In March 2020, the world went into lockdown in response to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, outcomes have included quarantines and restrictions, which decimated the global economy; the exposure of frightening inequities; the deaths of over 4 million people, as of mid-July 2021; and the fragmentation of families and communities – all of which has forced us to rethink the structure of fundamental societal building blocks such as education and science.

These disruptions have also catapulted us into the “anthropause”, providing a glimpse of how the Earth system rapidly adjusts to dramatic reductions in human activity. Traffic largely disappeared and city streets were eerily quiet; air travel dropped by 60%; air pollution abated; and across the globe, wildlife appeared in urban centers where they had rarely, if ever, been observed before. The pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of our interconnected world and pointed to the dire need for a better understanding of the linkages between ecological processes and human well-being.

This anthropause is both a cultural and ecological inflection point. We now have a choice: to return to our pre-pandemic lives and livelihoods, or to leverage the anthropause to address ecological imbalances and injustices to change how, when, where, and with whom we create ecological knowledge. Either way, the future will be shaped by our response to the anthropause. Below, we identify three actions to bolster social and ecological resilience, inspired by this unique moment in time.

Bring ecological knowledge to bear on complex problems: get involved in decision making. Ecological knowledge is foundational for unraveling knotty, interconnected, socio-environmental problems including climate change, biodiversity loss, the freshwater crisis, and environmental injustices. Yet historically, ecology has been excluded from problem solving – to which it should be central. Indeed, up to 75% of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin. Our ability to predict and abate future outbreaks of Ebola, SARS, Lyme disease, West Nile virus, and now COVID-19 will be highly dependent on our understanding of fundamental disease ecology, an often-neglected topic. We urge ecologists to be involved in decision making where they live and work – to bring ecological knowledge to the table. The ESA Public Affairs office offers training and strategies for taking action.

Expand and refocus the lenses through which we view and practice ecology. The success of post-anthropause problem solving will rely on our ability to develop and embrace new ways of knowing and doing, to utilize new lenses and contexts. For example, achieving urban adaptation and resilience will be possible only if actions are predicated on understanding the social history of urban disamenities, and placed within a new “ecology of segregation” (Front Ecol Environ 2020; https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2279). These ideas compel us to consider new perspectives on justice, history, and knowledge as we co-create solutions. It is past time to expand the group with whom – and alter the way in which – we practice our profession. To be relevant and successful, we must refocus and embrace strategies that are inclusive and actively decolonize ecology (Nat Ecol Evol 2021; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01460-w).

Focus on feedbacks within and among social and ecological systems. The anthropause demands that we understand the relationships and feedback loops required for problem solving amid environmental, social, and cultural change. We must foster robust interactions among a diverse group of scientists, knowledge holders, communities, and decision makers. Our usual mantra has been that we should better communicate ecological information to others, offering them the knowledge we think they need. This is a one-way message. Rather, open communication and meaningful listening are the foundation for the creative, knowledge-based solutions we need. This shift requires that ecologists see engagement with policy and management as a necessary, inclusive, creative endeavor and a responsibility, not as a burden. The goal is not only to be at the table, but for everyone who comes to the table to walk away with expanded ideas, solutions, and knowledge.

Vice President Kamala Harris skillfully articulated this moment in time in a recent address, in which she explained that the pandemic “has accelerated our world into a new era. It has forever impacted our world…it has forever influenced our perspective, and if we weren’t clear before, we know now: our world is interconnected. Our world is interdependent, and our world is fragile”. It is time for ecologists to leverage the anthropause: to step up like never before and actively diversify who is at the table; to create new knowledge using new lenses; to co-create solutions; to apply the results of ecological research; and to expand, build, and strengthen the voice, knowledge, and community of ecologists.

2020 年 3 月，世界进入封锁状态，以应对新出现的 COVID-19 大流行。从那时起，结果包括隔离和限制，这摧毁了全球经济；令人恐惧的不平等现象的暴露；截至 2021 年 7 月中旬，超过 400 万人死亡；以及家庭和社区的分裂——所有这些都迫使我们重新思考教育和科学等基本社会基石的结构。

这些破坏也将我们推向了“人类”，让我们得以一瞥地球系统如何迅速适应人类活动的急剧减少。交通基本消失，城市街道出奇地安静；航空旅行下降了 60%；空气污染减轻；在全球范围内，野生动物出现在城市中心，在那里它们以前很少被观察到，如果有的话。大流行暴露了我们这个相互关联的世界的脆弱性，并表明迫切需要更好地了解生态过程与人类福祉之间的联系。

这个人类既是文化的转折点，也是生态的转折点。我们现在有一个选择：回到大流行前的生活和生计，或者利用人类来解决生态失衡和不公正问题，以改变我们创造生态知识的方式、时间、地点和对象。无论哪种方式，未来都将取决于我们对人类的反应。下面，我们在这一独特时刻的启发下确定了三项增强社会和生态复原力的行动。

将生态知识用于解决复杂问题：参与决策。生态知识是解开棘手的、相互关联的社会环境问题的基础，包括气候变化、生物多样性丧失、淡水危机和环境不公。然而，从历史上看，生态学被排除在问题解决之外——它应该是解决问题的核心。事实上，多达 75% 的新发传染病起源于人畜共患病。我们预测和减少未来埃博拉、非典、莱姆病、西尼罗河病毒和现在的 COVID-19 爆发的能力将高度依赖于我们对基础疾病生态学的理解，这是一个经常被忽视的话题。我们敦促生态学家参与他们生活和工作的决策——将生态知识带到桌面上。欧空局公共事务办公室提供培训和采取行动的策略。

扩大和重新聚焦我们观察和实践生态的镜头。后人类问题解决的成功将取决于我们开发和接受新的认识和做事方式，利用新的视角和环境的能力。例如，只有在行动的基础上理解城市障碍的社会历史，并置于新的“隔离生态”（Front Ecol Environ2020 年；https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2279）。这些想法迫使我们在共同创造解决方案时考虑关于正义、历史和知识的新观点。现在是扩大与我们合作的团队并改变我们从事职业的方式的时候了。为了获得相关性和成功，我们必须重新关注和采用具有包容性和积极去殖民化生态的战略（Nat Ecol Evol 2021；https: //doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01460-w）。

关注社会和生态系统内部和之间的反馈。人类学家要求我们了解在环境、社会和文化变化中解决问题所需的关系和反馈循环。我们必须在不同的科学家、知识持有者、社区和决策者之间促进强有力的互动。我们通常的口头禅是我们应该更好地向他人传达生态信息，向他们提供我们认为他们需要的知识。这是一个单向消息。相反，开放的沟通和有意义的倾听是我们需要的创造性的、基于知识的解决方案的基础。这种转变要求生态学家将参与政策和管理视为一项必要的、包容性的、创造性的努力和责任，而不是一种负担。我们的目标不仅是坐在桌旁，而且是让每个来到桌前的人都带着扩展的想法、解决方案和知识走开。

副总统卡马拉哈里斯在最近的一次讲话中巧妙地阐明了这一时刻，她在讲话中解释说，大流行“使我们的世界加速进入一个新时代。它永远影响了我们的世界……它永远影响了我们的观点，如果我们之前不清楚，我们现在知道：我们的世界是相互关联的。我们的世界是相互依存的，而我们的世界是脆弱的”。现在是生态学家利用人类的时候了：以前所未有的方式站出来，积极地让参与讨论的人多样化；使用新镜头创造新知识；共同创造解决方案；应用生态研究的成果；并扩大、建立和加强生态学家的声音、知识和社区。