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Urbanization poses important environmental, social, and ecological pressures, representing a major threat to biodiversity. However, urban areas are highly heterogeneous, with some greenspaces (e.g., urban forests, parks, private gardens) providing resources and a refuge for wildlife communities. In this study we surveyed 10 taxonomic groups to assess their species richness and composition in six greenspaces that differ in size, location, management, and human activities. Species richness differed among taxonomic groups, but not all differed statistically among the studied greenspaces (i.e., sac fungi, bats). Plants, basidiomycetous and sac fungi, and birds showed intermediate assemblage composition similarity (<54%). The composition of assemblages of copro-necrophagous beetles, grasshoppers, amphibians, and bats was related to the specific traits of greenspaces, mainly size and location. The species richness contribution of each greenspace considering all studied taxonomic groups was highest in the largest greenspace that is located at the southeastern border of the city, while the lowest contribution was recorded in the smallest ones, all of them closer to the city's center. Our results shed some light on the way in which different taxonomic groups respond to an array of neotropical urban greenspaces, providing an important basis for future studies.

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The growing number of urban ecology studies has raised concern about the importance of comprehending the ecological patterns and processes of urban areas in order to manage and plan them properly. In this study, we performed a rapid descriptive ecological assessment of the biodiversity patterns in a neotropical mid-sized urban area from a multitaxonomic approach, contrasting seven taxonomic groups (i.e., vascular plants, fungi, ants, butterflies, beetles, amphibians, birds) in areas with different degree of urbanization intensity. Results of this study show that diversity patterns differ depending on the taxonomic group; thus, it was not possible to generalize specific trends in species richness, abundance, and species composition because each taxon seems to respond differently to the process or level of urbanization. Our results also highlight the relevance of using multi-taxonomic approaches to understand the relationship between biodiversity and urban environments, and underline potential benefits and limitations of using each of the studied groups when considering rapid biodiversity assessments. Based on our results, we suggest the following recommendations when performing rapid biological assessments in urban areas: evaluate as many taxa as possible, choosing the set of taxonomic groups in relation to the objectives of the study, wide the temporal and spatial survey window as much as possible, focus on several biodiversity measures, and interpreting results cautiously, as rapid assessments do not necessarily reflect ecological patterns, but just part of the history.

This paper documents the existence of carabid assemblages associated with bromeliads on the Cofre de Perote, Veracruz, Mexico. Based on bromeliads sampled over three altitudinal ranges, the assemblages included at least 26 species with an arboreal lifestyle and another 11 species that are not strictly arboreal. Seven species are new to science, urging us to pay attention to the arboreal fauna in forest conservation studies. Composition of carabid assemblages associated with bromeliads changes with altitude. In lowlands, it is comprised almost entirely of species of Lebiini, with the Platynini dominating assemblages found in bromeliads >1,000 m above sea level. Our data suggest that carabids use bromeliads to reduce stresses associated with drought periods, the exact timing of which depends on altitude. The unexpected low diversity of the carabid fauna associated with bromeliads at middle altitude is explained in terms of anthropogenic conversion of the original forest to pastureland. Given the importance of arboreal elements, further fragmentation of subtropical and tropical mountain forest significantly threatens overall carabid diversity.