The effect of COVID-19 confinement on the activity behaviour of red deer

Garcia, Fernanda; Silva, António Alves da; Freitas, Helena; Sousa, José Paulo; Alves, Joana

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02525

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…According to published materials, increases in roadkills in urban areas during the COVID-19 period could be related to several factors, including changes in animal behavior [ 7 , 13 , 32 ], disrupted migration routes [ 18 ], encroachment of natural habitats [ 10 ], changes in food availability [ 10 , 48 ], decreased disturbance and fewer conflicts with humans [ 2 , 57 ] and reduced road maintenance [ 58 ]. We presume that the observed increase in the number of roadkills on the roads and streets of urbanized territories during the COVID-19 restrictions in Lithuania was a combination of different human mobility patterns (though Lithuania had no curfew, see [ 56 ]) and changes in animal behavior due to reduced stress [ 14 , 44 , 59 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, Lithuania is not on this list. Furthermore, findings from various countries have shown inconsistency: while some reported no decrease in roadkill numbers on fenced highways [ 29 ] or in urban areas [ 30 ], others observed differing patterns of decrease [ 31 ], and some even experienced a brief decrease followed by an increase in roadkill numbers [ 26 , 32 ]. However, for mammals, the presence of humans may have only temporary effects [ 33 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Possible explanations for these observed patterns include differences in accident reporting [ 5 , 19 ], changes in animal behavior and habitat use due to reduced human activities [ 18 , 19 , 32 , 47 , 48 ] and even gaps in previous knowledge about animal presence [ 49 ]. Disruptions in research activities and conservation enforcement may also obscure the true picture of these changes [ 9 , 50 ], as species react differently to disturbances [ 10 , 13 ], and this was also observed in the context of roadkill [ 44 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lockdown’s Silver Lining? Different Levels of Roadkill during the COVID-19 Times in Lithuania

Balčiauskas,

Stratford,

Kučas

et al. 2023

Animals

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The impact of COVID-19 restrictions on human and vehicular mobility on the number of roadkills of wild mammals, and roe deer in particular, was assessed in Lithuania. We statistically analyzed the distribution of all mammals and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) as the most abundant species annually from 2002 to 2022 and monthly from 2020 to 2021, including during the two restriction periods. Notably, there was a marked decrease in roadkill incidents on main, national and regional roads, particularly in April–May 2020 (the beginning of lockdown period I) and November–December 2020 (the beginning of lockdown period II), 5.1–20.8% and 33.6–54.4%, respectively. During these months, collisions with mammals on the A14 main road were reduced by 75–90%. However, there was a significant increase in the number of roadkills in urban areas, resulting in the total number of mammal–vehicle and roe deer–vehicle collisions in 2020 and 2021 being higher than expected based on long-term trends. However, after restrictions were eased, collision numbers with wildlife on the main, national and regional roads increased again and became higher than expected.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lockdown’s Silver Lining? Different Levels of Roadkill during the COVID-19 Times in Lithuania

Balčiauskas,

Stratford,

Kučas

et al. 2023

Animals

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“…Consequently, the pandemic may have prompted many hunters to prematurely end their hunting career due to health problems, caregiving responsibilities for older relatives, or even higher mortality among older hunters (Fusar Poli et al, 2021;Messina et al, 2022). Moreover, many countries repeatedly enforced restrictions to human mobility, whenever they experienced peaks in SARS-CoV2 incidence and deaths from COVID-19, and some even halted the hunting season (e.g., Portugal, see Garcia et al, 2023). This could have increased the uncertainty of hunters about the upcoming hunting seasons in 2020 and 2021, potentially leading them to not renew their licenses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 could accelerate the decline in recreational hunting: a natural experiment from Northern Italy

Cerri,

Musto,

Ferretti

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Although many studies highlighted the potential of COVID-19 to reshape existing models of wildlife management, empirical research on this topic has been scarce, particularly in Europe. We investigated the potential of COVID-19 pandemic to accelerate the ongoing decline in an aging population of recreational hunters in Italy. Namely, we modeled spatiotemporal trends between 2011 and 2021 in the number of recreational hunters in 50 Italian provinces with a varying incidence of COVID-19, and temporally delayed waves of infection. Compared to projections from 2011-2019 data, we detected a lower number of hunters who enrolled for the hunting season, both in 2020 (14 provinces) and in 2021 (15 provinces). The provinces with the highest incidence of COVID-19 in the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions were also those experiencing the most marked decrease in hunting participation. Our findings revealed that a wildlife management system based on recreational hunting can be rapidly destabilized by epidemics and their associated public health measures, particularly when the average age of hunters is high, like in Italy. Considered the high incidence attained by COVID-19 in many European countries, where hunters are pivotal for the management of large ungulates and where they were already declining before the pandemic, our findings call for further large-scale research about the impact of COVID-19 on hunting participation.

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The effects of the decline in tourism during the COVID-19 lockdown on the wild mammal community in forest surrounding a theme park on the Mexican Caribbean

Pérez-Flores,

Hernández-Pérez,

Weissenberger

et al. 2024

Journal for Nature Conservation

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The effect of COVID-19 confinement on the activity behaviour of red deer

Cited by 5 publications

References 41 publications

Lockdown’s Silver Lining? Different Levels of Roadkill during the COVID-19 Times in Lithuania

Lockdown’s Silver Lining? Different Levels of Roadkill during the COVID-19 Times in Lithuania

COVID-19 could accelerate the decline in recreational hunting: a natural experiment from Northern Italy

The effects of the decline in tourism during the COVID-19 lockdown on the wild mammal community in forest surrounding a theme park on the Mexican Caribbean

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