Academics and city administrations generally agree that environmental management decisions should be science based, which suggests the value of collaboration between city officials and researchers. Such collaboration, termed “ecology with cities”, is an example of translational ecology that should integrate ecological and social sciences to inform decision-makers. However, there has been insufficient

The biodiversity conservation value of urban green spaces depends in part on design and management. The importance of habitat quality and complexity to species diversity has led to the suggestion that habitat design elements—varied substrate, greater plant diversity, logs or stones—would support invertebrate diversity on green roofs. To evaluate this possibility, we conducted pit-fall trap sampling

Urbanization is one of the most lasting anthropogenic disturbances threatening native species diversity including ants. Ants play important ecological functions such as seed dispersal, biological pest control, and bio-indicators of environmental changes. Herein, we investigated and tracked ant communities in three sites (rural, suburban and urban) in 2007 and resampled the same categories ten years

Animals from urban areas are regularly brought into wildlife rehabilitation centers, providing untapped potential data records to inform management of wildlife species. Although rescues may be considered a wildlife stewardship behavior, not all ‘rescues’ may be warranted. Some animals are more likely to be brought into a rescue center than others, suggesting that human drivers underlying wildlife rehabilitation

We investigated conservation status, biodiversity potentials and economic contribution of urban tree Ecosystems in Nigerian cities. A total of 32 families were encountered respectively in Makurdi (17), Ilorin (18) and Lokoja (25) urban forests. The diversity index, richness and evenness of the tree species were in the order Ilorin > Lokoja > Makurdi urban forests and decreased as the population of

Cities represent enviroment for most of Europe's human population. Spatial pattern of cities' environmental as well as socioeconomic features affect plant biodiversity. We analysed a floristic mapping dataset of the city of Ljubljana (Slovenia) and asked what affects the spatial differences in the presence of different categories of species: species according to residence time and endangered and thermophilic

Urbanisation processes are increasing worldwide at surprising rates affecting wildlife in many ways: changing habitat structure, reducing resources, and modifying the distribution, composition and abundance of local biota. In different countries, urban waste collection techniques are evolving and surface rubbish containers (neighbourhood receptacles for temporarily storing anthropogenic household waste

The need for hydrologic restoration is well established in stream ecosystems across the world; however, available funding for catchment-scale restoration typically falls far short of what is required to produce in-stream results. Hydrologic restoration can be particularly important for improving stream integrity in urban watersheds, but implementation can be challenging due to high property values

The present study is aimed at the analysis of possibilities for shading southern frontage of street oriented along the E-W axis by the single row of trees, parallel to the southern elevations. The effectiveness of solar control shading was tested depending on the geometric relationships between trees and buildings. Numerical simulation analyses were conducted in Rhinoceros® program for the street located

City life is harsh and inhospitable for many animal species, particularly for non-volant mammals that face increased mortality risks in urban settings. Yet, studies on non-volant city mammals are limited and mostly restricted to temperate regions. Here, I evaluated the density and adaptability of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), a species with a series of advantageous pre-adaptations that

Urbanization is a major form of landscape transformation that often results in habitat degradation and loss for birds. However, effects on avian populations are trait- and context-dependent, and persistence at urban patches is likely to be a function of habitat availability at the landscape scale. Here, we aimed to assess the breeding performance and foraging ecology of a widespread shorebird, the

Documenting biotic interactions is pivotal for understanding ecosystem processes, and although there is a large amount of data in the scientific literature, it is overly dispersed in thousands of different sources with varying degrees of availability. Despite recent and partially successful efforts to integrate biotic interaction data at a global scale into single databases, those have mostly incorporated

Litter decomposition is a fundamental ecosystem process and service that supplies nutrients to the soil. Although decomposition rate is influenced by litter quality, climatic conditions, the decomposer community and vegetation type in non-urban ecosystems, little is known about the degradation of different organic matter types in urban settings. We investigated the decomposition rates of recalcitrant

The role of urban trees in the climate change discourse is not well articulated due to limited data. Understanding the factors that influence the role of urban forests and their species in carbon storage, an important issue in climate change will be essential in this respect. Arguing that multipurpose trees are likely to be preferred in urban forests in developing countries due to the varied and numerous

Healthy soil ecosystems are important for urban sustainability, because they provide the basis for ecosystem services such as flood regulation, nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. We investigated the soils beneath five types of urban land cover in the tropical city of Singapore—secondary forest, managed grass, shrubs, trees, and trees with shrubs. We quantified the capacity of these soils to

