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Correction to: Anthropogenic factors influence the occupancy of an invasive carnivore in a suburban preserve system Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2021-01-19 John P. Vanek, Andrew U. Rutter, Timothy S. Preuss, Holly P. Jones, Gary A. Glowacki
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-021-01099-2
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Bright lights, big city: an experimental assessment of short-term behavioral and performance effects of artificial light at night on Anolis lizards Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Jason J. Kolbe, Haley A. Moniz, Oriol Lapiedra, Christopher J. Thawley
With urbanization expanding into natural areas, it is increasingly important to understand how species subject to human-induced habitat alteration respond to novel opportunities and stressors. A pervasive consequence of urbanization is artificial light at night (ALAN), which previous studies have found introduces both costs and benefits for vertebrates. This understanding, however, primarily reflects
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Greenspace sites conserve taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles in an urbanized landscape in the Brazilian Cerrado Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2021-01-14 César M. A. Correa, Kleyton R. Ferreira, Anderson Puker, Lívia D. Audino, Vanesca Korasaki
Urbanization transforms natural ecosystems, creating an environmental mosaic, characterized by native vegetation sites mixed with constructed sites. In this study, we compared dung beetle taxonomic and functional diversity between residential and greenspace sites (remnants of native vegetation) in an urban landscape in the Brazilian Cerrado. We sampled dung beetles in February (2013–2014 – 2015) in
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Records of rat control campaigns in a food market with the largest seafood trading volume worldwide Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2021-01-12 Yasushi Kiyokawa, Ryoko Koizumi, Ryoko Yamada, Masayuki Hijikata, Goro Kimura, Kazuyuki D. Tanaka, Yukari Takeuchi, Tsutomu Tanikawa
Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) and roof rats (Rattus rattus) are among the most common mammals worldwide. Little is known about the effects of season on rat population size, which is important for understanding rat ecology and/or performing effective rat control campaigns. Tsukiji Market was a metropolitan central wholesale market in Tokyo and was located within 1 km from one of the biggest downtown
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Anthropogenic noise and atmospheric absorption of sound induce amplitude shifts in the songs of Southern House Wren ( Troglodytes aedon musculus ) Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2021-01-11 Guilherme Sementili-Cardoso, Reginaldo José Donatelli
Birdsong is an important feature that mediates several aspects of bird reproduction, such as mate choice, territory defense, and individual recognition. Any factor that impairs vocal transmission through the environment may also impair conspecific recognition and thus reduce the effectiveness of reproduction. In this scenario, birds inhabiting urban environments might be subject to different selective
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How do heat and flood risk drive residential green infrastructure implementation in Phoenix, Arizona? Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2021-01-09 Sara Meerow, Alysha M. Helmrich, Riley Andrade, Kelli L. Larson
Green infrastructure is an increasingly popular strategy to simultaneously address challenges associated with urbanization and global environmental change, including increased flooding and rising temperatures. While many cities aim to expand green infrastructure to deliver ecosystem services, their impacts will be limited without significant uptake on private property. Most studies and programs to
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Plant-pollinator networks in Australian urban bushland remnants are not structurally equivalent to those in residential gardens Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2021-01-08 Kit S. Prendergast, Jeff Ollerton
Urbanisation is a prominent and increasing form of land-use change, with the potential to disrupt the interactions between pollinators such as bees and the flowering plants that they visit. This in turn may cause cascading local extinctions and have consequences for pollination services. Network approaches go beyond simple metrics of abundance and species richness, enabling understanding of how the
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An avian urban morphotype: how the city environment shapes great tit morphology at different life stages Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2021-01-07 Aude E. Caizergues, Anne Charmantier, Marcel M. Lambrechts, Samuel Perret, Virginie Demeyrier, Annick Lucas, Arnaud Grégoire
Urbanization is a worldwide phenomenon associated with tremendous modifications of natural habitats. Understanding how city dwelling species are affected by those changes is becoming a pressing issue. We presently lack fine scale spatio-temporal studies investigating the impact of urbanization across different life stages and along urbanization gradients. Based on 8 years of monitoring of urban and
