Redox Regulation Laboratory, Department of Zoology, College of Basic Science and Humanities, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, 751003, India.
School of Geography, Gangadhar Meher University, Sambalpur, Odisha, India.
Environ Geochem Health. 2023 Mar;45(3):751-770. doi: 10.1007/s10653-022-01247-3. Epub 2022 Mar 20.
Positive effects of COVID-19-induced lockdowns on environment are well documented although pre-planned experiments for such analyses and appearance of fish species are lacking. We hypothesize that spotting the fish Aplocheilus panchax along the industrial belt of Mahanadi River near Cuttack in a never seen manner could be due to the regenerated environment. Heavy metals, water and air qualities along with spotting A. panchax in up, mid and downstream of Mahanadi River near Jagatpur industrial basins were analysed during pre-(end of March 2020) and after 60 days of lockdowns (last week of May 2020). An overall 45, 61, 79, 100, 97 and 90% reduction of Fe, Cu, Ni, Cd, Pb and Zn was recorded in the studied area after lockdowns, respectively. Similarly, dissolved oxygen and pH were elevated by 26 and 7%, respectively. Water temperature, conductivity and total dissolved solute levels were reduced by 7, 46 and 15%, respectively, which were again elevated during post-lockdowns during 2021 as observed from the Landsat-8 OLI satellite data. Air NO, SO, NH, PM, PM and CO levels were alleviated by 58.75, 80.33, 72.22, 76.28, 77.33 and 80.15%, respectively. Finally, for the first time, about 12 A. panchax fish per 100 m shore line in the area were spotted. The observed lockdown-induced environmental healing at the studied area could contribute to the appearance of A. panchax in the study site and therefore a stringent environmental audit is suggested during post-COVID-19 periods to make the regenerated environmental status long lasting in such habitats.
虽然缺乏针对此类分析和鱼类出现的预先计划的实验，但有充分的文献记录表明，COVID-19 引发的封锁对环境有积极影响。我们假设，在库塔克附近的马哈纳迪河工业带沿线从未见过地发现鱼类 Aplocheilus panchax，可能是由于环境得到了恢复。在封锁前（2020 年 3 月底）和封锁后 60 天（2020 年 5 月底），对沿 Jagatpur 工业盆地的马哈纳迪河上游、中游和下游的重金属、水和空气质量以及 A. panchax 的出现情况进行了分析。封锁后，研究区域的 Fe、Cu、Ni、Cd、Pb 和 Zn 分别减少了 45%、61%、79%、100%、97%和 90%，溶解氧和 pH 值分别升高了 26%和 7%。水温、电导率和总溶解溶质水平分别降低了 7%、46%和 15%，但在 2021 年封锁后又有所升高，这是从 Landsat-8 OLI 卫星数据中观察到的。空气中的 NO、SO、NH、PM、PM 和 CO 水平分别降低了 58.75%、80.33%、72.22%、76.28%、77.33%和 80.15%。最后，该地区首次在每 100 米岸线发现了约 12 条 A. panchax 鱼。观察到的研究区域因封锁而导致的环境修复可能是导致研究地点出现 A. panchax 的原因，因此建议在 COVID-19 后期进行严格的环境审计，以使这种栖息地的再生环境状况保持持久。
