Document Type

Honors Thesis

Major

Wildlife Ecology

Advisor(s)

Amber Roth

Committee Members

Erik Blomberg, Pauline Kamath, Margaret Killinger

Graduation Year

May 2024

Publication Date

Spring 5-2024

Abstract

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has brought new research that examines the many ways in which humans impact wildlife. Wildlife rehabilitation is a tool that attempts to mitigate some negative effects of anthropogenic activity (domestic cats, window strikes), through specialized care to aid injured and orphaned animals. This study sought to investigate if the ‘Anthropause’, which saw a massive change in human behavior, demonstrated an influence on wild bird admissions to wildlife rehabilitation centers. Twelve centers were selected including both urban and non-urban centers throughout the eastern United States. Bird admission data between 2018 and 2021 were used to examine differences associated with the pandemic in the number, cause, and care of admissions. The findings revealed no widespread changes in admissions to wildlife rehabilitation centers linked to the pandemic but highlighted variable responses between centers and differences among urban and non-urban centers. The wealth of information available through wildlife rehabilitation poses opportunities for long-term monitoring of urban-associated species and impacts of metropolitan activity on wildlife that should be further studied.

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