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No overall effect of urbanization on nest-dwelling arthropods of great tits ( Parus major ). Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2021-01-07 Lisa F. Baardsen, Luc De Bruyn, Frank Adriaensen, Joris Elst, Diederik Strubbe, Dieter Heylen, Erik Matthysen
Urbanization has been shown to strongly affect community composition of various taxa with potentially strong shifts in ecological interactions, including those between hosts and parasites. We investigated the effect of urbanization on the composition of arthropods in nests of great tits in Flanders, Belgium. These nests contain taxonomically and functionally diverse arthropod communities including
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The resilient frugivorous fauna of an urban forest fragment and its potential role in vegetation enrichment Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2021-01-06 Eduardo Delgado Britez Rigacci, Natalia Dantas Paes, Gabriel Moreira Félix, Wesley Rodrigues Silva
Anthropocentric defaunation affects critical ecological processes, such as seed dispersal, putting ecosystems and biomes at risk, and leading to habitat impoverishment. Diverse restoration techniques could reverse the process of habitat impoverishment. However, in most of the restoration efforts, only vegetation cover is targeted. Fauna and flora are treated as isolated components, neglecting a key
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Urban ecosystems and ecosystem services in megacity Dhaka: mapping and inventory analysis Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2021-01-06 Naeema Jihan Zinia, Paul McShane
Urban ecosystems and ecosystem services have received little research attention in South Asian countries where rapid urban development is currently problematic. We developed a typology of urban ecosystems and an inventory of current ecosystem services for Dhaka – the capital of Bangladesh. Our observations, surveys, analyses, and evaluation revealed a diversity of urban ecosystems including khal (canal)
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Aspects of the ecology and behaviour of a potential urban exploiter, the southern tree agama, Acanthocercus atricollis Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2021-01-05 Nikisha Singh, Cormac Price, Colleen T. Downs
Urbanisation has caused significant alterations to ecosystems, generally resulting in decreased biodiversity. However, certain animal species persist and thrive in urban environments by making use of available opportunities, anthropogenic resources, infrastructure and increased ambient and surface temperatures. These species are known as urban exploiters. We investigated the southern tree agama, Acanthocercus
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Characterizing the landscape compositions of urban wildlife encounters: the case of the stone marten ( Martes foina ), the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) and the hedgehog ( Erinaceus europaeus ) in the Greater Paris area Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2021-01-04 Mary Capon, Benjamin Lysaniuk, Vincent Godard, Céline Clauzel, Laurent Simon
As urbanization continues to expand worldwide, more and more urban areas become home to wild animals able to adapt to city life, generating a growing need for information. In the Greater Paris area, the existence of three wild mammals (the stone marten, Martes foina, the red fox, Vulpes vulpes and the hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus) is attested. However, little is known regarding their presence. The
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Behavioral responses of rural and urban greater white-toothed shrews ( Crocidura russula ) to sound disturbance Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2021-01-03 Flávio G. Oliveira, Joaquim T. Tapisso, Sophie von Merten, Leszek Rychlik, Paulo J. Fonseca, Maria da Luz Mathias
The development of urban areas imposes challenges that wildlife must adapt to in order to persist in these new habitats. One of the greatest changes brought by urbanization has been an increase in anthropogenic noise, with negative consequences for the natural behavior of animals. Small mammals are particularly vulnerable to urbanization and noise, despite some species having successfully occupied
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Classes of protection in urban forest fragments are effectiveless in structuring butterfly assemblages: landscape and forest structure are far better predictors Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2021-01-03 Elton Orlandin, Eduardo Carneiro
Urbanization is a major cause of biodiversity loss and disconnection between people and nature. For this reason, the creation and maintenance of green areas as part of the urban landscape is a common practice in cities around the world. These green areas are generally a result of particular public policies regarding how these areas can be accessed, maintained, and how they are connected to other natural
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The role of woodpeckers (family: Picidae) as ecosystem engineers in urban parks: a case study in the city of Madrid (Spain) Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2021-01-03 Patricia Catalina-Allueva, Carlos A. Martín
Many species of the family Picidae, such as the woodpeckers, excavate the tree-cavities where they nest. Frequently the cavities are used during a single breeding season and subsequently abandoned, which allows their use by non-excavator species for nesting or roosting. Here we analyze the role of woodpeckers as providers of nesting and refuge places in two urban parks in the city of Madrid. The environmental
