Anthropause Explained

The anthropause was a global reduction in modern human activity, especially travel, that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in March and April 2020. It was coined by a team of researchers in June 2020 in an article discussing the positive impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on wildlife and environment.[1] [2] The scientific journal that published the commentary, Nature Ecology and Evolution, selected the topic for the cover of its September issue, with the headline "Welcome to the anthropause".[3] Oxford Languages highlighted the word "anthropause" in its 2020 Words of an Unprecedented Year report.[4]

Etymology

The word is a blended lexical item with phonological overlap, combining the prefix anthropo-, from anthropos (Ancient Greek: ἄνθρωπος) meaning "human", and the Greek word "pause" (Ancient Greek: παῦσις or Modern Greek: παύση); its literal translation is "human pause". The researchers explained in their article that they noticed that people had started referring to the lockdown period as the Great Pause, however they felt that a more precise term would be considered helpful. The word anthropause intentionally links to the proposed geological epoch Anthropocene.

Anthropause is a neologism which has been used by social-media users, scientists,[5] [6] [7] [8] journalists,[9] [10] [11] artists,[12] and photographers,[13] amongst others. William Gibson, the speculative fiction writer who coined the term "cyberspace" in 1982, posted a tweet on 23 June 2020 simply entitled "The Anthropause", linking to the article that introduced the term.[14]

Impact

Several global research projects are underway to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 anthropause.[15] [16] For example, a July 2020 study documented a global reduction of high-frequency seismic noise.[17] A study published in 2022 showed correlations between air pollution and some human activities in several metropolitan regions of the United States.[18] Another study, the COVID-19 Bio-Logging Initiative, uses animal tracking data collected before, during, and after lockdown, to assess how changes in human activity levels affected the movements and behaviour of a wide range of marine, terrestrial, and avian species.[19] The Biological Conservation Journal published a special issue reuniting many scientific articles on the effects of the lockdowns on wildlife. The impacts were mitigated,[20] with some species benefiting from the break in human activities, while others suffered from the break in conservation efforts. Because lockdown limitations largely prevented researchers from collecting ecological data in the field, most investigations of lockdown effects are limited to changes in activity patterns and distribution of species, or to incidents reported by the general population (e.g. number of car collisions with wildlife).[21] Still, some teams managed to gather information on how the reduced human activity has affected physiological or demographic traits.[22] [23]

