CSIR-Covid-19-Bulletin-25-August-2020

CSIR-NISCAIR
What is the ‘Anthropause’ period?
Researchers have launched an initiative to
track wildlife before, during and after the
coronavirus lockdown. Researchers in the
UK are set to study the “anthropause”, a term
they have coined to refer to the coronavirusinduced
lockdown period and its impact
on other species. The researchers believe
studying this period will provide valuable
insights into the relationship between humanwildlife
interactions in the 21 st century.
Researchers have suggested the lockdown
period, which is also being referred to as the
“Great Pause”, be referred to with a more
precise term called “Anthropause”.
Researchers mention how the scientific
community can use these “extraordinary
circumstances” provided by global
lockdowns to understand how human
activity affects wildlife. They maintain that
as a result of the lockdown, nature appears
to have changed, especially in urban
COVID-19 Bulletin
environments, since not only are there now
more animals, but also some “unexpected
visitors.” There are some animals for whom
the lockdown may have made things more
challenging. For instance, for various urbandwelling
animals, such as rats, gulls and
monkeys who depend on food provided or
discarded by humans, the lockdown would
have made life more difficult.
As expanding human populations
continue to transform their environments at
unprecedented rates, studying how human
and animal behavior may be linked can
help provide insights that may be useful in
preserving global biodiversity, maintaining
the integrity of ecosystems and predicting
global zoonoses and environmental
changes. Since the reduction in human
activity during the lockdown on both land and
sea has been unparalleled in recent history,
the effects have been drastic, sudden, and
widespread.
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-
020-1237-z
Credit: AP PHOTO/ODED BALILTY
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