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A sustainable urban regeneration project to protect biodiversity Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-12-30 Elvira Tarsitano, Alba Giannoccaro Rosa, Cecilia Posca, Giovanni Petruzzi, Michele Mundo, Marcello Colao
The sustainable urban redevelopment project to protect biodiversity was developed to regenerate the external spaces of an ancient rural farmhouse, Villa Framarino, in the regional Natural Park of Lama Balice, a shallow erosive furrow (lama) rich in biodiversity, between two suburbs of the city of Bari (Apulia, Italy) and close to the city airport. This work includes a complex system of activities aimed
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Evaluation of the importance of ornamental plants for pollinators in urban and suburban areas in Stuttgart, Germany Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-12-26 Melanie Marquardt, Lydia Kienbaum, Lea Annina Kretschmer, Anja Penell, Karsten Schweikert, Ute Ruttensperger, Peter Rosenkranz
Urban landscapes are often characterized by a wide range of diverse flowering plants consisting of native and exotic plants. These flower-rich habitats have proven to be particularly valuable for urban pollinating insects. However, the ability of ornamental plants in supporting urban pollinator communities is still not well documented. For this study, we established flower beds at 13 different urban
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Demographic drivers of Norway rat populations from urban slums in Brazil Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-12-18 C. G. Zeppelini, T. Carvalho-Pereira, R. Sady Alves, D. C. C. Santiago, V. F. Espirito Santo, M. Begon, F. Costa, Hussein Khalil
The Norway rat is a globally distributed pest, known for its resilience to eradication and control programs. Efficient population control, especially in urban settings, is dependent on knowledge of rat demography and population ecology. We analyzed the relationship between four demographic outcomes, estimated by live-trapping data, and fine-scale environmental features measured at the capture site
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Urbanization does not affect green space bird species richness in a mid-sized city Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-12-10 Dávid Korányi, Róbert Gallé, Bettina Donkó, Dan E. Chamberlain, Péter Batáry
Urbanization is one of the most intensive forms of landscape and habitat transformation, resulting in species loss, and taxonomic and functional homogenization of different communities. Whilst green infrastructure (the network of natural and semi-natural areas in cities) has been studied extensively in terms of specific features that promote biodiversity, there have been no studies that have assessed
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Influence of urbanization on the avian species-area relationship: insights from the breeding birds of Rome Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-12-03 Stefano Di Pietro, Cristina Mantoni, Simone Fattorini
The species-area relationship (SAR) is one of the most investigated patterns in ecology and conservation biology, yet there is no study testing how different levels of urbanization influence its shape. Here we tested the impact of urbanization on avian SARs along a rural-urban gradient using the breeding birds of Rome (Central Italy). We divided the city into 360 cells of 1 km2. Each cell was classified
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Microclimate in an urban park and its influencing factors: a case study of Tiantan Park in Beijing, China Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-11-26 Yilun Li, Shuxin Fan, Kun Li, Yue Zhang, Li Dong
Construction of urban green spaces may effectively mitigate urban heat island effect. Better design of green spaces may improve their thermal performance, and therefore provide better ecosystem services in cities. Aiming at providing empirical evidence and further insights for urban park design, field measurement of air temperature (Ta) and relative humidity (Rh) was conducted in Tiantan Park in Beijing
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Urban open spaces from a dispersal perspective: lessons from an individual-based model approach to assess the effects of landscape patterns on the viability of wildlife populations Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-11-25 Homero Marconi Penteado
Green areas drawn on a city plan represent open spaces that have different meanings for humans and wildlife. Diverse kinds of green may influence species viability in urban environments. It is necessary to understand what those areas mean for wildlife populations and how land-use changes affect habitats and movements for making scientifically defensible planning and design decisions. My objective was
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Vacant lot soil degradation and mowing frequency shape communities of belowground invertebrates and urban spontaneous vegetation Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-11-16 Kayla I. Perry, Nicole C. Hoekstra, Steve W. Culman, Mary M. Gardiner
