A global perspective on the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on freshwater fish biodiversity

Por: Steven J. Cooke; William M. Twardek; Abigail J. Lynch; Ian G. Cowx; Julian D. Olden; Simon Funge-Smith; Kai Lorenzen; Robert Arlinghaus; Yushun Chen; Olaf L.F. Weyl; Elizabeth A. Nyboer; Paulo S. Pompeu; Stephanie M. Carlson; John D. Koehn; Adrian C. Pinder; Rajeev Raghavan; Sui Phang; Aaron A. Koning; William W. Taylor; Devin Bartley; Devin Bartley

Autor contato: Paulo S. Pompeu (pompeu@ufla.br)

Resumo
The COVID-19 global pandemic and resulting effects on the economy and society (e.g., sheltering-in-place, alterations in transportation, changes in consumer behaviour, loss of employment) have yielded some benefits and risks to biodiversity. Here, we considered the ways the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced (or may influence) freshwater fish biodiversity (e.g., richness, abundance). In many cases, we could only consider potential impacts using documented examples (often from the media) of likely changes, because anecdotal observations are still emerging and data-driven studies are yet to be completed or even undertaken. We evaluated the potential for the pandemic to either mitigate or amplify widely acknowledged, pre-existing threats to freshwater fish biodiversity (i.e., invasive species, pollution, fragmentation, flow alteration, habitat loss and alteration, climate change, exploitation). Indeed, we identified examples spanning the extremes of positive and negative outcomes for almost all known threats. We also considered the pandemic's impact on freshwater fisheries demand, assessment, research, compliance monitoring, and management interventions (e.g., restoration), with disruptions being experienced in all domains. Importantly, we provide a forward-looking synthesis that considers the potential mechanisms and pathways by which the consequences of the pandemic may positively and negatively impact freshwater fishes over the longer term. We conclude with a candid assessment of the current management and policy responses and the extent to which they ensure freshwater fish populations and biodiversity are conserved for human and aquatic ecosystem benefits in perpetuity.

Palavras-chave: Inland fisheries, Freshwater fish, Biodiversity, Pandemic, Aquatic conservation

Publicado em: Biological Conservation (2020)

Artigo completo: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108932

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São Paulo’s atmospheric pollution reduction and its social isolation effect, Brazil

Por: Vinicius Possato Rosse; Jaqueline Natiele Pereira; Arthur Boari; Gabriel Vinicius Costa; João Pedro Colombo Ribeiro; Marcelo Vieira-Filho

Autor contato: Marcelo Vieira-Filho (marcelo.filho@ufla.br)

Resumo
Since January 2020, studies report reductions in air pollution among several countries due to social isolation measures, which have been adopted in order to contain the coronavirus outbreak progress (COVID-19). This study aims to evaluate the change in the atmospheric pollution levels by NO and NO2 in São Paulo City for the social isolation period. The NO and NO2 hourly concentrations were obtained through air quality monitoring stations from CETESB, from January 14, 2020 to April 12, 2020. Mann-Kendall and the Pettitt tests were performed in the air pollutant time series. We observed an overall negative trend in all stations, indicating a decreasing temporal pattern in concentrations. Regarding NO, the highest absolute decrease rates were observed in the Congonhas (− 6.39 μg m−3 month−1) and Marginal Tietê (− 6.19 μg m−3 month−1) stations; regarding NO2, the highest rates were observed in the Marginal Tietê (− 4.45 μg m−3 month−1) and Cerqueira César (− 4.34 μg m−3 month−1) stations. In addition, we identified a turning point in the NO and NO2 series trends that occurred close to the start date of the social isolation period (March 20, 2020). Moreover, from statistical analysis, it was found that NO2 is a suitable surrogate for monitoring economic activities during social isolation periods. Thus, we concluded that social isolation measures implemented on March 20, 2020 caused significant changes in the air pollutant concentrations in the city of São Paulo (as high as − 200% in NO2 levels).

Palavras-chave: Air pollution, NO2, Coronavirus outbreak, COVID-19, São Paulo

Publicado em: Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health (2021)

Artigo completo: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-020-00959-8

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