It Is a Wild World in the City: Urban Wildlife Conservation and Communication in the Age of COVID-19

Abstract

Most ecosystems are increasingly being degraded and reduced by human activities at the local and global scales. In contrast, urban environments are expanding as increasing portions of humanity move into cities. Despite the common perception among biologists that urban areas are biological deserts, cities offer habitat for many non-human species, but their ecology and conservation remain poorly studied. In this review, we first provide an update on the current state of knowledge on urban wildlife, then briefly examine the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on urban wildlife and add four components not previously included in comprehensive reviews. (1) We show that by reducing human activity, COVID-19 has temporarily enhanced urban habitat quality for some species and diminished it for others. (2) Thoughtful horticulture can contribute to urban wildlife by providing complex habitat structures that benefit biodiversity while enhancing human wellbeing. (3) Recent literature on urban invertebrate biodiversity has grown, though is still focused on pollinators. (4) Finally, employing insights from the discipline of communication can enhance the success of urban biodiversity conservation among both biologists and the public.

Going Wild in the City—Animal Feralization and Its Impacts on Biodiversity in Urban Environments

“…We also agree with Yung et al [124] that novel ecological systems tend to be poorly appreciated by the public at large. In fact, urban ecosystems are underappreciated by the scientific community as well [125]. Thus, the call of Yung et al [124] for better stakeholder engagement, though not focused on urban ecosystems, certainly applies to them as well.…”

Urban Vegetation: Anthropogenic Influences, Public Perceptions, and Wildlife Implications

“…Traditionally, urban vegetation is not often covered by the media. Compared to animals, where more negative or unusual occurrences between wild animals and humans lead to media coverage spikes [153], urban plants do not seem that newsworthy. However, in the past years, especially with COVID-19 lockdowns, climate change and crisis focus and solution journalism, increasingly more news stories about plants emerged.…”

Rurbanity: a concept for the interdisciplinary study of rural–urban transformation

“…While the examples and reflections above focus on human actors, it is undisputed that non-human beings such as plants and animals also inhabit the rurban space. These organisms can constitute positive endowments, for example through providing ecosystem services such as clean air, shade, or pollination, as well as threats, for example through potential disease transmission or attacks on humans (Perry et al 2020 ; Coman et al 2022 ; Divakara et al 2022 ). Furthermore, the complexity and aspirations of modern rurban life and lifestyles of human inhabitants also affect habitats and survival of remote non-human organisms through telecoupled processes such as deforestation, expansion of agricultural land, sand and mineral mining, and unidirectional material flows to rurban areas that may operate over hundreds of kilometres (Friis and Nilsen 2014 ; Karg et al 2016 , 2019 ).…”