A light in the dark: using cabled seafloor observatories to study abundance and behaviour of seafloor megafauna in response to environmental change

Surface primary productivity forms the base of most marine food webs and contributes significantly to global carbon cycling, providing a key link from surface to seafloor. High seasonal primary productivity along temperate latitude coastlines provides crucial nutrients for seafloor communities, driving spatiotemporal patterns in abundance, behaviour, biodiversity, and distribution of benthic megafauna. Many factors, including ocean warming, deoxygenation, and increasing frequency and duration of marine heatwaves (MHW), may alter the dynamics governing primary production, threatening benthic organisms that depend on the seasonal input of phytodetritus for food. The focus of this thesis is to make use of two seafloor observatories, NEPTUNE near Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and a new platform in Conception Bay, NL, to examine variability in abundance, behaviour, and composition of seafloor communities in response to environmental change across temporal scales. First, the response of the deep-sea pink urchin Strongylocentrotus fragilis to a recent MHW on the continental margin off the coast of Vancouver Island was investigated using a combination of benthic trawls (2004-2018) and seafloor observatory data (2013-2020). Sea urchin density declined during the MHW, likely in response to reduced kelp subsidies from coastal waters. Next, the new Holyrood Underwater Observatory in Conception Bay was used to study benthic community response to the spring phytoplankton bloom. High-frequency variability in seafloor environmental dynamics was documented during the winter-spring transition, and the unexpected emergence of >200 sea cucumbers (Psolus sp.) coinciding with the arrival of phytodetritus at the seafloor was observed. These data will provide a baseline against which to monitor changes in phenology as climate change progresses. This work comes at a critical point in ocean observing as we approach global climate tipping points. Now more than ever, it is essential to document the current state of marine communities to understand and predict community responses to changing ocean conditions, and to sustainably manage ocean resources

Global COVID-19 lockdown highlights humans as both threats and custodians of the environment

The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from 89 different studies. Hundreds of reports of unusual species observations from around the world suggest that animals quickly responded to the reductions in human presence. However, negative effects of lockdown on conservation also emerged, as confinement resulted in some park officials being unable to perform conservation, restoration and enforcement tasks, resulting in local increases in illegal activities such as hunting. Overall, there is a complex mixture of positive and negative effects of the pandemic lockdown on nature, all of which have the potential to lead to cascading responses which in turn impact wildlife and nature conservation. While the net effect of the lockdown will need to be assessed over years as data becomes available and persistent effects emerge, immediate responses were detected across the world. Thus, initial qualitative and quantitative data arising from this serendipitous global quasi-experimental perturbation highlights the dual role that humans play in threatening and protecting species and ecosystems. Pathways to favorably tilt this delicate balance include reducing impacts and increasing conservation effectiveness

Global COVID-19 lockdown highlights humans as both threats and custodians of the environment

The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from 89 different studies. Hundreds of reports of unusual species observations from around the world suggest that animals quickly responded to the reductions in human presence. However, negative effects of lockdown on conservation also emerged, as confinement resulted in some park officials being unable to perform conservation, restoration and enforcement tasks, resulting in local increases in illegal activities such as hunting. Overall, there is a complex mixture of positive and negative effects of the pandemic lockdown on nature, all of which have the potential to lead to cascading responses which in turn impact wildlife and nature conservation. While the net effect of the lockdown will need to be assessed over years as data becomes available and persistent effects emerge, immediate responses were detected across the world. Thus, initial qualitative and quantitative data arising from this serendipitous global quasi-experimental perturbation highlights the dual role that humans play in threatening and protecting species and ecosystems. Pathways to favorably tilt this delicate balance include reducing impacts and increasing conservation effectiveness

Global COVID-19 lockdown highlights humans as both threats and custodians of the environment

The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from 89 different studies. Hundreds of reports of unusual species observations from around the world suggest that animals quickly responded to the reductions in human presence. However, negative effects of lockdown on conservation also emerged, as confinement resulted in some park officials being unable to perform conservation, restoration and enforcement tasks, resulting in local increases in illegal activities such as hunting. Overall, there is a complex mixture of positive and negative effects of the pandemic lockdown on nature, all of which have the potential to lead to cascading responses which in turn impact wildlife and nature conservation. While the net effect of the lockdown will need to be assessed over years as data becomes available and persistent effects emerge, immediate responses were detected across the world. Thus initial qualitative and quantitative data arising from this serendipitous global quasi-experimental perturbation highlights the dual role that humans play in threatening and protecting species and ecosystems. Pathways to favorably tilt this delicate balance include reducing impacts and increasing conservation effectiveness