Biodiversity in the City: Fundamental Questions for Understanding the Ecology of Urban Green Spaces for Biodiversity Conservation

Lepczyk, Christopher A.; Aronson, Myla F. J.; Evans, Karl L.; Goddard, Mark A.; Lerman, Susannah B.; MacIvor, J. Scott

doi:10.1093/biosci/bix079

Cited by 528 publications

(318 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…A preference for large patches of parkland and woodland has previously been demonstrated for other raptors inhabiting urban areas (e.g. Hogg and Nilon 2015, McPherson et al 2016Morrison et al 2016) and confirms the importance of the abundance and arrangement of green vegetation for urban biota (Lepczyk et al 2017).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

“…Pickett et al 2001;McKinney 2010). Nevertheless, some animal species have managed to adapt and thrive under such conditions (Lepczyk et al 2017), some for example can take advantage of human waste and reach densities that are not otherwise encountered (Brook et al 2003;Gangoso et al 2013;Inger et al 2016). These urban exploiters are often alien invaders seen as 'nuisances to eradicate ' (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Habitat selection by an avian top predator in the tropical megacity of Delhi: human activities and socio-religious practices as prey-facilitating tools

et al. 2017

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Research in urban ecology is growing rapidly in response to the exponential growth of the urban environment. However, few studies have focused on tropical megacities, and on the interplay between predators' habitat selection and human socio-economic aspects, which may mediate their resilience and coexistence with humans. We examined mechanisms of breeding habitat selection by a synanthropic raptor, the Black Kite Milvus migrans, in Delhi (India) where kites mainly subsist on: (1) human refuse and its associated prey-fauna, and (2) ritualised feeding of kites, particularly practised by Muslims. We used mixed effects models to test the effect of urban habitat configuration and human practices on habitat selection, site occupancy and breeding success. Kite habitat decisions, territory occupancy and breeding success were tightly enmeshed with human activities: kites preferred areas with high human density, poor waste management and a road configuration that facilitated better access to resources provided by humans, in particular to Muslim colonies that provided ritual subsidies. Furthermore, kites bred at 'clean' sites with less human refuse only when close to Muslim colonies, suggesting that the proximity to ritual-feeding sites modulated the suitability of other habitats. Rather than a nuisance to avoid, as previously portrayed, humans were a keenly-targeted foraging resource, which tied a predator's distribution to human activities, politics, history, socio-economics and urban planning at multiple spatio-temporal scales. Many synurbic species may exploit humans in more subtle and direct ways than was previously assumed, but uncovering them will require greater integration of human socio-cultural estimates in urban ecological research.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat selection by an avian top predator in the tropical megacity of Delhi: human activities and socio-religious practices as prey-facilitating tools

et al. 2017

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“…The role of green spaces in maintaining a high level of biodiversity in cities remains questionable [9] because the amount of green spaces is known to significantly and positively impact urban species richness [6]. Very few data have been collected to show how much the installed green roofs and green walls really contribute to the amount of green spaces in urbanized areas; the city of Paris (France) had only 30 ha of green walls (less than 1% of urban green spaces) in 2016, and 44 ha of green roofs (1.4% of urban green spaces) in 2013, which are mainly on private buildings [70,71].…”

Section: How Abundant Are Green Roof and Green Wall Patches In Cities?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, little is known about their ecology and how their functioning conserves the biodiversity of multiple taxa at different spatial scales [9]. Planning ecological corridors is thus a critical way to facilitate the dispersal of species between urban environments and sub-urban reservoirs, and the colonization of novel ecosystems by species coming from the fringes of towns (e.g., Reference [10]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Green Roofs and Green Walls for Biodiversity Conservation: A Contribution to Urban Connectivity?

2018

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Green roofs and walls have recently emerged as conservation tools, and they offer promising additional opportunities to enhance biodiversity in cities. However, their ecological conditions remain poorly considered when planning wildlife corridors. To discuss the role of vegetated buildings in landscape connectivity, we reviewed the ecological and technical specificities of green walls and green roofs in light of the key factors concerning urban wildlife (patch size, quality, abundance, and isolation). Green roofs and walls show limited patch sizes, distinct habitat quality at the building scale, and limited redundancy of patch quality within the landscape. We also highlight that the abundance of roof and wall patches is often low. Future research is needed to establish if walls can be vertical corridors for wildlife, thereby reducing the isolation of green roofs. We argue that creating 3D ecological connectivity within the city requires substantial modifications of the design and maintenance of existing green building systems. We suggest that research is needed to integrate the biotic and abiotic characteristics of green buildings to make them more closely resemble those of open green spaces.

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“…Deguines, Julliard, Flores, & Fontaine, ; Knop, ; McKinney & Lockwood, ). Another approach focuses on community patterns and mechanisms within cities highlighting the importance of area (Beninde, Veith, & Hochkirch, ), connectivity (Beninde et al, ; Braaker, Ghazoul, Obrist, & Moretti, ), and heterogeneity within and among UGS (Lepczyk et al, ; Tonteri & Haila, ) for urban biodiversity. However, these studies are sensitive to the size and composition of the pool of species available to colonize a focal site (Cornell & Harrison, ; Lessard, Belmaker, Myers, Chase, & Rahbek, ), that is the regional species pool.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The origin of urban communities: From the regional species pool to community assemblages in city

Fournier

Frey

Moretti

2020

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim Cities worldwide are characterized by unique human stressors that filter species based on their traits, potentially leading to biodiversity loss. The knowledge of which species are filtered and at which scale is important to gain a more mechanistic understanding of urban community assembly and to develop strategies to manage human impact on urban ecosystems. We investigate the ecological mechanisms shaping urban community assembly, taking into account changes across scales, taxa and urban green space types. Location City of Zurich, Switzerland. Taxon Carabid beetles and wild bees. Methods We use a large species occurrence and trait dataset with a high spatial resolution to assess the filtering effect of a medium‐sized city on a regional pool of potential colonists. We then assess the filtering from the urban pool to five widely distributed types of urban green spaces. Results We found that our model city selects for functionally similar but taxonomically diverse bee and carabid beetle species from the regional species pool. Within the city, community assembly processes vary among green space types and taxa resulting in important changes in community taxonomic and functional composition. Main conclusions Our findings suggest that urban community assembly is a multi‐scale process dominated by the strong environmental filtering from a regional to an urban species pool. This leads to the selection of species pre‐adapted to urban conditions. Spatial habitat heterogeneity within and among UGS types can maintain an important taxonomic diversity within cities. However, increasing urban functional diversity would require stronger management efforts that consider regional ecological processes.

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Biodiversity in the City: Fundamental Questions for Understanding the Ecology of Urban Green Spaces for Biodiversity Conservation

Cited by 528 publications

References 85 publications

Habitat selection by an avian top predator in the tropical megacity of Delhi: human activities and socio-religious practices as prey-facilitating tools

Habitat selection by an avian top predator in the tropical megacity of Delhi: human activities and socio-religious practices as prey-facilitating tools

Green Roofs and Green Walls for Biodiversity Conservation: A Contribution to Urban Connectivity?

The origin of urban communities: From the regional species pool to community assemblages in city

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