Improving Research Towards Conservation Objectives

Murgui, Enrique; Hedblom, Marcus

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-43314-1_24

Cited by 18 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 89 publications

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“…There are myriad other benefits of nearby nature that extend beyond these psychological and physical health mechanisms ( Bolund and Hunhammar 1999 ; Livesley et al 2016 ; Tzoulas et al 2007 ). For example, urban vegetation, particularly trees, can reduce and filter storm-water runoff ( Berland et al 2017 ); regulate local temperatures, resulting in attenuated heat island effects ( Bowler et al 2010 ) and reduced energy demand ( Nowak et al 2017 ); provide pollination services ( Hall et al 2017 ; Threlfall et al 2015 ) and wildlife habitat ( Alvey 2006 ; Murgui and Hedblom 2017 ); reduce urban noise ( Margaritis and Kang 2017 ); and sequester and store carbon ( Davies et al 2011 ). Larger natural areas outside of cities can contribute even more to carbon sequestration and storage, water filtration, and timber and game production.…”

Section: Domain 1: Mechanistic Biomedical Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nature Contact and Human Health: A Research Agenda

Frumkin

Bratman

Breslow

et al. 2017

Environ Health Perspect

840

658

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Background:At a time of increasing disconnectedness from nature, scientific interest in the potential health benefits of nature contact has grown. Research in recent decades has yielded substantial evidence, but large gaps remain in our understanding.Objectives:We propose a research agenda on nature contact and health, identifying principal domains of research and key questions that, if answered, would provide the basis for evidence-based public health interventions.Discussion:We identify research questions in seven domains: a) mechanistic biomedical studies; b) exposure science; c) epidemiology of health benefits; d) diversity and equity considerations; e) technological nature; f) economic and policy studies; and g) implementation science.Conclusions:Nature contact may offer a range of human health benefits. Although much evidence is already available, much remains unknown. A robust research effort, guided by a focus on key unanswered questions, has the potential to yield high-impact, consequential public health insights. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1663

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Section: Domain 1: Mechanistic Biomedical Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nature Contact and Human Health: A Research Agenda

Frumkin

Bratman

Breslow

et al. 2017

Environ Health Perspect

840

658

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…As a result, urbanization has become one of the most important drivers of global change and a major threat to biodiversity [ 2 , 4 – 6 ]. Novel human-created environments, such as urban areas, represent a formidable challenge for organisms because the magnitude and peace of the environmental alterations imposed by humans usually exceed their limits of tolerance, leading to population shrinkage and extinction [ 5 , 7 ]. Urban challenges include dealing with chemical [ 3 ], acoustic [ 8 , 9 ] and light pollution [ 10 , 11 ], human disturbance [ 5 , 12 ], new pathogens [ 13 , 14 ] and predators [ 15 , 16 ], and human infrastructures [ 15 , 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Urban challenges include dealing with chemical [ 3 ], acoustic [ 8 , 9 ] and light pollution [ 10 , 11 ], human disturbance [ 5 , 12 ], new pathogens [ 13 , 14 ] and predators [ 15 , 16 ], and human infrastructures [ 15 , 17 ]. However, some species are able to overcome these challenges and thrive in urban environments [ 4 , 7 , 12 , 18 , 19 ]. Therefore, a key question in urban ecology is how species cope with urbanization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, a key question in urban ecology is how species cope with urbanization. Countless studies have demonstrated that adapting to urban environments implies some kind of phenotypical differentiation from non-urban relatives [ 7 – 9 , 12 , 18 ]. Indeed, organisms are forced to adjust their physiology, behaviour and life histories to the novel conditions imposed by the city [ 5 , 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rapid behavioural response of urban birds to COVID-19 lockdown

et al. 2021

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Biodiversity is threatened by the growth of urban areas. However, it is still poorly understood how animals can cope with and adapt to these rapid and dramatic transformations of natural environments. The COVID-19 pandemic provides us with a unique opportunity to unveil the mechanisms involved in this process. Lockdown measures imposed in most countries are causing an unprecedented reduction of human activities, giving us an experimental setting to assess the effects of our lifestyle on biodiversity. We studied the birds' response to the population lockdown by using more than 126 000 bird records collected by a citizen science project in northeastern Spain. We compared the occurrence and detectability of birds during the spring 2020 lockdown with baseline data from previous years in the same urban areas and dates. We found that birds did not increase their probability of occurrence in urban areas during the lockdown, refuting the hypothesis that nature has recovered its space in human-emptied urban areas. However, we found an increase in bird detectability, especially during early morning, suggesting a rapid change in the birds’ daily routines in response to quieter and less crowded cities. Therefore, urban birds show high behavioural plasticity to rapidly adjust to novel environmental conditions, such as those imposed by the COVID-19.

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“…Birds stand as one of the most common models to study wildlife responses to urbanization (Murgui & Hedblom, 2017). The majority of urban bird studies are conducted within vegetated green spaces due to their biodiversity conservation potential (Gallo et al., 2017).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of Functional Composition of Bird Assemblages in Green Spaces of a Neotropical City: A Case Study From Merida, Mexico

Nava-Diaz

Pineda-López

Dorantes-Euán

2020

Tropical Conservation Science

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Given current urbanization trends, understanding the factors that affect local biodiversity is paramount for designing sound management practices. Existing evidence suggests that the assembly of urban communities is influenced by the environmental filtering of organisms based on their traits. Here, we investigate how environmental characteristics including isolation measurements affect the functional composition of avian assemblages in green spaces of Merida, Mexico, a Neotropical city. We sampled 22 sites, analyzed point-count data collected during fall migration, and characterized the habitat with regard to floristic and structural vegetation attributes, vegetation cover within green spaces, urban infrastructure, and isolation. We assessed the relationship between habitat descriptors and bird functional traits using RLQ and fourth-corner tests and compared trait–environment associations between resident and wintering species. Our results showed that functional composition of resident bird assemblages was linked to the environmental characteristics of the site, while the functional composition of wintering species was not. In particular, the degree of isolation revealed to be an important determinant of trait composition. Plant species richness, particularly native tree and shrub species, were critical for the functional composition of resident birds in green spaces. Our findings suggested shifts in body mass from less to more isolated green spaces. Specifically, we observed that large-bodied species predominated in isolated green spaces. This information is useful given the predicted increases in habitat isolation and transformation of green spaces due to urbanization.

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Improving Research Towards Conservation Objectives

Cited by 18 publications

References 89 publications

Nature Contact and Human Health: A Research Agenda

Nature Contact and Human Health: A Research Agenda

Rapid behavioural response of urban birds to COVID-19 lockdown

Drivers of Functional Composition of Bird Assemblages in Green Spaces of a Neotropical City: A Case Study From Merida, Mexico

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