Urban Environments and Insect Wellbeing

New, Tim R.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-21224-1_1

Cited by 5 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…As regards the urban–rural gradient, many studies identified a negative trend (for reviews, see Sadler et al 2006; Jones & Leather 2012; New 2015), which is consistent with Predictions 3 and 7. However, other studies found peaks of insect species richness at the gradient mid-point (for reviews, see Blair & Launer 1997; Marzluff 2005; Jones & Leather 2012; New 2015). Most studies regarding insects have dealt with carabid beetles, butterflies and hymenopterans, with patterns varying according to the ecology of the concerned group (New 2015).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 57%

“…However, other studies found peaks of insect species richness at the gradient mid-point (for reviews, see Blair & Launer 1997; Marzluff 2005; Jones & Leather 2012; New 2015). Most studies regarding insects have dealt with carabid beetles, butterflies and hymenopterans, with patterns varying according to the ecology of the concerned group (New 2015). No urban–rural gradient effect was found for Rome tenebrionids (Fattorini 2014a), possibly because these insects include both species associated with arid and sandy soils (which can be considered to be urban avoiders) and species associated with ruderal and archaeological sites (which can be considered to be urban adapters).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…parasites) may increase with urbanization. However, most insect species tend to decline with the reduction of native habitats (New 2015). Therefore, fragments that include remnants of native habitats should host more native species that depend on these habitats and, hence, more species in general (Donnelly & Marzluff 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the case of urban green spaces, the mainland is represented by the rural areas surrounding the cities, whereas other green spaces may act as nearby islands. For most organisms, including many insects, species richness tends to decline from the periphery (where more natural habitats occur) to the most densely built-up areas of the urban core (the so-called urban–rural gradient) (Adler & Tanner 2013; New 2015). With reference to the ETIB, the landscapes at the periphery of a city should act as a ‘mainland’, and hence species richness should decrease from peripheral to city centre green spaces (McIntyre 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Island biogeography of insect conservation in urban green spaces

Fattorini

Mantoni²,

Simoni³

et al. 2017

Envir. Conserv.

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SUMMARYBecause of their isolation, biotic communities of urban green spaces are expected to be similar to those of oceanic islands. This should be particularly true for insects, which represent an important component of urban faunas. The equilibrium theory of island biogeography (ETIB) allows for the formulation of some hypotheses regarding the influence of the geographical characteristics of green spaces on insect species richness and extinction risk. Based on island biogeography principles, we present eight predictions on how green space characteristics should influence insect species richness and loss. We analysed the current literature in order to determine which predictions were supported and which were not. We found that many studies gave outcomes that support ETIB predictions about the effects of area and isolation of green spaces; we found no strong support for predictions about shape and extent of native habitat in the literature that we reviewed. Most of the available studies dealt with patterns in species richness, whereas insect species loss has been rarely investigated. Future developments in the application of island biogeography principles to urban insect conservation should address temporal trends in species persistence and the analysis of species co-occurrence and nestedness.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Island biogeography of insect conservation in urban green spaces

Fattorini

Mantoni²,

Simoni³

et al. 2017

Envir. Conserv.

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“…We found that deciduous and native tree species were predominant in the rural site, whereas the suburban site was mainly composed of coniferous species and non-native deciduous trees. This difference is likely to cause a large decrease in insect abundance 38 , 39 , especially for caterpillars of the Phryganidia spp which are more abundant on deciduous trees rather than on coniferous trees 40 , 41 . In this regard, similar to previous studies 30 , 31 , 37 , 42 we found that caterpillar biomass was higher in the rural site compared to the suburban counterpart.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban resources limit pair coordination over offspring provisioning

Baldan

Ouyang

2020

Sci Rep

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The amount of care parents provide to the offspring is complicated by an evolutionary conflict of interest (‘sexual conflict’) between the two parents. Recent theoretical models suggest that pair coordination of the provisioning may reduce this conflict and increase parent and offspring fitness. Despite empirical studies showing that pair coordination is common in avian species, it remains unclear how environmental and ecological conditions might promote or limit the ability of parents to coordinate care. We compared the level of pair coordination, measured as alternation and synchrony of the nest visits, of house wrens Troglodytes aedon pairs breeding in a rural (10 nests) and a suburban (9 nests) site and investigated how differences in parental behaviours were related to habitat composition, prey abundance and how they ultimately related to reproductive success. We found that parents alternated and synchronized their nest visits more in the rural site compared to the suburban one. The suburban site is characterized by a more fragmented habitat with more coniferous trees and less caterpillar availability. Offspring from the rural site were heavier at fledging than at the suburban site. Taken together, these results suggest that environmental conditions play an important role on the emergence of coordinated parental care and that considering environmental variables is pivotal to assess the fitness consequences of parental strategies.

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