Urbanization, Biodiversity, and Conservation
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A review by Czech and colleagues (2000) finds that urbanization endangers more species and is more geographically ubiquitous in the mainland United States than any other human activity, emphasizing the uniquely far-reaching transformations that accompany urban sprawl as discussed by the authors.Abstract:
A the many human activities that cause habitat loss (Czech et al. 2000), urban development produces some of the greatest local extinction rates and frequently eliminates the large majority of native species (Vale and Vale 1976, Luniak 1994, Kowarik 1995, Marzluff 2001). Also, urbanization is often more lasting than other types of habitat loss. Throughout much of New England, for example, ecological succession is restoring forest habitat lost from farming and logging, whereas most urbanized areas in that region not only persist but continue to expand and threaten other local ecosystems (Stein et al. 2000). Another great conservation challenge of urban growth is that it replaces the native species that are lost with widespread “weedy” nonnative species. This replacement constitutes the process of biotic homogenization that threatens to reduce the biological uniqueness of local ecosystems (Blair 2001). Urban-gradient studies show that, for many taxa, for example, plants (Kowarik 1995) and birds and butterflies (Blair and Launer 1997), the number of nonnative species increases toward centers of urbanization, while the number of native species decreases. The final conservation challenge of sprawl is its current and growing geographical extent (Benfield et al. 1999). A review by Czech and colleagues (2000) finds that urbanization endangers more species and is more geographically ubiquitous in the mainland United States than any other human activity. Species threatened by urbanization also tend to be threatened by agriculture, recreation, roads, and many other human impacts, emphasizing the uniquely far-reaching transformations that accompany urban sprawl. About 50% of the US population lives in the suburbs, with another 30% living in cities (USCB 2001). Over 5% of the total surface area of the United States is covered by urban and other built-up areas (USCB 2001). This is more land than is covered by the combined total of national and state parks and areas preserved by the Nature Conservancy. More ominously, the growth rate of urban land use is accelerating faster than land preserved as parks or conservation areas by the Conservancy (figure 1). Much of this growth is from the spread of suburban housing. It is estimated, for example, that residential yards occupy 135,000 acres in the state of Missouri (MDC 2002). This residential landscape represents nearly 1% of the total area of Missouri and is nearly three times the area occupied by Missouri state parks. Here I review the growing literature that documents how urban (and suburban) expansion harms native ecosystems. This knowledge can aid conservation efforts in two major ways. One is through the use of ecological principles—such as preserving remnant natural habitat and restoring modified habitats to promote native species conservation—to reduce the impacts of urbanization on native ecosystems. Rare and endangered species sometimes occur in urbanized habitats (Kendle and Forbes 1997, Godefroid 2001) and thus could be conserved there. Managing the large amount of residential vegetation (1% of the state area, as noted above) in ways that promote native plants and animals could also make a significant contribution to conservation.read more
Citations
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Land-cover effects on soil organic carbon stocks in a European city
TL;DR: Although differences in greenspace management affect SOC stocks, trees only marginally increase these stocks in non-domestic greenspaces, but may enhance them in domestic gardens, and greenspace topsoils hold substantial SOC stores that require protection from further expansion of artificial surfaces e.g. patios and driveways.
Journal ArticleDOI
How do habitat variability and management regime shape the spatial heterogeneity of birds within a large Mediterranean urban park
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of variability among habitats and of park management on bird assemblages are poorly understood, and the authors suggest that urban parks should be designed such that the heterogeneity of native vegetation is preserved, if they aim to maintain native bird species diversity and minimize urban exploiter and alien species.
Journal ArticleDOI
Not all green is as good: Different effects of the natural and cultivated components of urban vegetation on bird and butterfly diversity
Kwek Yan Chong,Siyang Teo,Buddhima Kurukulasuriya,Yi Fei Chung,Subaraj Rajathurai,Hugh T. W. Tan +5 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors test if natural and cultivated greenery differed in their effects on bird and butterfly diversity in the tropical city-state of Singapore, while accounting for the effects of traffic density.
Journal ArticleDOI
Cougar space use and movements in the wildland–urban landscape of western Washington
Brian N. Kertson,Rocky D. Spencer,John M. Marzluff,Jeffrey Hepinstall-Cymerman,Christian E. Grue +4 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the role of landscape features in interactions between cougars and humans was investigated in wildland and residential areas of western Washington State, USA, where the authors captured and radiotracked 27 cougars to model space use and understand how diverse factors affect ecosystem and population processes.
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Population genomics of the Anthropocene: urbanization is negatively associated with genome-wide variation in white-footed mouse populations.
TL;DR: It is found that genomewide variation is inversely related to urbanization as measured by percent impervious surface cover, and to a lesser extent, human population density, and it is reported that urbanization results in enhancedgenomewide differentiation between populations in cities.
References
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TL;DR: The Red River of the North basin of the Philippines was considered a part of the Louisiana Purchase by the United States Department of Commerce in the 1939 Census Atlas of the United Philippines as discussed by the authors.
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TL;DR: It appears that the decline and disappearance of the coyote, in conjunction with the effects of habitat fragmentation, affect the distribution and abundance of smaller carnivores and the persistence of their avian prey.
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TL;DR: In this paper, an open definition of urban systems that accounts for the exchanges of material and influence between cities and surrounding landscapes is presented, which sets the stage for comprehensive understanding of urban ecosystems.
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Worldwide urbanization and its effects on birds
TL;DR: The most consistent effects of increasing settlement were increases in non-native species of birds, increases in birds able to nest on buildings (esp. swifts and swallows), increases in nest predation, and decreases in interior-and ground-nesting species as mentioned in this paper.
Posted Content
Economic associations among causes of species endangerment in the United States
TL;DR: Associations among causes of species endangerment in the United States reflect the integration of economic sectors, supporting the theory and evidence that economic growth proceeds at the competitive exclusion of nonhuman species in the aggregate as discussed by the authors.