In 2021, an article published in The Geographical Journal historically situated the COVID-19 anthropause among other anthropause events that led to significant reductions in human activity, such as the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the formation of the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The authors drew attention to how the anthropause was experienced unevenly by different groups of people and animals, and shed light on a range of pre-existing inequalities as many humans were not afforded the opportunity to pause during this time.[24]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Rutz C, Loretto MC, Bates AE, Davidson SC, Duarte CM, Jetz W, Johnson M, Kato A, Kays R, Mueller T, Primack RB, Ropert-Coudert Y, Tucker MA, Wikelski M, Cagnacci F . 6 . COVID-19 lockdown allows researchers to quantify the effects of human activity on wildlife . Nature Ecology & Evolution . 4 . 9 . 1156–1159 . September 2020 . 32572222 . 10.1038/s41559-020-1237-z . 219976980 . free . 10449/64133 . free .
  2. News: Zimmer . Carl . Carl Zimmer . The Secret Life of a Coronavirus - An oily, 100-nanometer-wide bubble of genes has killed more than two million people and reshaped the world. Scientists don't quite know what to make of it. . The New York Times . 26 February 2021 . 28 February 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210227122458/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-alive-dead.html. 27 February 2021. live .
  3. Welcome to the anthropause . Nature . 4 . 9 . September 2020. 2020-09-07 .
  4. Web site: Oxford Word of the Year 2020 Oxford Languages. 2020-11-25. languages.oup.com. en-GB.
  5. Manenti R, Mori E, Di Canio V, Mercurio S, Picone M, Caffi M, Brambilla M, Ficetola GF, Rubolini D . 6 . The good, the bad and the ugly of COVID-19 lockdown effects on wildlife conservation: Insights from the first European locked down country . Biological Conservation . 249 . 108728 . September 2020 . 32863391 . 7441970 . 10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108728 .
  6. Forti LR, Japyassú HF, Bosch J, Szabo JK . Ecological inheritance for a post COVID-19 world . Biodiversity and Conservation . 3491–3494 . August 2020 . 29 . 11–12 . 32836921 . 7424962 . 10.1007/s10531-020-02036-z .
  7. Web site: Tracking data show how the quiet of pandemic-era lockdowns allowed pumas to venture closer to urban areas. 2021-07-07. ScienceDaily. en.
  8. Kolandai . Komathi . Milne . Barry . McLay . Jessica . von Randow . Martin . Lay-Yee . Roy . Anthropause appreciation, biophilia, and ecophilosophical contemplations amidst a global pandemic . . 2023 . 85 . 101943 . 10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101943 . free. 9747233 .
  9. News: Gill. Victoria . vanc . 2020-06-23. Scientists examine the great 'human pause'. en-GB. BBC News. 2020-09-07.
  10. Web site: Stokstad . Erik . vanc . 2020-08-13. The pandemic stilled human activity. What did this 'anthropause' mean for wildlife?. 2020-09-07. Science AAAS. en.
  11. Web site: Malsbury. Erin. 2021-07-07. How the Hush of Pandemic Lockdown Changed Wildlife Behavior. 2021-07-07. Good Times Santa Cruz. en-US.
  12. Web site: Anthropause Painting. 2020-09-07. Saatchi Art. en.
  13. Book: Gaspirtz, Oliver . vanc . Anthropause 2020: Lockdown in Los Angeles. July 28, 2020 . Westhoff .
  14. Web site: The Anthropause. 2020-09-07. Twitter. en. Gibson. William . William Gibson.
  15. The Anthropause: How the Pandemic Gives Scientists a New Way to Study Wildlife. 2020-10-06. Wired. Simon. Matt. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20200701203122/https://www.wired.com/story/the-anthropause-a-new-way-to-study-wildlife/. 1 July 2020. live.
  16. 2021-04-01. Global Aerial Habitat Conservation Post-COVID-19 Anthropause. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. en. 36. 4. 273–277. 10.1016/j.tree.2021.01.009. 0169-5347. free. Zuluaga. Santiago. Speziale. Karina. Lambertucci. Sergio A.. 33546875. 9756443 .
  17. Lecocq T, Hicks SP, Van Noten K, van Wijk K, Koelemeijer P, De Plaen RS, Massin F, Hillers G, Anthony RE, Apoloner MT, Arroyo-Solórzano M, Assink JD, Büyükakpınar P, Cannata A, Cannavo F, Carrasco S, Caudron C, Chaves EJ, Cornwell DG, Craig D, den Ouden OF, Diaz J, Donner S, Evangelidis CP, Evers L, Fauville B, Fernandez GA, Giannopoulos D, Gibbons SJ, Girona T, Grecu B, Grunberg M, Hetényi G, Horleston A, Inza A, Irving JC, Jamalreyhani M, Kafka A, Koymans MR, Labedz CR, Larose E, Lindsey NJ, McKinnon M, Megies T, Miller MS, Minarik W, Moresi L, Márquez-Ramírez VH, Möllhoff M, Nesbitt IM, Niyogi S, Ojeda J, Oth A, Proud S, Pulli J, Retailleau L, Rintamäki AE, Satriano C, Savage MK, Shani-Kadmiel S, Sleeman R, Sokos E, Stammler K, Stott AE, Subedi S, Sørensen MB, Taira T, Tapia M, Turhan F, van der Pluijm B, Vanstone M, Vergne J, Vuorinen TA, Warren T, Wassermann J, Xiao H . 6 . Global quieting of high-frequency seismic noise due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown measures . Science . 1338–1343 . July 2020 . 369 . 6509 . 32703907 . 10.1126/science.abd2438 . 2020Sci...369.1338L . free . 10044/1/81027 . free .
  18. Schweikert . Amy E . Flanagan . Robert R . Bui . Jennifer . L'Her . Guillaume F . Kerber . Samuel . Elvidge . Christopher D. . Deinert . Mark R. . 2022-04-05 . Mobility, nightlights and air pollution during the early phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic . Environmental Research Communications . 4 . 4 . 041003 . 10.1088/2515-7620/ac648f . 2022ERCom...4d1003S . 247985492 . 2515-7620. free .
  19. Web site: SOCIETY. 2020-09-07. www.bio-logging.net. en-US.
  20. Bates . Amanda E. . Primack . Richard B. . Biggar . Brandy S. . Bird . Tomas J. . Clinton . Mary E. . Command . Rylan J. . Richards . Cerren . Shellard . Marc . Geraldi . Nathan R. . Vergara . Valeria . Acevedo-Charry . Orlando . Colón-Piñeiro . Zuania . Ocampo . David . Ocampo-Peñuela . Natalia . Sánchez-Clavijo . Lina M. . 2021-11-01 . Global COVID-19 lockdown highlights humans as both threats and custodians of the environment . Biological Conservation . en . 263 . 109175 . 10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109175 . 0006-3207 . 8135229 . 34035536.
  21. Driessen . Michael M. . 2021-04-01 . COVID-19 restrictions provide a brief respite from the wildlife roadkill toll . Biological Conservation. 256 . 109012 . 10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109012 . 0006-3207 . 7888254 . 33612848.
  22. LeTourneux . Frédéric . Grandmont . Thierry . Dulude-de Broin . Frédéric . Martin . Marie-Claude . Lefebvre . Josée . Kato . Akiko . Bêty . Joël . Gauthier . Gilles . Legagneux . Pierre . 2021-03-01 . COVID19-induced reduction in human disturbance enhances fattening of an overabundant goose species . Biological Conservation. 255 . 108968 . 10.1016/j.biocon.2021.108968 . 0006-3207 . 7825943 . 33518770.
  23. Hentati-Sundberg . Jonas . Berglund . Per-Arvid . Hejdström . Aron . Olsson . Olof . 2021-02-01 . COVID-19 lockdown reveals tourists as seabird guardians . Biological Conservation . 254 . 108950 . 10.1016/j.biocon.2021.108950 . 0006-3207 . 9187360 . 35719894.
  24. Searle. Adam. Turnbull. Jonathon. Lorimer. Jamie. After the anthropause: Lockdown lessons for more-than-human geographies. The Geographical Journal . 2021. 187. 69–77. 10.1111/geoj.12373. 1475-4959. free.

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