Recovery of ghost crabs metapopulations on urban beaches during the Covid-19 "anthropause".
Mar Environ Res
; 180: 105733, 2022 Sep.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1996411
ABSTRACT
The majority of government authorities initially responded to COVID-19 pandemic by declaring lockdown to facilitate social distancing and minimize virus spreading. This period termed "anthropause" provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the recovery of wildlife in the absence of stressors on urban ecosystems. We assessed whether the anthropause associated with beach closures during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in repopulation of the Atlantic ghost crab Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius, 1787) on urban beaches. For this purpose, we compiled a historic dataset (2013-2019) of the ghost crab density and performed biweekly burrow measurements from June/2020 to May/2021. Recovery of ghost crab metapopulation during the lockdown occurred even in more human-modified beaches. Burrow abundance significantly increased in urban sectors, but not in control site along with the time of pandemic. The reduction in the mean burrow opening diameter during this period evidenced that young metapopulation have thrived on urban beaches when recreational activities ceased. Our results show that urban beaches should not be exclusively managed for recreational purposes. Initiatives with a focus on wildlife conservation including spatial-temporal controlled beach closures may increase the biodiversity resilience.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Brachyura
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Mar Environ Res
Journal subject:
Biology
/
Environmental Health
/
Toxicology
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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