Urban Ecology and Special Features of Urban Ecosystems

Rebele, Franz

doi:10.2307/2997649

Cited by 417 publications

(294 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

263

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This is consistent with predictions from theoretical work and empirical evidence that indicate that species diversity changes in human-perturbed environments as a net effect of removing isolating barriers, favouring the spread of non-native species and increasing habitat heterogeneity (see Angermeier, 1994;Rebele, 1994;Glasby and Connell, 1999). The site-specific differences in the type and amount of species that grow on the structures can be relevant also to the design of the structures themselves.…”

Section: Impacts At Regional Scalessupporting

confidence: 86%

An ecological perspective on the deployment and design of low-crested and other hard coastal defence structures

Airoldi

Abbiati

Beck

et al. 2005

Coastal Engineering

338

166

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Coastal areas play a crucial role in the economical, social and political development of most countries; they support diverse and productive coastal ecosystems that provide valuable goods and services.Globally flooding and coastal erosion represent serious threats along many coastlines, and will become more serious as a consequence of human-induced changes and accelerated sea-level rise. Over the past indicate that the construction of coastal defence structures will affect coastal ecosystems. The consequences can be seen on a local scale, as disruption of surrounding soft-bottom environments and introduction of new artificial hard-bottom habitats, with consequent changes to the native assemblages of the areas. Proliferation of coastal defence structures can also have critical impacts on regional species diversity, removing isolating barriers, favouring the spread of non-native species and increasing habitat heterogeneity. Knowledge of the environmental context in which coastal defence structures are placed is fundamental to an effective management of these structures as, whilst there are some general consequences of such construction, many effects are site specific. Advice is provided to meet specific management goals, which include mitigating specific impacts on the environment, such as minimising changes to surrounding sediments, spread of exotic species or growth of nuisance species, and/or enhancing specific natural resources, for example enhancing fish recruitment or promoting diverse assemblages for ecoturism. The DELOS project points out that the downstream effects of defence structures on coastal processes and regional-scale impacts on biodiversity necessitate planning and management at a regional (large coastline) scale. To effectively understand and manage coastal defences, environmental management goals must be clearly stated and incorporated into the planning, construction, and monitoring stages.

show abstract

Section: Impacts At Regional Scalessupporting

confidence: 86%

An ecological perspective on the deployment and design of low-crested and other hard coastal defence structures

Airoldi

Abbiati

Beck

et al. 2005

Coastal Engineering

338

166

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Habitat patches and their ecological communities are often isolated by a matrix of built environments. Fragmentation of natural patches due to urbanization affects the diversity, structure, and distribution of vegetation, and movement of organisms (29). Change in temporal microclimatic heterogeneity (e.g., heat islands) can extend the growing season in temperate cities, and droughts in desert urban areas (30).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global urban signatures of phenotypic change in animal and plant populations

Alberti

Correa

Marzluff

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

397

312

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Humans challenge the phenotypic, genetic, and cultural makeup of species by affecting the fitness landscapes on which they evolve. Recent studies show that cities might play a major role in contemporary evolution by accelerating phenotypic changes in wildlife, including animals, plants, fungi, and other organisms. Many studies of ecoevolutionary change have focused on anthropogenic drivers, but none of these studies has specifically examined the role that urbanization plays in ecoevolution or explicitly examined its mechanisms. This paper presents evidence on the mechanisms linking urban development patterns to rapid evolutionary changes for species that play important functional roles in communities and ecosystems. Through a metaanalysis of experimental and observational studies reporting more than 1,600 phenotypic changes in species across multiple regions, we ask whether we can discriminate an urban signature of phenotypic change beyond the established natural baselines and other anthropogenic signals. We then assess the relative impact of five types of urban disturbances including habitat modifications, biotic interactions, habitat heterogeneity, novel disturbances, and social interactions. Our study shows a clear urban signal; rates of phenotypic change are greater in urbanizing systems compared with natural and nonurban anthropogenic systems. By explicitly linking urban development to traits that affect ecosystem function, we can map potential ecoevolutionary implications of emerging patterns of urban agglomerations and uncover insights for maintaining key ecosystem functions upon which the sustainability of human wellbeing depends.ecoevolution | urbanization | ecosystem function | sustainability | anthropocene E merging evidence of phenotypic change on contemporary timescales challenges the assumption that evolution only occurs over hundreds or thousands of years. Anthropogenic changes in ecological conditions can drive evolutionary change in species traits that can alter ecosystem function (1-3). However, the reciprocal and simultaneous outcomes of such interactions have only begun to emerge (4). Despite increasing evidence that humans are major drivers of microevolution, the role of human activities in such dynamics is still unclear. Might human-driven evolution lead to ecosystem change with consequences for human well-being within contemporary timescales (5, 6)?To address this question, human-driven phenotypic change must be considered in the context of global rapid urbanization. In 1950, 30% of the world's population lived in urban settlements (7). By 2014, that figure had risen to 54%, and by 2050 it is expected to reach 66% (7). By 2030, urban land cover is forecast to increase by 1.2 million km 2 , almost tripling the global urban land area of 2000 (8). Urbanization drives systemic changes to socioecological systems by accelerating rates of interactions among people, multiplying connections among distant places, and expanding the spatial scales and ecological consequences of human activities to glo...

show abstract

“…Cities are novel ecosystems [18], characterized by fragmented and disturbed environments, high densities of fabricated structures and impervious surfaces with strong heat-retaining abilities, and elevated levels of some resources [19]. In particular, invasions of a similar suite of exotic species owing to human-mediated biotic interchange and extinctions of indigenous native species owing to habitat alteration and destruction may lead to a homogenized biota across the world's cities, as has been shown for continent-wide analyses [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A global analysis of the impacts of urbanization on bird and plant diversity reveals key anthropogenic drivers

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Urbanization contributes to the loss of the world's biodiversity and the homogenization of its biota. However, comparative studies of urban biodiversity leading to robust generalities of the status and drivers of biodiversity in cities at the global scale are lacking. Here, we compiled the largest global dataset to date of two diverse taxa in cities: birds (54 cities) and plants (110 cities). We found that the majority of urban bird and plant species are native in the world's cities. Few plants and birds are cosmopolitan, the most common being Columba livia and Poa annua. The density of bird and plant species (the number of species per km 2 ) has declined substantially:& 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.on May 10, 2018 http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/ Downloaded from only 8% of native bird and 25% of native plant species are currently present compared with estimates of non-urban density of species. The current density of species in cities and the loss in density of species was best explained by anthropogenic features (landcover, city age) rather than by non-anthropogenic factors (geography, climate, topography). As urbanization continues to expand, efforts directed towards the conservation of intact vegetation within urban landscapes could support higher concentrations of both bird and plant species. Despite declines in the density of species, cities still retain endemic native species, thus providing opportunities for regional and global biodiversity conservation, restoration and education.

show abstract

Urban Ecology and Special Features of Urban Ecosystems

Cited by 417 publications

References 44 publications

An ecological perspective on the deployment and design of low-crested and other hard coastal defence structures

An ecological perspective on the deployment and design of low-crested and other hard coastal defence structures

Global urban signatures of phenotypic change in animal and plant populations

A global analysis of the impacts of urbanization on bird and plant diversity reveals key anthropogenic drivers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About