- QMSat – Université de Sherbrooke
- Killick-1 – Memorial University
- VIOLET – University of New Brunswick
Live coverage of the launch will air on NASA Live.
A UK-led team has launched an initiative to track wildlife before, during and after lockdown.
The researchers’ aim is to study what they have called the “anthropause” – the global-scale, temporary slowdown in human activity, which is likely to have a profound impact on other species.
Measuring that impact, they say, will reveal ways in which we can “share our increasingly crowded planet”.
They outline this mission in a paper in the journal Scientific Reports.
They outline “urgent steps” to allow scientists to learn as much as possible from the sudden absence of humans in many landscapes – including ensuring that researchers have access and permission to carry out their work, and can gain access to information about human movement, as well as animal-tracking data.
Prof Christian Rutz from the University of St Andrews is president of the International Bio-logging Society.
He pointed out that bio-loggers – small tracking devices fitted to animals in order to record their movements and other behaviour – have been collecting information in habitats all over the world throughout the pandemic.
“There is a really valuable research opportunity here, one that’s been brought about by the most tragic circumstances, but it’s one we think we can’t afford to miss,” he told BBC News.
Usually, studies which try to examine the impact of human presence and activity on wild animals are limited to comparing protected habitats to unprotected areas, or studying landscapes in the wake of a natural disaster.
“But during lockdown we have this replicated around the globe – in different localities and for habitats where some species have been fitted with tracking devices the whole time,” said Prof Rutz.
There have been many accounts on social media of wildlife apparently making the most of our absence – moving freely through surprisingly urban settings. In some places though, the lack of human activity appears to have been detrimental – increases in poaching driven by poverty, and the absence of ecotourism.
“No one’s saying that humans should stay in lockdown permanently,” added Prof Rutz.
“But what if we see major impacts of our changes in road use, for example? We could use that to make small changes to our transport network that could have major benefits.”
Prof Jim Smith from the University of Portsmouth has been part of what might be considered the first anthropause study – a long-term investigation into the changes in the abandoned landscape around the damaged Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
“Just a few years after the evacuation of the Exclusion Zone, Belarussian and Ukrainian researchers found species associated with humans – like pigeons and rats – were disappearing, but wild animals – wild boar, deer and wolf – were multiplying,” he said.
“Still abandoned more than 30 years later, the zone has become an iconic example of accidental rewilding.”
“At great economic and human cost, Covid and Chernobyl forced us to push the pause button on our environmental damage,” Prof Smith continued.
“Stopping some of those impacts altogether will be hard, but will be helped by what we can learn from these extreme events.”
Prof Rutz and his team pointed out in their paper: “Scientific knowledge gained during this devastating crisis will allow us to develop innovative strategies for sharing space on this increasingly crowded planet, with benefits for both wildlife and humans.”
Watching the celestial event safely is possible with the right equipment and some preparation.
With the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, the New England College of Optometry (NECO) urges the general public to observe this celestial phenomenon safely. Solar eclipses are rare events that spark widespread interest and excitement. To ensure everyone can enjoy the eclipse without risking their vision, NECO is sharing crucial guidelines for proper viewing.
“Solar eclipses present a wonderful opportunity for communities to engage with astronomy, but it’s vital that safety is a priority,” says George Asimellis, PhD, Msc, MBA, Professor of Vision Science at NECO. “Viewing a solar eclipse without appropriate protection can result in solar retinopathy, which can cause lasting damage to the eyes. You must take proper precautions to view the eclipse.” PLEASE NOTE: NECO recommends that individuals who have recently undergone eye surgery or who have chronic eye conditions should refrain from viewing the eclipse.
NECO will host an eclipse viewing party on Monday, April 8, from 2:00-4:00pm at their main campus located at 424 Beacon Street in Boston’s Back Bay. Media are welcome to attend and receive a free pair of eclipse viewing glasses. Faculty will be present to talk about the science behind safely viewing an eclipse.
The map below (courtesy of NASA) shows the eclipse’s path of totality.
For those who reside outside the path of totality: The Boston area is outside the eclipse’s path of totality. However, we will be able to view a partial eclipse starting at about 2:10pm. Our area will experience moderate darkness and a drop in temperature during the partial eclipse, which will last two hours. Eclipse glasses must still be used to protect your eyes from the harmful rays of the sun, even during a partial eclipse!
Our vision experts are available for comment and additional information on eye care during this astronomical event. Please contact our Marketing Department by calling (617) 587-5609, or email [email protected].
For more information from national experts on the April 8 solar eclipse, visit NASA or the American Optometric Association.
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One of the largest studies on wildlife activity—involving more than 220 researchers, 163 mammal species and 5,000 camera traps worldwide—reveals that wild animals react differently to humans depending on where the animals live and what they eat.
Bigger herbivores—plant-eating animals like deer or moose—tend to become more active when humans are around, while meat-eaters like wolves or wolverines tend to be less active, preferring to avoid risky encounters.
Urban animals like deer or raccoons may become more active around people, as they get used to human presence and find food like garbage or plants, which they can access at night. But animals living farther from cities and other developed areas are more wary of encountering people.
The new study, a collaboration across researchers from 161 institutions, used data from before and during the COVID-19 lockdowns to examine wildlife behaviour amid changing human activity levels.
“COVID-19 mobility restrictions gave researchers a truly unique opportunity to study how animals responded when the number of people sharing their landscape changed drastically over a relatively short period,” said lead author Dr. Cole Burton, an associate professor of forest resources management at UBC and Canada Research Chair in Terrestrial Mammal Conservation.
“And contrary to the popular narratives that emerged around that time, we did not see an overall pattern of ‘wildlife running free’ while humans sheltered in place. Rather, we saw great variation in activity patterns of people and wildlife, with the most striking trends being that animal responses depended on landscape conditions and their position in the food chain.”
In Canada, researchers monitoring areas such as Banff and Pacific Rim national parks, Cathedral, Golden Ears and South Chilcotin Mountains provincial parks, and the Sea-to-Sky corridor in B.C. found that carnivores like wolverines, wolves and cougars were generally less active when human activity was higher.
In several of these parks, and in cities such as Edmonton, large herbivores often increased their activity but became more nocturnal with the presence of more humans. Large carnivores were notably absent from the most human-dominated landscapes.
These findings highlight the importance of measures to minimize any detrimental effects of human disturbance on wildlife, including reducing overlaps that might lead to conflict.
“In remote areas with limited human infrastructure, the effects of our actual presence on wildlife may be particularly strong. To give wild animals the space they need, we may consider setting aside protected areas or movement corridors free of human activity, or consider seasonal restrictions, like temporary closures of campsites or hiking trails during migratory or breeding seasons,” said study co-author and UBC biologist Dr. Kaitlyn Gaynor.
She added that strategies must also fit specific species and locations. In more remote areas, keeping human activity low will be necessary to protect sensitive species. In areas where people and animals overlap more, such as cities, nighttime is an important refuge for wildlife, and keeping it that way can help species survive. Efforts may focus on reducing human-wildlife conflict after dark, such as more secure storage of trash bins to reduce the number of animals getting into human food sources, or use of road mitigation measures to reduce vehicle collisions.
The findings are particularly useful amid the surge in global travel and outdoor recreation post-pandemic, Dr. Burton added.
“Understanding how wildlife respond to human activity in various contexts helps us develop effective conservation plans that have local and global impact. For that reason, we are working to improve wildlife monitoring systems using tools like the camera traps that made it possible to observe animal behaviours during the pandemic.”
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Live coverage of the launch will air on NASA Live.
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