A new study shed light on how the 2020 lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic influenced wildlife populations. While the implications are troubling, they also provide a path forward. 

What's happening?

While the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the Bonelli's eagle as a stable species of least concern, the subpopulation in southeastern Spain is endangered. 

Scientists at the University of Granada received a special permit to observe the Bonelli's eagle in its natural habitat during lockdowns. This allowed them to contextualize 31 years of monitoring within "an unintentional pseudo-experiment" that coincided with critical reproductive stages, when chicks complete their incubation period and begin growing in nests.

They found that breeding eagles and chicks — perhaps unsurprisingly — faced "a high risk of mortality" from hunting and lead poisoning, according to a UGR release.

However, their findings, published in Biological Conservation, startlingly revealed that all human activities, including hiking and mountain biking, posed a greater threat to the eagles than natural elements, such as weather conditions, prey abundance, and competition with other species.

"Contrary to our expectations, the negative effects appeared to be inherent to the human activities themselves, regardless of the degree of exposure or apparent vulnerability of nesting cliffs to people — at least at the studied scale," the researchers wrote. 

Why is this important?

Keystone species, such as the Bonelli's eagle — an apex predator that helps control prey populations, including rats, rabbits, and partridges — have significant impacts on ecosystems that support public health and the food web. Without them, things can quickly fall apart. 

For example, in India, researchers linked the decline of a scavenging keystone species to thousands of additional rabies infections. In the U.S., honeybee colony collapses caused an estimated $635 million in financial damages in just one year. 

What's being done about this?

Respecting nature is one of the first steps toward supporting biodiversity. In practice, this means staying on designated paths in national parks, limiting waste, and giving wildlife space. Many areas are implementing wildlife corridors to promote coexistence between humans and nature. Meanwhile, donating to causes you believe in can support critical conservation work. 

As for the Bonelli's eagle, the researchers said that southern Spain should ban the cultural practice of using decoys to hunt partridges, which European law already prohibits. They also recommend limiting recreational access to nesting-site areas from December to May.    

"Taken together, our results highlight the critical importance of incorporating shifts in human behavior into the design of effective conservation strategies," they concluded in the study. 

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