Just as the office and our economy has been disrupted by the COVID-19, many nature lovers may be wondering how COVID has influenced the ecology of the Salish Sea in the PNW. I work as a sea kayak guide in the San Juan Islands and I have personally noticed a change in the types and abundances of marine traffic. There has undoubtedly been a surge in private boating traffic. Those with the means are hopping in their boats and hitting the water in an attempt to flee the suffocating nature of our cities. Much of this traffic has been generated from the seattle area and surrounding Marinas in the Puget Sound. Concurrently, ferry ridership has plummeted with WSDOT claiming ridership dropping by 45%. Despite the slight increase in ferry ridership in the Summer months, WSDOT has limited the total number of ferry sailing per day to comply with governor Jay Inslee’s safe start plan.
How about commercial shipping vessels?
Back in March two seattle marine cargo terminals shutdown entirely. This decision was largely attributed to ongoing volume declines. Alarmingly, this was the first time this has happened in 5 years. Cargo volumes in general had dropped by 30% compared to the same time last year likely because of the Coranavirus and the China-US tradewar. Shipping traffic took a further nosedive in April. The Northwest Seaport Alliance reported a nearly 25% decrease in April’s volume and 39 sailings were cancelled entirely.
Clearly port traffic has been affected in a major way, especially in the early stages of our ongoing pandemic. This reduction could loosen the pressure on the our local marine ecosystems as studies have shown that shipping traffic can influence the environment in a number of manners. Some even claim shipping vessels to be the most impactful out of all marine traffic (citation needed). The fuel alone is highly toxic to marine life and when burned omits more sulfur per gallon than any other transportation fuel. Sulfur rich fuel once combusted creates sulfur dioxide a contributor both to acid rain and ocean acidfication.
While many organisms can handle fluctuations of ocean acidity over millions of years, there is evidence that rapid changes in ocean acidity lead to mass extinction events. 55 million years ago during the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum, decreased pH, reduced dissolved oxygen and sea level temperature increased led to a 50% extinction of all deep-sea benthic foraminifera.
Shipping vessels also pose the risk of spreading invasive species via their ballast water. Despite mandates of foreign vessels to dump ballast water 200 nautical miles offshore and to maintain proper ballast technology, there are still instances where vessels violate regulations which contributes to the risk of aggressive invasive species establishment. 2017 saw a double of such violations in the United states. Cargo ship noise can also impact marine life. Many organisms from fish to whales use sound for hunting, communication and navigating. Increased boat noise may also lead to more collisions between boats and cetaceans; however, a confounding variable is the increased number of boats themselves.
Overall it seems that the cornavirus has a least temporarily mitigated some of the adverse affects of the shipping industry on PNW wildlife; however, this hiatus will likely last only as long as the pandemic. A 2018 report from the Friends of the San Juans predicted a roughly ⅓ increase in shipping traffic for 2019. This goes hand in hand with the long term upward climb of shipping traffic in the Salish Sea which shares vessels from 22 different terminals most located in Vancouver, B.C.
An increase in pleasure boating around the San Juan’s due to the Cornavirus is likely to impact the environment; however, the question is to what degree and exactly how? Naive boaters often disturb wildlife by their physical presence alone, often flushing harbor seals or birds from their preferred shoreline habitats. Boaters share many of the previously mentioned pathways of environmental affliction as the larger cargo ships; however, the boating industry also has ancillary effects such as general pollution and material use promoted by increased numbers of people utilizing docks, shops and other marine support services. In addition, pleasure boaters have easy access to sport fisheries and increased numbers of boaters results in more harvesting from the marine ecosystem.
Non motorized watercraft also play a role in ecological disturbance; though, to a lesser degree. The novice kayaker may inadvertently disturb wildlife in much the same way as smaller boats. Studies show that harbor seals may remain in the water for up to 1 hr after being flushed from a rock by kayakers and kayakers (not motor boaters) account for a higher % of these takes. Fortunately the majority of kayak tours in the San Juans are led by qualified companies who have environmental awareness and follow best wildlife viewing practices.
Let’s take a step back and examine some of the science that has come out about the coronavirus generally when it comes to environmental issues. The pandemic has been nicknamed the geologic period of the “anthropause” and has created a slough of positive and negative effects . Air traffic has dropped drastically which has led to vast improvements in air quality particularly in urban areas. Nitrogen Dioxide and particulate matter less than 2.5 microns dropped dramatically in many of China’s dense cities after strict social distancing efforts were instated. The reduced particulate matter likely aided respiration not only of humans but also wildlife. Additionally, air pollution reduces the solar radiation which could reduce photosynthesis (although CO2 emissions were also reduced and CO2 is necessary for photosynthesis).
Beaches without flocks of tourists experience fewer instances of littering. Beaches in Mexico, Spain and Ecuador appear cleaner. Concurrently, some US cities suspended recycling programs in fear of coronavirus transfer at recycling facilities. Likewise reusable bags, cups and other items have gone out of vogue with many grocery stores and businesses banning the use of these products opting for archaic single use plastics. This move was clearly motivated by corporations seeking to repeal single use plastic bans as single use plastics still serve as a vector for some bacteria and viruses
With more people stuck at home, water consumption should decrease as studies show that people consume less water at home than at work or while traveling
Finally, there have been increased sightings of wildlife in areas where signs of life are not commonplace. Some of the more notable sighting include: Dolphins in the Trieste, Italy Harbour; Jackals in Tel Aviv, Israel and Pumas in the core of Santiago, Chile.
City slickers like monkeys, gulls, pigeons and others are likely to suffer due to the austerity of food scraps. Certain green space in urban areas are more densely populated with humans because of decreases in availability of more commonplace activities which should have an overall negative impact on wildlife. Sadly some speculate that the coronavirus will affect environments disproportionately in the non industrialized nations particularly in countries without social safety nets. After an economy is kneecapped by the economic downfall, those left with nothing can always find something to eat or sell in their local wild area. Studies of Madagascar people suggest turning to natural resources is a common occurrence in times of climate change induced hardship so why wouldn’t coronavirus produce the same effects? Many are unskilled and so resort to harmful techniques such as slash and burn agriculture, poison fishing, deforestation/charcoal production and poaching. Meanwhile, governments of these depauperate countries will lack the resources to properly enforce environmental regulations and many shriveled ecotourism economies may turn to other means to survive. While mostly speculative. New data is being collected to better contextualize the changing relationship between humans and wildlife. It is important to note the many manners by which humans influence the environment and how these factors may vary by location and resources at the disposal of local economies.
Generalism 