The COVID-19 pandemic through 2020-21 had a major impact across all facets of human society. It reached every continent on the planet causing significant health, education, economic, employment, cultural and social issues. Some of these effects were more extreme in the Tropics than in non-tropical countries, while the reverse was the case for other factors.
Less well recognised has been the effect COVID-19 has had on a range of environmental and ecological factors. Collectively there have been a number of positive and negative environmental impacts from the pandemic. Some of these effects have been transient while others are more persistent over time and are likely to have long-term influences on the global environment.
With a particular focus on tropical regions, I will provide an overview of where, how and why COVID-19 has been able to affect terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and how much of a legacy there might potentially be into the future.