Rapid morphological change in an urban bird due to COVID-19 restrictions.
other · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41397118.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.2520996122 and PMC identifier 12745801.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic provided a natural experiment to test the impacts of human activity on urban-dwelling wildlife. Urban dark-eyed juncos differ in bill shape and size in Los Angeles in comparison to local wildlands. We measured juncos that hatched before, during, and after COVID-19 restrictions at a Los Angeles college campus. Birds that hatched during and soon after COVID-19 restrictions had bills that resembled those of local wildland birds. Yet, bills rapidly returned to pre-COVID-19 morphology in birds hatched in the years following pandemic restrictions. Thus, human activity (and lack thereof) underlies rapid morphological change in an urban bird.
Medical subject headings
- COVID-19
- Birds