Cities do not only represent noisy systems, but also limit acoustic communication given the complex array of artificial structures through which signals can be trapped or obscured. In this study we performed a field experiment to evaluate the loss of energy of a standardized acoustic emission (generated with notes and a call of the Clay-colored Thrush – Turdus grayi). For this, we emitted the acoustic

Stormwater ponds (“SWPs”) are artificial roadside structures, conceived to retain and clean polluted runoff water, before its release to the environment. SWPs were not designed as suitable habitats for wildlife. However, SWPs in Europe are frequently used as breeding sites by amphibians, especially by the European green frog (Pelophylax sp.). Yet, the potential long-term effects of pollutants within

Given that ecological knowledge of large urban river systems is extremely sparse due to logistics and accessibility an occupancy modeling study was conducted on the resident birds of Delhi. River Yamuna passing through Delhi is a refuge for several resident and migratory species of birds but its water quality has been deteriorating due to ever growing population, contributing most of its pollution

Urbanisation changes the structure of natural habitats and alters trophic interactions, pressuring urban species to adjust and adapt. Unlike behavioural shifts that tend to be more flexible, morphological characteristics in vertebrates are less plastic and changes may come at a greater cost. We explored the hypothesis that morphological characteristics in a tropical agamid lizard Psammophilus dorsalis

Pathogens and chemical contaminants in stormwater are major environmental and public health concerns. Characterizing the variability in composition and bioremediation functions of the microbial community from different sources of stormwater will help with efforts to properly manage water after it rains. To improve understanding of the variability and composition of the microbial community in run-off

While urbanisation remains a major threat to biodiversity, urban areas can sometimes play an important role in protecting threatened species, especially exploited taxa such as parrots. The Hispaniolan Parakeet Psittacara chloropterus has been extirpated across much of Hispaniola, including from most protected areas, yet Santo Domingo (capital city of the Dominican Republic) has recently been found

Urban landscapes present substantial opportunities for biodiversity conservation with residential gardens offering some of the greatest potential conservation gains given that they represent a significant proportion of the total greenspace in urbanised landscapes. However, knowledge of wildlife ecology within gardens remains scarce, likely due to the difficulties associated with field ecologists accessing

Research to date on urban ecosystem services has mainly been conducted in large cities, particularly in China, the USA and some European countries. This study examined the provision of urban ecosystem services in a Swedish municipality context, based on interviews with municipal stakeholders in strategic management and planning from six municipalities and a review of existing publications readily available

Nogal, Juglans neotropica Diels is an endangered woody angiosperm of tropical origin. Several trees of this species have been planted in Bogotá City, Colombia. The field of study is urban tree phenology. The research question of the current work is when do phenological changes occur throughout the year in urban nogal trees in the northern portion of Bogotá, Colombia? The main research objective was

Woody invasive plants are a pernicious threat to the structure and function of ecosystems worldwide. Due to the growing number of invasive species and the variable timeline of invasion, many invasive plants are unrecognized or underreported, leading to long-term ecological damage that is beyond the capability of cost-efficient management programs. Mahonia bealei is a woody shrub native to China that

Urban green spaces can have an important role in biodiversity conservation. However, they are not often a focus of biodiversity studies, although their global area is raising. We investigated the impact of habitat characteristics of urban green spaces on an ecologically important group of insects—ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). We tested three questions: 1) does ant species richness positively correlate

Pond construction in urban areas can mitigate loss of aquatic insects by providing refuges. Urban ponds are also an interface between civil society and aquatic insects, especially via charismatic dragonflies. Ponds have therefore been constructed specifically for dragonfly conservation awareness in many countries. Yet they require regular management, especially when an inflow to a shallow pond supplies

Urbanisation is a major cause of biodiversity loss but careful habitat management and provision of green space within cities can help to mitigate its negative effects. Grasslands occupy large surface areas and have many functions but only a few studies have begun to explore how birds exploit these habitats in urban contexts. We hypothesized that the value of grasslands for nesting and feeding birds

Human settlements represent important year-round habitats for many declining farmland birds; however, detailed knowledge of species-specific habitat associations is crucial for effective conservation of individual species. In this study, we examined the effect of environmental factors on the occurrence, population density, and habitat associations of three sedentary granivorous farmland bird species

Understanding how local and landscape-level factors influence species abundances and distributions is crucial for conservation and restoration efforts. Effects of urbanization are often negative at a landscape level, but some taxa such as solitary cavity-nesting bees perform better in urban areas, due to increases in food, nesting, and habitat resources at the local level. In this study, we ask how

