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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.

Avian nesting associations are a prominent feature of breeding bird communities. Protective associations between a predator and prey species represent a scenario where typically antagonistic interacting species may confer benefits on each species. The outcomes of these interactions are likely to be context‐dependent and influenced by biotic and abiotic conditions. African Pygmy Falcons Polihierax semitorquatus are obligate nest associates of Sociable Weavers Philetairus socius, using weaver colonies to breed and roost. As a result, the escalated rate of biotic interactions between associates may enhance rates of adaptation, speciation and coevolution. Falcons occasionally prey on weavers but have the potential to defend colonies from nest predators. We used observational and experimental tests to determine if falcons deter snakes from accessing weaver colonies and if this increased nest survival for weavers that 'host' falcons in their colonies. We observed a reduction in the number of snakes at colonies hosting falcons and an increase in all colonies when weavers were breeding. Falcons were also more aggressive towards a snake stimulus than a control but only when they were breeding. However, weaver nest survival did not increase at colonies hosting falcons. Falcon defence probably reduces weaver nest predation by snakes; however, this is likely to be offset by nest predation by falcons. Additionally, we compared the breeding success of falcons whose breeding attempts overlapped with weaver breeding with breeding success of those that did not. Weaver breeding did not explain falcon breeding success but did lead to an increase in falcon nest predation by snakes, and the likelihood that all chicks from a successful brood fledged, suggesting an 'all or nothing' scenario when weavers are breeding. In conclusion, we show that both weavers and falcons incur costs and benefits of their close association (i.e. snake predation or food availability) and the net effects are likely to depend on the exact conditions in a particular breeding season. The intricacies of communalistic relationships continue to evade objective testing, and long‐term demographic monitoring may offer better proof of the net benefits for each species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated how the presence of the highly range-restricted Agulhas Long-billed Lark Certhilauda brevirostris (ALBL) varies with vegetation type and landscape features. The lark's distribution is nearly completely outside formally protected areas and overlaps with a region where agriculture has transformed the landscape, with very little of the original vegetation type remaining. Establishing important habitat requirements is needed to better manage conservation efforts for the species. We conducted 10-minute point counts at 51 sites along small rural roads quarterly between October 2020 and January 2022, and recorded ALBL in 58% of the counts. A subset of 45 sites was used to model occupancy. According to a null constant parameter model, occupancy at sample sites was high (0.91) with a detection probability of 0.67 for each site where the species was present. Modelling of habitat features and vegetation type found that ALBL occupancy was best explained by the presence of renosterveld, the shrubby indigenous vegetation type. Occupancy increased at a site up to 25% renosterveld cover, after which there was no effect. Occupancy was also positively associated with renosterveld vegetation presence along fence lines and a combination of renosterveld and decreasing riverine vegetation cover. Presence was little modified by seasonal changes in agricultural land use. Overall, our results suggest that although the ALBL is locally abundant, certain habitat features need to be preserved to ensure the species' continued presence in this agricultural region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telomere length and shortening rate are increasingly being used as biomarkers for long‐term costs in ecological and evolutionary studies because of their relationships with survival and fitness. Both early‐life conditions and growth, and later‐life stressors can create variation in telomere shortening rate. Studies on between‐population telomere length and dynamics are scarce, despite the expectation that populations exposed to varying environmental constraints would present divergent telomere length patterns. The pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) is a passerine bird breeding across Eurasia (from Spain to western Siberia) and migrating through the Iberian Peninsula to spend the nonbreeding period in sub‐Saharan Africa. Thus, different populations show marked differences in migration distance. We studied the large‐scale variation of telomere length and early‐life dynamics in the pied flycatcher by comparing six European populations across a north–south gradient (Finland, Estonia, England and Spain) predicting a negative effect of migration distance on adult telomere length, and of nestling growth on nestling telomere dynamics. There were clear population differences in telomere length, with English birds from midlatitudes having the longest telomeres. Telomere length did not thus show consistent latitudinal variation and was not linearly linked to differences in migration distance. Early‐life telomere shortening rate tended to vary between populations. Fast growth was associated with shorter telomeres in the early life, but faster nestling growth affected telomeres more negatively in northern than southern populations. While the sources of between‐population differences in telomere‐related biology remain to be more intensively studied, our study illustrates the need to expand telomere studies at the between‐population level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]