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. 2023;23(1):16.
doi: 10.1007/s10113-022-02011-0. Epub 2022 Dec 22.

Effects of COVID-19 lockdown on the observed density of coral reef fish along coastal habitats of Moorea, French Polynesia

Frédéric Bertucci  1   2 , William E Feeney  3   4   5 , Zara-Louise Cowan  6 , Camille Gache  1   7 , Rakamaly Madi Moussa  1   7 , Cécile Berthe  1   7 , Lana Minier  1 , Tamatoa Bambridge  1   7 , David Lecchini  1   7
Affiliations

Effects of COVID-19 lockdown on the observed density of coral reef fish along coastal habitats of Moorea, French Polynesia

Frédéric Bertucci et al. Reg Environ Change. 2023.

Abstract

During the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, levels of coastal activities such as subsistence fishing and marine tourism declined rapidly throughout French Polynesia. Here, we examined whether the reduction in coastal use led to changes in fish density around the island of Moorea. Two natural coastal marine habitats (bare sand and mangrove) and one type of man-made coastal structure (embankment) were monitored on the west coast of the island before and after the first COVID-19 lockdown. At the end of the lockdown (May 2020), significantly higher apparent densities of juvenile and adult fish, including many harvested species, were recorded compared to levels documented in 2019 at the same period (April 2019). Fish densities subsequently declined as coastal activities recovered; however, 2 months after the end of the lockdown (July 2020), densities were still higher than they were in July 2019 with significant family-specific variation across habitats. This study highlights that short-term reductions in human activity can have a positive impact on coastal fish communities and may encourage future management policy that minimizes human impacts on coastline habitats.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10113-022-02011-0.

Keywords: Anthropause; COVID-19; Coastline habitat; Coral reef fish; Human activities; Recreational activities.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interestThe authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Map of Moorea Island showing the location of the different study sites. Map was drawn by the authors using PhotoFiltre 7 software (version 7.1.2—www.photofiltre.com) from an aerial photograph taken by the CRIOBE in 2008 from a private plane
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Effect sizes ± 95% confidence interval measured on bare sand, mangroves and embankments, in juveniles, adults and harvested fish, for densities at the end of the lockdown (May 2020) and two months after the lockdown (July 2020). Effect sizes are expressed as the change in the log ratio of the 2020 densities in the different habitats relative to their levels in April and July 2019 respectively. Higher negative values of effect size indicate higher densities in 2020 and are considered significant when the 95% confidence interval of the effect does not overlap zero
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Effect sizes ± 95% confidence interval measured on bare sand (blue), mangroves (green) and embankments (red), in all species of families Scaridae, Pomacentridae, Mullidae, Mugilidae, Lutjanidae, Labridae, Chaetodontidae and Acanthuridae at all stages (juveniles and adults), for densities at the end of the lockdown (May 2020) and two months after the lockdown (July 2020). Effect sizes are expressed as the change in the log ratio of the 2020 densities in the different habitats relative to their levels in April and July 2019 respectively. Higher negative values of effect size indicate higher densities in 2020 and are considered significant when the 95% confidence interval of the effect does not overlap zero. Missing points in the right panel could not be calculated due to the low number of individuals observed in those habitats
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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