The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from different studies. Hundreds of reports of unusual species observations from around the world suggest that animals quickly responded to the reductions in human presence. However, negative effects of lockdown on conservation also emerged, as confinement resulted in some park officials being unable to perform conservation, restoration and enforcement tasks, resulting in local increases in illegal activities such as hunting. Overall, there is a complex mixture of positive and negative effects of the pandemic lockdown on nature, all of which have the potential to lead to cascading responses which in turn impact wildlife and nature conservation. While the net effect of the lockdown will need to be assessed over years as data becomes available and persistent effects emerge, immediate responses were detected across the world. Thus, initial qualitative and quantitative data arising from this serendipitous global quasi-experimental perturbation highlights the dual role that humans play in threatening and protecting species and ecosystems. Pathways to favorably tilt this delicate balance include reducing impacts and increasing conservation effectiveness.

Given climate change threats to ecosystems, it is critical to understand the responses of species to warming. This is especially important in the case of apex predators since they exhibit relatively high extinction risk, and changes to their distribution could impact predator–prey interactions that can initiate trophic cascades. Here we used a combined analysis of animal tracking, remotely sensed environmental data, habitat modeling, and capture data to evaluate the effects of climate variability and change on the distributional range and migratory phenology of an ectothermic apex predator, the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier). Tiger sharks satellite tracked in the western North Atlantic between 2010 and 2019 revealed significant annual variability in the geographic extent and timing of their migrations to northern latitudes from ocean warming. Specifically, tiger shark migrations have extended farther poleward and arrival times to northern latitudes have occurred earlier in the year during periods with anomalously high sea‐surface temperatures. A complementary analysis of nearly 40 years of tiger shark captures in the region revealed decadal‐scale changes in the distribution and timing of shark captures in parallel with long‐term ocean warming. Specifically, areas of highest catch densities have progressively increased poleward and catches have occurred earlier in the year off the North American shelf. During periods of anomalously high sea‐surface temperatures, movements of tracked sharks shifted beyond spatial management zones that had been affording them protection from commercial fishing and bycatch. Taken together, these study results have implications for fisheries management, human–wildlife conflict, and ecosystem functioning.

Interspecific interactions can play an essential role in shaping wildlife populations and communities. To date, assessments of interspecific interactions, and more specifically predator-prey dynamics, in aquatic systems over broad spatial and temporal scales (i.e., hundreds of kilometers and multiple years) are rare due to constraints on our abilities to measure effectively at those scales. We applied new methods to identify space-use overlap and potential predation risk to Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) and permit (Trachinotus falcatus) from two known predators, great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) and bull (Carcharhinus leucas) sharks, over a 3-year period using acoustic telemetry in the coastal region of the Florida Keys (USA). By examining spatiotemporal overlap, as well as the timing and order of arrival at specific locations compared to random chance, we show that potential predation risk from great hammerhead and bull sharks to Atlantic tarpon and permit are heterogeneous across the Florida Keys. Additionally, we find that predator Lucas P. Griffin and Grace A. Casselberry share co-first authorship and contributed equally to this work.

Data from the Integrated Tracking of Aquatic Animals in the Gulf of Mexico (iTAG) network, and sister networks, were used to evaluate fish movements in the Florida Keys-an extensive reef fish ecosystem just north of Cuba connecting the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. We analysed ~2 million detections for 23 species, ranging from reef fish such as Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus, Serranidae) to migratory apex predators such as white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias, Lamnidae). To facilitate comparisons across species, we used an eco-evolutionary movement strategy framework that identified measurable movement traits and their proximate and ultimate drivers. Detectability was species-specific and quantified with a detection potential index. Life stages detected in the study area varied by species and residency varied with life stage. Four annual movement types were identified as follows: high site-fidelity residents, range residents, seasonal migrants and general migrants. The endangered smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata, Pristidae), a seasonal migrant, exhibited the greatest within-ecosystem connectivity. Site attachment, stopover and deep-water migration behaviours differed between individuals, species and annual movement types. All apex predators were migratory. General migrants were significantly larger than fish in the other movement types, a life-history and movement trait combination that is common but not exclusive, as many small pelagics also migrate.Most teleosts exhibited movements associated with spawning. As concerns grow over habitat and biodiversity loss, multispecies movescapes, such as presented here, are expected to play an increasingly important role in informing ecosystem-based and non-extractive fisheries management strategies.

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