Vacant land in legacy cities is increasingly recognized as a resource to support biodiversity and improve the quality of life for residents. However, the capacity for vacant lot parcels to provide these benefits is influenced by current management practices and landscape legacies of urbanization, which typically results in degraded soil quality. The role of soil quality in supporting urban biodiversity
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Vegetation management and benthic macroinvertebrate communities in urban stormwater ponds: implications for regional biodiversity Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-11-12 James S. Sinclair, Lindsey S. Reisinger, Carrie R. Adams, Eban Bean, Alexander J. Reisinger, Basil V. Iannone
Designed ecosystems (e.g., gardens or engineered ponds) are increasingly common components of urban landscapes and contribute valuable ecosystem services. However, management of designed ecosystems is typically vegetation-centric and often does not consider associated fauna. Urban ponds typify this relationship as their vegetation is managed to improve ecosystem services, such as aesthetics and stormwater
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Determining daytime resting site habitats of exurban feral cats Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-10-27 Catherine Normand, Rachael E. Urbanek, Carson L. Hicks
Predicting daytime resting sites (DRS) in feral cat (Felis catus) populations provides a means for further understanding what habitat characteristics are used by the species, which in turn may help in managing their populations. Between May – August 2013, we identified 319 summer DRSs used by 24 radiocollared feral cats in Russellville, Arkansas. Our goal was to characterize summer DRS use by feral
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Are vascular epiphytes in urban green areas subject to the homogenization of biodiversity? A case study in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-10-27 Francine Seehaber Alvim, Samyra Gomes Furtado, Luiz Menini Neto
Urbanization is a disturbance process that can select species and result in biodiversity homogenization. Despite this, urban green areas shelter nature and are also important to human welfare. Epiphytes are an important functional group present in such areas, that are rarely studied. We evaluated the vascular epiphytic component in 26 urban green areas in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and tested hypotheses
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Comparisons of flux-based stemflow enrichment ratios for two Quercus spp. within the megalopolis of the eastern USA Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-10-17 Asia L. Dowtin, Courtney M. Siegert, Delphis F. Levia
Throughfall and stemflow serve as two important transport mechanisms for water and solutes in urban forests, though these fluxes are seldom quantified within cities. This study is the first to utilize two flux-based enrichment ratios for stemflow to characterize spatial patterns in water and solute distribution in urban forest fragments. Using event-based, in situ sampling, this study quantified stemflow
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Shrinking into the big city: influence of genetic and environmental factors on urban dragon lizard morphology and performance capacity Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-10-14 James Baxter-Gilbert, Julia L. Riley, Celine H. Frère, Martin J. Whiting
Urban wildlife faces a novel set of challenges resulting in selective pressure that can lead to population-level changes. We studied Australian water dragons (Intellagama lesueurii) from urban and natural populations to test if urban populations differed in body size, shape, and performance capacity. If urban-derived morphology has arisen through selection, we predicted distinct morphological differences
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Population estimates of non-native rose-ringed parakeets Psittacula krameri (Scopoli, 1769) in the Durban Metropole, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-10-14 Tinyiko C. Shivambu, Ndivhuwo Shivambu, Colleen T. Downs
Rose-ringed parakeets Psittacula krameri are one of the most widely distributed urban avian invader species present in ~ 35 countries with population sizes increasing. These parakeets were introduced to South Africa as part of the pet trade, and feral populations have established in several urban areas since and are of concern. We, therefore, conducted monthly surveys between August 2018 – December
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Urban renewable energy and ecosystems: integrating vegetation with ground-mounted solar arrays increases arthropod abundance of key functional groups Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-10-12 John H. Armstrong, Andy J. Kulikowski, Stacy M. Philpott
Cities are increasingly developing renewable energy within urban areas, yet the implications for ecosystems have not been explored. This study brings together climate change mitigation policies and ecosystem conservation in urban areas by investigating how ground-mounted solar arrays in parking lots affect arthropod abundance and biodiversity. We assess which arthropods are present under these solar
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‘Urban biocultural diversity’ as a framework for human–nature interactions: reflections from a Brazilian favela Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-10-09 Sanna Stålhammar, Ebba Brink
