RAPID: Illuminating the effects of a COVID-19 elimination of diver disturbance on reef fish behavior, distribution and ecosystem functioning in the Galapagos Marine Reserve

由于旅行限制和隔离以遏制新冠肺炎大流行，人类对生物圈的影响程度发生了大规模变化。访问自然区的次数的减少为研究人类对野生动物和生态系统的影响提供了一个前所未有的机会。此前的研究表明，人类可以通过恐吓动物和改变它们的行为来影响整个生态系统。新冠肺炎隔离暂停了潜水旅游，暂时消除了潜水员在珊瑚礁鱼类群落中引发的恐惧，从而在全球潜水目的地的海洋中进行了一次“自然实验”。在加拉帕戈斯群岛，当厄瓜多尔政府停止潜水旅游时，潜水员的数量从每年1.8万人下降到2020年3月的零人。这项研究正在测量珊瑚鱼的行为、种群和物种之间的生态互动的变化，以了解潜水活动如何影响这个海洋生态系统的功能。潜水员干扰变化的影响是通过将隔离期间和隔离后的珊瑚礁鱼类群落与新冠肺炎之前的长期基线研究中的珊瑚鱼群落进行比较来确定的。更广泛的影响包括通过参与实地研究和高级论文项目为本科生提供培训机会。公众宣传的重点是向美国和加拉帕戈斯的普通公众和高中生展示。一段关于加拉帕戈斯海洋保护区潜水活动的生态影响的YouTube视频正在制作中，并公开发布。这项研究的学术贡献在于，它能够检验关于人类在影响海洋生态系统结构、复杂性和功能方面的作用的假设。虽然众所周知，珊瑚鱼对人类的反应是潜在的捕食者，但对捕食的恐惧这一主要类型的非消耗性相互作用如何影响潮下海洋群落，特别是在与养护有关的大空间尺度上，人们知之甚少。一个综合的观测-实验研究计划正在通过比较当前条件和现有的新冠肺炎之前的数据来解决加拉帕戈斯海洋保护区的这一知识差距。正在检验与大流行溢出效应有关的四个假说或预测：1)潜水员受到干扰导致珊瑚鱼行为发生变化；2)潜水员减少珊瑚鱼的丰富度和多样性，目前这种影响已降低；3)以前保持警惕的草食性和/或捕食性鱼类的出现或丰度增加，导致在“新冠肺炎”期间和之后立即更多地消费海底生物；4)与大流行病有关的潜水员扰动减少，改变了珊瑚鱼、鲨鱼和海狮之间行为网络(积极的和积极的互动)的复杂性。在三次研究旅行的过程中，这些假说在14个地点进行了验证，使用的是水下观察和实验，涉及鱼类数量、摄像机部署以记录鱼类的行为、摄食率、物种之间的相互作用以及潜水旅游船发出的水下船只噪音。该项目对了解加拉帕戈斯海洋保护区生态系统中的鱼类群落将如何应对未来的扰动具有影响，同时也为人类大混乱的生态后果提供了独特的见解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Large-scale changes in the magnitude of human influence on the biosphere have occurred due to travel restrictions and quarantines to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The reduction in the number of visits to natural areas is providing an unprecedented opportunity to study the effects of people on wildlife and ecosystems. Previous studies indicate that humans can impact the entire ecosystem by frightening animals and altering their behaviors. The COVID-19 quarantine has created a "natural experiment" in the ocean at scuba-diving destinations worldwide by suspending dive tourism and temporarily eliminating the effects of diver-induced fear in reef fish communities. In the Galapagos Islands, the number of scuba divers dropped from 18,000 divers a year to zero in March 2020 when the government of Ecuador halted dive tourism. This study is measuring the changes reef fish behavior, populations and ecological interactions between species to gain an understanding of how dive activity affects the functioning of this marine ecosystem. The effects of changes in diver disturbance are being determined by comparing reef fish communities during and after the quarantine to those from a long-term pre-COVID-19 baseline study. Broader impacts include training opportunities for undergraduate students through participation in field research and senior thesis projects. Public outreach is focused on presentations to the general public and high school students in the US and in the Galapagos. A YouTube video on the ecological effects of diving activity in the Galapagos Marine Reserve is being produced and made publicly available. Insights from this project is increasing awareness of how humans impact subtidal marine ecosystems, which is aiding marine conservation efforts of marine protected areas in the Galapagos and elsewhere.The intellectual contribution of the research lies in its ability to test hypotheses about the role of humans in influencing consumptive and non-consumptive interactions in shaping the structure, complexity and functioning of marine ecosystems. While it is known that reef fish react to humans as potential predators, less is known about how the fear of predation, a major type of non-consumptive interaction, affects subtidal marine communities, particularly on large spatial scales relevant to conservation. An integrated, observational - experimental research program is addressing this knowledge gap in the Galapagos Marine Reserve by comparing current conditions with existing pre-COVID-19 data. Four hypotheses or predictions related to pandemic spillover effects are being tested: 1) diver disturbance results in behavioral shifts in reef fishes; 2) divers decrease the abundance and diversity of reef fishes and this effect is currently reduced; 3) emergence or increased abundance of previously wary herbivorous and /or predatory fish results in greater consumption of benthic organisms during and immediately after the COVID-19 period; and 4) decreased diver disturbance associated with the pandemic changes the complexity of behavioral networks (aggressive and positive interactions) among reef fish, sharks and sea lions. The hypotheses are being tested at 14 sites over the course of three research trips using underwater observations and experiments involving fish counts, video camera deployments to record fish behaviors, feeding rates, interactions between species and underwater boat noise from dive tour boats. This project has implications for understanding how fish communities in the Galapagos Marine Reserve ecosystem will respond to future perturbations, while also providing unique insight into the ecological ramifications of a human pandemic.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.