The sustainable management of green spaces in cities is crucial in achieving the challenging goal of urban sustainability. The common practice of cultivation of alien plants in urban green spaces is often associated with risk of naturalisation (i.e. escape into wild), which can have sometime adverse impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. To mitigate these risks, understanding patterns and

Across the developing world, humans and free-ranging domestic dogs share common spaces. The relationship between these dogs and humans can range from one of dependence, to apathy, to conflict. Given the high number of humans attacked by dogs every year in India, and the lack of an effective population control strategy, we seek to provide insights into the conflict and propose alternative population

In the catchment of the River Segura (SE Spain), ongoing Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) recovery and concurrent spread of human settlements are resulting in increasing otter records into urban areas. We analysed otter diet along a natural-to-urban gradient, with the main aim of assessing to which extent man-driven variation in food availability affects its feeding habits and how this secretive mustelid

Lawns as a landcover change substantially alter evapotranspiration, CO2, and energy exchanges and are of rising importance considering their spatial extent. We contrast eddy covariance (EC) flux measurements collected in the Denver, Colorado, USA metropolitan area in 2011 and 2012 over a lawn and a xeric tallgrass prairie. Close linkages between seasonal vegetation development, energy fluxes, and net

Urban heat island could strengthen the warming trend of air temperature and cause the change of carbon cycle of urban ecosystems. The primary goal of this study was to explore the above phenomena in a subtropical city of Shenzhen. We selected four sites along a thermal gradient of the city and ran an ecological model to simulate hourly gross primary productivity and net ecosystem change of carbon for

Raptors can be important components of urban ecosystems due to their role as apex predators, the presence of which may bring benefits to people. Urban environments may provide good quality habitats, and the raptors’ ability to utilize resources found here can contribute to their success. However, urban environments are socio-ecological systems and such mechanisms shaping habitats and ecological resources

Urbanization rates are increasing worldwide; therefore, urban and semi-urban ecosystems are the focus of various studies that explore their importance for biodiversity conservation. In the order Lepidoptera high species diversity has been observed in areas with distinct levels of disturbance. In Ecuador, most efforts to study the diversity of butterflies have been concentrated in protected natural

Urbanization is a worldwide problem affecting wildlife negatively. Cities cause habitat suppression, fragmentation, among other disease spreading, suitable conditions for exotic species, and direct animal kills—consequently, local native species might be extinct. Still, urban areas can also provide biodiversity maintenance because some species can be adapted to the urban environment. Here, we assess

Growing native plants in urban gardens is often promoted as a possible means of increasing lepidopteran populations. However, the efficacy of such efforts has not been well studied. Lepidopterans vary widely in their ability to survive in cities, and the few previous studies of caterpillar abundance or biomass across an urban-rural gradient have yielded mixed results. We placed clay caterpillar models

Landscape features such as roads, hiking trails, and forest edge are prevalent features of urban forests. These features can negatively influence biodiversity through fragmentation and facilitate the penetration of invasive species, particularly predators such as domestic dogs and cats. This study examined how these landscape features affect the distribution of native and domestic mammals and how domestic

The effects of growing urbanization have caused an increase in human-wildlife interactions in urban areas. Human-gull conflicts have been particularly studied during the breeding season when gulls cause an obvious nuisance in urban areas. However, with many gulls being present in urban areas throughout the year, stakeholders need knowledge of seasonal effects on local human-gull interaction dynamics

Temperate deciduous forests in the United States are in the most densely populated states across the northern and mid-Atlantic east coast. Land development and associated human activities have resulted in small forests that are susceptible to various anthropogenic influences across multiple spatiotemporal scales. The objective of this study was to assess soil chemistry in forest patches of various

College and university campuses comprise a unique urban interface. Property used to establish the University of West Florida (UWF) in Pensacola, Florida, contained numerous ecological features, including natural areas with remnant longleaf pine stands that had undergone recovery from extensive regional logging. The two most prominent of these were studied to quantify the effects of chronic fire exclusion

Urbanization has significantly increased globally during the last century and has far-reaching consequences for biodiversity and their associated habitats, particularly wetland ecosystems. Previous studies have focused primarily on wetlands in non-urban areas, and urban wetland biodiversity patterns are currently not well understood, particularly across Africa. Here, we investigate two highly transformed

Creating or restoring habitat is a well-established approach to improve pollinator populations. Rural and exurban properties might constitute a straightforward opportunity to convert land to native plants that are beneficial to pollinators given that, in Ohio, these parcels typically contain substantial lawn cover. The purpose of this study is to gauge the public’s acceptance of planting native plants

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-021-01099-2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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