No effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on predatory fish abundance in the Caño Island Biological Reserve, Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean

Abstract

The global COVID-19 lockdown offered a rare opportunity to evaluate human impact on nature. This study used Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations (BRUVS) to assess the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on predatory fish in the Caño Island Biological Reserve, in the south Pacific of Costa Rica. Despite tourism's potential role in conservation, its impact remains debated due to the environmental degradation and behavioral changes associated with high tourism pressure. Negative binomial regressions revealed no link between the lockdown and fish abundance. PERMANOVA analysis showed no significant variation in the predator community structure due to the lockdown. Finally, Log Response Ratios indicated that less than half (39.4 %) of the predatory fish species varied during the lockdown. We recommend that fine-scale metrics be included in future research to fully understand the impact of tourism on marine species. This study highlights the importance of environmental factors in determining the abundance of predatory fish and provides insight into how marine tourism may be affecting some of the studied species.