Biocultural diversity (BCD), denoting the ‘inextricable link’ between biological and cultural diversity, has traditionally highlighted the coevolution between highly biodiverse regions and the ethnic–linguistic diversity of indigenous communities. Recently, European researchers have relaunched BCD as a conceptual foundation for urban greenspace planning capable of overcoming challenges of the ecosystem
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Multiscale determinants of Pacific chorus frog occurrence in a developed landscape Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-10-08 Jemma Green, Purnima Govindarajulu, Eric Higgs
Pacific chorus frog (Pseudacris regilla) populations have persisted despite urban and rural development throughout the species’ range; yet it is possible that P. regilla, like other anurans with which it historically co-occurred, will become extirpated from cities and suburbs if urbanization intensifies as predicted. An improved understanding of the conditions that enable this species to persist in
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Urbanization alters the abundance and composition of predator communities and leads to aphid outbreaks on urban trees Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-10-03 Dávid Korányi, Viktor Szigeti, László Mezőfi, Előd Kondorosy, Viktor Markó
Urbanization can affect arthropod abundance in different ways. While species with narrow habitat range and low dispersal ability often respond negatively to urban environments, many habitat generalist species with good dispersal ability reach high densities in city centers. This filtering effect of urban habitats can strongly influence predator-prey-mutualist interactions and may therefore affect the
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Investigating temporal and spatial correlates of the sharp decline of an urban exploiter bird in a large European city Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-08-28 Bertille Mohring, Pierre-Yves Henry, Frédéric Jiguet, Frédéric Malher, Frédéric Angelier
Increasing urbanisation and human pressure on lands have huge impacts on biodiversity. Some species, known as “urban exploiters”, manage to expand in urban landscapes, relying on human resources. The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is the perfect example of a human-commensal species. Surprisingly, this urban exploiter has been declining all over Europe over the past decades. The proximate causes
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The effects of water chemistry and lock-mediated connectivity on macroinvertebrate diversity and community structure in a canal in northern England Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-08-25 Jack R. Walker, Christopher Hassall
Freshwater ecosystems are under threat from habitat loss, partly due to urban expansion. However, some elements of urban freshwaters are already integral parts of the urban landscape and so are more resilient to loss, representing opportunities for the enhancement of freshwater resources within cities. This study investigated the biodiversity value of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal in Leeds, UK, in relation
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Population increase and synurbization of the yellow-necked mouse Apodemus flavicollis in some wooded areas of Warsaw agglomeration, Poland, in the years 1983–2018 Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-08-25 Grzegorz Lesiński, Jakub Gryz, Dagny Krauze-Gryz, Przemysław Stolarz
Studies on the contribution of the yellow-necked mouse Apodemus flavicollis and of other vertebrates to the diet of the tawny owl Strix aluco were carried out in Warsaw (central Poland) in the years 1983–2018. The frequency of the yellow-necked mouse in owl pellets increased at the break of the 20th and 21st centuries, particularly in some woodlands in the peri-urban area of the agglomeration. In the
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Moth assemblages within urban domestic gardens respond positively to habitat complexity, but only at a scale that extends beyond the garden boundary Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-08-22 Emilie E. Ellis, Tom L. Wilkinson
‘Wildlife-friendly’ gardening is a dominant theme in the media that readily engages public attention. However, there is little empirical evidence of the ecological benefits of increased habitat quality of individual domestic gardens. This study uses light-trapping to examine the response of moth assemblages to domestic gardens that are assessed in terms of their habitat complexity (simple and complex)
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Predicting spatial patterns of bird richness in an urban landscape in Himalayan foothills, India Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-08-21 Aimon Bushra, Hitendra Padalia, Afifullah Khan
Increasing pace of urbanization is the leading cause of decline in natural areas and associated biodiversity in developing countries. Bird richness is considered as a key indicator of urban environment quality. We investigated the relationship between satellite image derived landscape variables and field surveyed bird counts to predict bird richness in a rapidly urbanizing city in Western Himalayan
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Correction to: Influence of environmental factors on bird diversity in greenspaces in an Amazonian city Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-08-18 José F. Rico-Silva, Emmy J. Cruz-Trujillo, Gabriel J. Colorado Z.
