Has the "Covid-19" lockdown an impact on beach faunal communities? The central Atlantic coast of Morocco as a case study.

ABSTRACT

The restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a global hiatus in anthropogenic activities; several scientists have utilized this unique opportunity to assess the human impact on biological systems. In this study, the study describes for a period of five years (2018-2022) how the faunal community have been affected by human disturbances, as well as the effect of the "anthropause" period driven by the COVID-19 lockdown. The results confirmed human disturbances on faunal communities related to coastal urbanization. It was found that the "anthropause" period showed the highest values of abundance and biomass, hence the "COVID-19 lockdown" allowed recovery of faunal communities. The findings highlight the impact of human disturbances and that the community showed resilience. Overall, the authorities must perform restrictive measures aiming to mitigate the impact of anthropogenic activities in the study area including the banning of off-road and recreational vehicles, carrying out efficient cleaning and grooming operations, monitoring the severe harvesting of edible species, as well as penalizing the disposal of anthropogenic waste and sewage discharge from the touristic facilities. Likewise, management actions such as the temporal beach closures and the regular surveillance could be advantageous to provide a more sustainable exploitation of sandy beaches.