When UCLA shifted to remote instruction during the early days of COVID-19, the campus was much less populated—but it wasn’t totally empty. Several species of animals continued to go about their daily lives, just with far fewer disturbances from humans.
Among them were around 300 dark-eyed juncos, a bird species that has thrived at UCLA for probably around 20 years.
A group of UCLA scientists who have been studying fear and aggression in urban juncos for years recognized that the dramatic shift in human activity presented a unique opportunity for an experiment: How would juncos adapt once campus life returned to normal?
Led by Eleanor Diamant, who was then a UCLA doctoral student, the researchers decided to find out. Specifically, they wondered, given the yearlong break from any human interaction, would juncos act more fearful once they encountered large groups of people again?
Their findings completely defied their expectations.
2023-08-23 02:48:02
Original from phys.org