrated mix of methods, combining qualitative interviews with participant observation. This facilitates linking discourses and practices. The method's particular sensitivity to the spatial embeddedness and reflection of social processes has been evaluated and described in various research contexts. In our article, we highlight the added value of go-along interviews for social-ecological and transdisciplinary research. The COVID-19 lockdowns and their effects on everyday practices of urban residents served as a lens to trace interactions with nature that have been habitualized into everyday walks. Discussing specific episodes from our interviews, we reflect on methodological features of go-along interviews, such as generating narratives, considering material environments and non-human actors, opening up memories and experiences, reconstructing evaluations, and enabling self-reflection. We contrast these potentials with specific challenges in the application of go-along interviews, especially with regard to the accessibility of the interview space, the methodical requirements of the dynamic interview situation, and the altered relationship between interviewer and interviewee. Considering these challenges, conducting go-along interviews can significantly enrich both, the scientific descriptions of urban ecology and the methodological spectrum of research on urban nature. Furthermore, go-along interviews provide a conceptual proximity to transdisciplinary, participatory, and transformative research. © 2023, Institut für Qualitative Forschung,Internationale Akademie Berlin gGmbH. All rights reserved.

Disparities in greenspace access during COVID-19 mobility restrictions.

More than half of the human population lives in cities and therefore predominantly experience nature in urban greenspace, an important contributor to wellbeing. As the world faces a pandemic which threatens the physical and mental health of billions of people, it is crucial to understand that all have the possibility to access nature exposure to alleviate some of these challenges. Here, for the first time, we integrate data from Facebook, Twitter, and Google Search users to show that people looked for greenspace during COVID-19 mobility restrictions but may not have always managed to reach it. We used a longitudinal approach, replicated in three European cities, to assess whether people spent more time in locations with more greenspace, and whether this change in urban density remained for the whole pandemic, pre-vaccine, period. We coupled this human density study with a longitudinal study of web search patterns for Parks and online discussion about urban greenspace. People searched for Parks near them more during the pandemic, particularly when they were allowed to visit them. They discussed in positive terms greenspace particularly more at the start of the pandemic. People spent more time in areas with greenspace when they could and that depended on the level of multiple deprivation of their neighbourhood. Importantly, while people sought greenspace throughout the first 20 months of the pandemic, this preference intensified through the waves of lockdown. Living in an affluent area conferred a greenspace advantage in London and Paris but we find that in Berlin greenspace in more deprived neighbourhoods were used more. Overall, urban greenspace occupied a greater place in people's lives during the pandemic. Whether people could realise greenspace access depended on the deprivation level of the neighbourhood. Public greenspace access should be integrated in national indices of deprivation given its importance for wellbeing.

Why Urban Ecology Matters in Ethiopia

Three concurrent global environmental trends are particularly apparent: human population growth, urbanization, and climate change. Especially in countries such as Ethiopia in the Global South, all three are impacted by, and in turn have bearing upon, social justice and equity. Combined, these spatial and social factors reduce wellbeing, leading to increasing urgency to create urban environments that are more livable, resilient, and adaptive. However, the impacts on, and of, non-human urban residents, particularly on the ecosystem services they provide, are often neglected. We review the literature using the One Health theoretical framework and focusing on Ethiopia as a case-study. We argue for specific urban strategies that benefit humans and also have spillover effects that benefit other species, and vice versa. For example, urban trees provide shade, clean the air, help combat climate change, create more livable neighborhoods, and offer habitat for many species. Similarly, urban neighborhoods that attract wildlife have characteristics that also make them more desirable for humans, resulting in improved health outcomes, higher livability, and enhanced real-estate values. After summarizing the present state of knowledge about urban ecology, we emphasize components relevant to the developing world in general and pre- COVID-19 pandemic Ethiopia in particular, then expand the discussion to include social justice and equity concerns in the built environment. Prior to the ongoing civil war, Ethiopia was beginning to invest in more sustainable urbanization and serve as a model. Especially in light of the conflict and pandemic, much more will need to be done. Copyright © 2022 Perry, Gebresenbet, DaPra, Branco, Whibesilassie, Jelacic and Eyob.

EXPERIENCES OF SURVEYING URBAN BIRDS DURING THE ANTHROPAUSE IN COLOMBIA

The COVID-19 lockdowns set a singular opportunity to perform scientific research in idle cities. The expected changes in urban ecology led us to conform a community composed of several volunteers which, following standardized protocols, conducted structured bird surveys across Colombia. We describe the process and experience of this initiative, conducted between 30 March and 30 June, 2020, and discuss recommendations to apply to future projects. The volunteer-based survey that we organized began with 93 collaborators in 40 urban centers, but ended with just 45 collaborators from 22 urban centers. Some issues that probably explain the drop in collaborators are commented on. This exercise was successful, gathering over 75,000 bird records of at least 250 bird species.

Spatiotemporal interactions of a novel mesocarnivore community in an urban environment before and during SARS-CoV-2 lockdown.