The original version of this article unfortunately contained errors.
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Setting up an efficient survey of Aedes albopictus in an unfamiliar urban area Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-08-15 Claire Kermorvant, Frank D’Amico, Grégory L’Ambert, Simplice Dossou-Gbete
Setting up a survey may be very complex, especially when no previous data are available on the population of interest. Survey results must be non debatable (i.e. whose results are not open to question and cannot be interpreted in different ways) and precise enough to allow to answer the initial research question. A probabilistic sampling design with sufficient samples for acceptable precision and robust
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Non-native shrubs and calcium availability are important for birds breeding in urban forests Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-08-15 W. Gregory Shriver, Zachary S. Ladin, Jeffrey Buler, Vincent D’Amico
Global increases in urbanization requires us to better understand how species are adapting to novel ecosystems in urbanized environments. We conducted a multi-year study to compare how five bird species with different life history strategies responded to local- and landscape-scale factors within forests in an urbanizing landscape. We modeled the responses of species to factors that have been shown
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Spring flow lost: a historical and contemporary perspective of an urban fish community Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-08-13 Cody A. Craig, Timothy H. Bonner
Water quality and quantity within the upper San Antonio River (Bexar County, Texas) were supported historically from spring flows of the Edwards Aquifer. Since the 1700s, water quality, quantity, physical aquatic habitats, and presumably fish communities have been altered in the upper San Antonio River, including loss of spring flow and replacement of base flow by treated wastewater. The upper San
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Commentary on “Cues to Care: future directions for ecological landscapes” Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-08-12 Joan Iverson Nassauer
This commentary responds to “Cues to Care: future directions for ecological landscapes” (Hostetler 2020), which states that “research on cues to care has been sparse”. In a series of papers between 1988-1997, I introduced Cues to Care (CTC) and developed related theories about how CTC function to introduce and sustain environmentally beneficial landscape elements in human-dominated landscapes, and
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Reap what you sow: local plant composition mediates bumblebee foraging patterns within urban garden landscapes Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-08-04 Megan O’Connell, Zachariah Jordan, Erin McGilvray, Hamutahl Cohen, Heidi Liere, Brenda B. Lin, Stacy M. Philpott, Shalene Jha
Although urban gardens are often celebrated for supporting bee abundance and diversity within cities, little is known about how garden management and urbanization levels influence bee foraging behavior and ability to utilize resources within these landscapes. Specifically, the preferences and diet breadth of bees may depend critically on local and landscape conditions in human-managed, urban environments
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Carrion increases pollination service across an urban gradient Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-07-07 Sarah Cusser, Jennifer L. Pechal, Nick M. Haddad
The world is increasingly urban, and urbanization alters the abundance and distribution of resources important to mutualist pollinators. Pollinators require distinct and diverse resources throughout their life cycle, including larval habitat and adult food resources. However, the relationship among urbanization, pollinator resource distribution, pollinator abundance, and pollination service provision
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Medium and large mammal conservation in the City of Cape Town: factors influencing species richness in urban nature reserves Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-07-06 Andrea K. Schnetler, Frans G. T. Radloff, M. Justin O’Riain
Urbanisation is associated with the loss and fragmentation of natural land, the disruption of ecosystem functioning and services, and the loss of biodiversity. Cape Town is situated in a global biodiversity hotspot, with high rates of endemism, but both agricultural and housing demands are increasing pressure on remaining patches of natural land and consequently the biodiversity they support. The aims
