Undergraduate Research: An Archive - 2021 Program

Willemijn ten Cate ’21
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
Senior Thesis Research Funding Awardee
THESIS TITLE
How Human Traffic —
on Foot or in Vehicles
— Affects Wildlife
Movements on
Landscapes Shared by
Humans Throughout the
COVID-19 Pandemic
ADVISER
Daniel Rubenstein,
Class of 1877 Professor
of Zoology, Professor of
Ecology and
Evolutionary Biology
Policies restricting peoples’ movements
during the COVID-19 pandemic created an
“Anthropause” whereby people altered their
regular behavior. I observed and analyzed how
prevalent the effects of the “Anthropause” were
throughout high human-density suburban parks
and neighborhoods during a three-month period
in Connecticut and New Jersey. I used camera
traps to analyze variations in human activity
and how wildlife populations responded to
these changes. My study noted large amounts
of human activity during the lockdown phase,
suggesting that people valued their personal
freedom over government mandates. As the
lockdown restrictions eased, the majority of
parks saw gradual reductions in the abundance
of people. These variations in human activities
did not directly affect the behaviors of suburban
wildlife, as the animal populations either
stayed constant or followed the same declining
patterns as people. Overall, wildlife seemed to
be more influenced by seasonality effects (with
warmer temperatures reducing their prevalence)
than the presence of humans. Specifically, an
increase in nocturnal wildlife activity later in
the study illustrated animals’ shift in behavior
to effectively maximize their energy usage.
My study further demonstrated that wildlife
alongside residential areas were not affected by
the “Anthropause.”
POLICY, NORMS
AND BEHAVIOR
46