Studying species interactions and niche segregation under human pressure provides important insights into species adaptation, community functioning and ecosystem stability. Due to their high plasticity in behaviour and diet, urban mesocarnivores are ideal species for studying community assembly in novel communities. We analysed the spatial and temporal species interactions of an urban mesocarnivore community composed of the red fox Vulpes vulpes and the marten Martes sp. as native species, the raccoon Procyon lotor as invasive species, and the cat Felis catus as a domestic species in combination with human disturbance modulated by the SARS-CoV-2 lockdown effect that happened while the study was conducted. We analysed camera trap data and applied a joint species distribution model to understand not only the environmental variables influencing the detection of mesocarnivores and their use intensity of environmental features but also the species' co-occurrences while accounting for environmental variables. We then assessed whether they displayed temporal niche partitioning based on activity analyses, and finally analysed at a smaller temporal scale the time of delay after the detection of another focal species. We found that species were more often detected and displayed a higher use intensity in gardens during the SARS-CoV-2 lockdown period, while showing a shorter temporal delay during the same period, meaning a high human-induced spatiotemporal overlap. All three wild species spatially co-occurred within the urban area, with a positive response of raccoons to cats in detection and use intensity, whereas foxes showed a negative trend towards cats. When assessing the temporal partitioning, we found that all wild species showed overlapping nocturnal activities. All species displayed temporal segregation based on temporal delay. According to the temporal delay analyses, cats were the species avoided the most by all wild species. To conclude, we found that although the wild species were positively associated in space, the avoidance occurred at a smaller temporal scale, and human pressure in addition led to high spatiotemporal overlap. Our study sheds light to the complex patterns underlying the interactions in a mesocarnivore community both spatially and temporally, and the exacerbated effect of human pressure on community dynamics.

Home gardens can be more important than other urban green infrastructure for mental well-being during COVID-19 pandemics.

The current COVID-19 pandemics is a major threat to human populations. The disease has rapidly spread, causing mass hospitalization and the loss of millions of people mainly in urban areas which are hubs for contagion. At the same time, the social distancing practices required for containing the outbreak have caused an eruption of mental illnesses that include symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. The severity of such mental distress is modulated by the context of media coverage and the information and guidelines from local health authorities. Different urban green infrastructures, such as gardens, parks, and green views can be important for mitigating mental distress during the pandemics. However, it is unclear whether some urban green infrastructures are more efficient than others in reducing mental distress or whether their effectiveness changes with the context. Here we assess the relative importance of different urban green infrastructures on the mental distress of residents of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We show that although urban parks and green views are important, home gardens are the most efficient in mitigating mental distress. This is likely related to the practice of self-isolation seen for the residents of Rio de Janeiro. Information on the efficiency of different urban green infrastructures in mitigating mental distress can be important to help guide programs to inform the public about the best practices for maintaining mental health during the current outbreak. This can also help planning cities that are more resilient to future pandemics.

Rapid behavioural response of urban birds to COVID-19 lockdown.

Biodiversity is threatened by the growth of urban areas. However, it is still poorly understood how animals can cope with and adapt to these rapid and dramatic transformations of natural environments. The COVID-19 pandemic provides us with a unique opportunity to unveil the mechanisms involved in this process. Lockdown measures imposed in most countries are causing an unprecedented reduction of human activities, giving us an experimental setting to assess the effects of our lifestyle on biodiversity. We studied the birds' response to the population lockdown by using more than 126 000 bird records collected by a citizen science project in northeastern Spain. We compared the occurrence and detectability of birds during the spring 2020 lockdown with baseline data from previous years in the same urban areas and dates. We found that birds did not increase their probability of occurrence in urban areas during the lockdown, refuting the hypothesis that nature has recovered its space in human-emptied urban areas. However, we found an increase in bird detectability, especially during early morning, suggesting a rapid change in the birds' daily routines in response to quieter and less crowded cities. Therefore, urban birds show high behavioural plasticity to rapidly adjust to novel environmental conditions, such as those imposed by the COVID-19.

YIMBY-Yes, In My BackYard!-The successful transition to a local online ecology field course.

Field biology courses provide the ultimate experiential education as students discover the links between theory and practice in ecology and evolution directly in nature. During the spring and summer of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancelation of face-to-face classes in almost every university in Canada. Whereas traditional university courses were mostly transferred online, the online transition for field biology courses was not so common. Here, I provide an account of a successful transition from traditional field biology course to an online "backyard biology" field course with a small class size of 10 students. While the online field course may not provide the same level of interpersonal benefits of the traditional field course experience, the model outlined here demonstrates that an online field course that incorporates direct experience with the natural environment is possible and should no longer be considered an oxymoron.

The COVID-19 pandemic: local to global implications as perceived by urban ecologists.

The global COVID-19 pandemic is affecting everyone, but in many different ways, stimulating contrasting reactions and responses: opportunities for some, difficulties for many. A simple survey of how individual workers in urban ecology have been coping with COVID-19 constraints found divergent responses to COVID-19 on people's activities, both within countries and between continents. Many academics felt frustrated at being unable to do fieldwork, but several saw opportunities to change ways of working and review their engagement with the natural world. Some engaging with social groups found new ways of sharing ideas and developing aspirations without face-to-face contact. Practitioners creating and managing urban greenspaces had to devise ways to work and travel while maintaining social distancing. Many feared severe funding impacts from changed local government priorities. Around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified issues, such as environmental injustice, disaster preparation and food security, that have been endemic in most countries across the global south in modern times. However, developing and sustaining the strong community spirit shown in many places will speed economic recovery and make cities more resilient against future geophysical and people-made disasters. Significantly, top-down responses and one-size-fits-all solutions, however good the modelling on which they are based, are unlikely to succeed without the insights that local knowledge and community understanding can bring. We all will have to look at disaster preparation in a more comprehensive, caring and consistent way in future.

What can we learn from wildlife sightings during the COVID-19 global shutdown?

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.