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More losses than gains in ground-nesting bees over 60 years of urbanization Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-07-06 Felipe Walter Pereira, Laís Carneiro, Rodrigo Barbosa Gonçalves
Along with agricultural intensification, urbanization is often implicated in bee declines worldwide. While the vast majority of studies investigate how bee assemblages respond to urbanization across different spatial scales, very few attempts have used a temporal comparison to evaluate the impact of urbanization. The city of Curitiba in southern Brazil is unique for having long-term data of bees, and
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Plant-bird mutualistic interactions can contribute to the regeneration of forest and non-forest urban patches in the Brazilian Cerrado Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-07-05 Allan Corral, Luciana Mendes Valério, Kwok Chiu Cheung, Bruno Henrique dos Santos Ferreira, Angélica Guerra, Judit Kriszta Szabo, Letícia Koutchin Reis
Birds play a crucial role in plant reproduction, being one of the most important pollinators and seed dispersers among vertebrates. Here, we aim to study plant-bird interactions in the Cerrado biome of Brazil, highlighting existing mutualistic relations and their role in forest regeneration processes. We sampled plants and recorded feeding events and other interactions between frugivorous birds and
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Green space networks as natural infrastructures in PERI-URBAN areas. Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-07-01 Amparo Verdú-Vázquez,Eva Fernández-Pablos,Rafael V Lozano-Diez,Óscar López-Zaldívar
Focusing on the analysis of green spaces of urban and peri-urban borders, this paper puts into practice a methodology designed for the analysis of green areas and peri-urban spaces as green infrastructures, but from a multifunctional and integrating perspective, as it is stated in the European Strategy for Green Infrastructures and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goals. The deadline for
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An unexpected backyard hunter: breeding Barred Owls exhibit plasticity in habitat selection along a development gradient Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-06-30 Marion A. Clément, Kyle Barrett, Robert F. Baldwin, Catherine M. Bodinof Jachowski, Addie Carter, David Brinker
Despite extensive accounts in the literature describing Barred Owls (Strix varia) as obligate forest-interior species, Barred Owls have increasingly been observed in urbanized landscapes. To determine if certain habitat characteristics, such as mature urban trees, facilitate the occurrence of Barred Owls in developed regions, we deployed GPS transmitters on 20 breeding Barred Owls in northwestern South
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A spatial and temporal assessment of human-snake encounters in urban and peri-urban areas of Windhoek, Namibia Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-06-27 Morgan Lindo Hauptfleisch, Ignatius Nyangana Sikongo, Francois Theart
Wildlife is known to be attracted to cities as a result of the ecosystem services associated with synanthorpization. This however often results in conflicts between human activities and wildlife. Accidental encounters between snakes and people in urban areas is a problem Windhoek shares with many cities around the world. Globally, this conflict leads to numerous human envenomations, a serious and neglected
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Interconnected ecological network design using lcp algorithm and cohesion index in urban scale Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-06-26 Shiva Gharibi, K. Shayesteh, B. Attaeian
The structure of interconnected ecological network in cities includes corridors and large green spots continuity which provides ecosystem services, e.g. biodiversity conservation. From a functional perspective, green infrastructure would be one of the most adapted ways of solving environmental issues caused by restricted vegetation in intensive urban areas with high density of gray infrastructures
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Tolerant and avoiders in an urban landscape: anuran species richness and functional groups responses in the Yungas’ forest of NW Argentina Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-06-25 Laura C. Pereyra, M. S. Akmentins, M. J. Salica, M. F. Quiroga, C. E. Moreno, M. Vaira
