Impact of COVID-19 Lockdowns on Wildlife Adaptation Observed

In a recent study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers observed significant changes in the beak structure of dark-eyed juncos, a species of songbird, due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.

Pamela Yeh, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, noted that these birds, which had adapted to urban environments over the past two decades with shorter, stubbier beaks, reverted to their wildland beak shape during the campus shutdown in 2020.

The study highlights the pandemic as a unique natural experiment, revealing how wildlife behavior and physical traits can shift in response to reduced human activity, as noted in other species like mountain lions and sea turtles, which also changed their behavior during the anthropause.