COVID-19 lockdown reveals tourists as seabird guardians.

Autor: Hentati-Sundberg J; Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Turistgatan 5, 453 00 Lysekil, Sweden., Berglund PA; Baltic Seabird Project, Karlsö Jagt och Djurskyddsförenings AB, Box 1431, 621 25 Visby, Sweden., Hejdström A; Baltic Seabird Project, Karlsö Jagt och Djurskyddsförenings AB, Box 1431, 621 25 Visby, Sweden., Olsson O; Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Sweden.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Biological conservation [Biol Conserv] 2021 Feb; Vol. 254, pp. 108950. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Jan 04.
DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2021.108950
Abstrakt: The widespread lockdowns put in place to limit the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) offers a rare opportunity in understanding how human presence influence ecosystems. Using data from long-term seabird monitoring, we reveal a previously concealed guarding effect by tourist groups on an iconic seabird colony in the Baltic Sea. The absence of tourists in 2020 lead to a sevenfold increase in presence of white-tailed eagles Haliaeetus albicilla , a sevenfold increase in their disturbance of breeding common murres Uria aalge and causing 26% lower murre productivity than the long-term average. Eagles did not prey on murres, but their frequent disturbances delayed egg laying and facilitated egg predation from herring gulls Larus argentatus and hooded crows Corvus cornix . Based on our findings, we suggest that human presence could be used as a strategic measure in guarding seabird colonies, and that a social-ecological systems perspective is vital for long-term success in protected area management.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
(© 2021 The Authors.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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