Urbanization is one of the most important causes of ecological changes and biodiversity loss worldwide, and forests in Latin America provide valuable scenarios to understand the ecological effects of this human-driven phenomenon due to its high urbanization rate. Our aim was to investigate how urbanization shapes species richness (SR) and composition of anuran communities in NW Argentina, and to determine
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Home range and use of residential gardens by yellow mongoose Cynictis penicillata in an urban environment Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-06-23 Nadine Elizabeth Cronk, Neville Pillay
Urban areas provide small carnivores with an abundance of resources and reduced predation risk, resulting in higher population densities. Urban animals tend to have greatly reduced home range sizes in response to increased resource availability. We investigated the home range size of yellow mongooses Cynictis penicillata in an urban area and determined whether their home ranges overlapped with human
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Anthropogenic factors influence the occupancy of an invasive carnivore in a suburban preserve system Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-06-22 John P. Vanek, Andrew U. Rutter, Timothy S. Preuss, Holly P. Jones, Gary A. Glowacki
Free-ranging domestic cats (Felis catus) cats kill billions of wild animals every year, spread parasites and diseases to both wildlife and humans, and are responsible for the extinction or extirpation of at least 63 species. While the ecology and conservation implications of free-ranging cats have been well studied in some locations, relatively little is known about cats inhabiting suburban nature
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Plant diversity increases in an urban wildland after four decades of unaided vegetation development in a post-industrial site Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-06-22 Allyson Salisbury, Frank J. Gallagher, Hadas A. Parag, Liliana Meneses-Florián, Claus Holzapfel
Abstract Spontaneous plant communities found in abandoned post-industrial landscapes develop in unique conditions which can create novel community assemblages. We examined changes in plant community composition and its relation to soil properties in an urban brownfield more than 40 years following site abandonment to better understand the community’s long-term trajectory. A former railyard and industrial
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Raining feral cats and dogs? Implications for the conservation of medium-sized wild mammals in an urban protected area Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-06-15 Helí Coronel-Arellano, Maya Rocha-Ortega, Fernando Gual-Sill, Enrique Martínez-Meyer, Agueda Karina Ramos-Rendón, Marcela González-Negrete, Guillermo Gil-Alarcón, Luis Zambrano
Mammals are one of the most negatively affected groups by urbanization, nevertheless, urban reserves can help their conservation. The study of wildlife within the reserves is important for the persistence of these populations, but stressors factors as feral fauna might endanger the conservation of wildlife. Therefore, our objective was to analyze the patterns of temporal and spatial activity of wild
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Noise and tree species richness modulate the bird community inhabiting small public urban green spaces of a Neotropical city Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-06-17 Beatriz Ferreira da Silva, João Carlos Pena, Arleu Barbosa Viana-Junior, Matheus Vergne, Marco Aurélio Pizo
Abstract Small public urban green spaces (SPUGS) are important for human life-quality and for maintenance of biodiversity within urban landscapes. However, little is known about how local characteristics and spatial location are related to biodiversity inhabiting SPUGS in tropical cities. In this study, we aimed at assess how noise, vegetation aspects (local characteristics), distance from a major
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Analysis of cat diet across an urbanisation gradient Urban Ecosyst. (IF 2.547) Pub Date : 2020-06-13 Aleksandra M. Piontek, Ewa Wojtylak-Jurkiewicz, Krzysztof Schmidt, Agnieszka Gajda, Maciej Lesiak, Izabela A. Wierzbowska
The domestic cat is a widespread and abundant predator that negatively impacts a wide range of species. However, the predation activity and prey type of free-ranging cats may vary between areas with different levels urbanisation. Previous analyses of cat diet have used differing techniques to measure predation that often differ with one another. Given the variability in these methods we hypothesised
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