[COVID Galapagos Megafauna Sizes] - Body size measurements of megafauna species at 6 sites after the 2020 COVID lockdown in the Galapagos Islands from 2020-2021 (Galapagos diver disturbance project) (RAPID: Illuminating the effects of a COVID-19 elimination of diver disturbance on reef fish behavior, distribution and ecosystem functioning in the Galapagos Marine Reserve)

The effect of changing levels of scuba diver disturbance, from a low during the 2020 COVID 19 lockdown to normal levels nearly a year later (July - August 2021) on the body sizes of 6 species of marine megafauna (sharks, sea lions and rays) was sampled to test the hypothesis the megafauna community would differ between the lockdown and post-lock down period 1 year later. These data are from the period after the COVID 19 lockdown in July-August 2021.

The presence and size of the megafauna was recorded by extended duration video cameras that recorded from a fixed position at 12-15 m depth at each of the 6 sites. These were GoPro7 cameras in an aluminum housing with a battery pack to enable 6-8 hrs of continuous video recording. All megafauna species seen within 5 meters distance from the camera were identified to species.