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Wheeler MM, Larson KL, Cook EM, Hall SJ. Residents manage dynamic plant communities: Change over time in urban vegetation. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.944803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
IntroductionIntegrated social and ecological processes shape urban plant communities, but the temporal dynamics and potential for change in these managed communities have rarely been explored. In residential yards, which cover about 40% of urban land area, individuals make decisions that control vegetation outcomes. These decisions may lead to relatively static plant composition and structure, as residents seek to expend little effort to maintain stable landscapes. Alternatively, residents may actively modify plant communities to meet their preferences or address perceived problems, or they may passively allow them to change. In this research, we ask, how and to what extent does residential yard vegetation change over time?MethodsWe conducted co-located ecological surveys of yards (in 2008, 2018, and 2019) and social surveys of residents (in 2018) in four diverse neighborhoods of Phoenix, Arizona.Results94% of residents had made some changes to their front or back yards since moving in. On average, about 60% of woody vegetation per yard changed between 2008 and 2018, though the number of species present did not differ significantly. In comparison, about 30% of woody vegetation changed in native Sonoran Desert reference areas over 10 years. In yards, about 15% of woody vegetation changed on average in a single year, with up to 90% change in some yards. Greater turnover was observed for homes that were sold, indicating a “pulse” of management. Additionally, we observed greater vegetation turnover in the two older, lawn-dominated neighborhoods surveyed despite differences in neighborhood socioeconomic factors.DiscussionThese results indicate that residential plant communities are dynamic over time. Neighborhood age and other characteristics may be important drivers of change, while socioeconomic status neither promotes nor inhibits change at the neighborhood scale. Our findings highlight an opportunity for management interventions, wherein residents may be open to making conservation-friendly changes if they are already altering the composition of their yards.
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Brown JA, Lerman SB, Basile AJ, Bateman HL, Deviche P, Warren PS, Sweazea KL. No fry zones: How restaurant distribution and abundance influence avian communities in the Phoenix, AZ metropolitan area. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0269334. [PMID: 36260638 PMCID: PMC9581420 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Urbanization is one of the most widespread and extreme examples of habitat alteration. As humans dominate landscapes, they introduce novel elements into environments, including artificial light, noise pollution, and anthropogenic food sources. One understudied form of anthropogenic food is refuse from restaurants, which can alter wildlife populations and, in turn, entire wildlife communities by providing a novel and stable food source. Using data from the Maricopa Association of Governments and the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) project, we investigated whether and how the distribution of restaurants influences avian communities. The research aimed to identify restaurants, and thus the associated food they may provide, as the driver of potential patterns by controlling for other influences of urbanization, including land cover and the total number of businesses. Using generalized linear mixed models, we tested whether the number of restaurants within 1 km of bird monitoring locations predict avian community richness and abundance and individual species abundance and occurrence patterns. Results indicate that restaurants may decrease avian species diversity and increase overall abundance. Additionally, restaurants may be a significant predictor of the overall abundance of urban-exploiting species, including rock pigeon (Columba livia), mourning dove (Zenaida macroura), and Inca dove (Columbina Inca). Understanding how birds utilize anthropogenic food sources can inform possible conservation or wildlife management practices. As this study highlights only correlations, we suggest further experimental work to address the physiological ramifications of consuming anthropogenic foods provided by restaurants and studies to quantify how frequently anthropogenic food sources are used compared to naturally occurring sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey A. Brown
- Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States of America
- * E-mail: (KLS); (JAB)
| | - Susannah B. Lerman
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Amherst, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Anthony J. Basile
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States of America
| | - Heather L. Bateman
- College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ, United States of America
| | - Pierre Deviche
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States of America
| | - Paige S. Warren
- Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Karen L. Sweazea
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States of America
- College of Health Solution, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, United States of America
- * E-mail: (KLS); (JAB)
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Johnson LR, Johnson ML, Aronson MFJ, Campbell LK, Carr ME, Clarke M, D’Amico V, Darling L, Erker T, Fahey RT, King KL, Lautar K, Locke DH, Morzillo AT, Pincetl S, Rhodes L, Schmit JP, Scott L, Sonti NF. Conceptualizing social-ecological drivers of change in urban forest patches. Urban Ecosyst 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s11252-020-00977-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
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Gaiser EE, Bell DM, Castorani MCN, Childers DL, Groffman PM, Jackson CR, Kominoski JS, Peters DPC, Pickett STA, Ripplinger J, Zinnert JC. Long-Term Ecological Research and Evolving Frameworks of Disturbance Ecology. Bioscience 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biz162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractDetecting and understanding disturbance is a challenge in ecology that has grown more critical with global environmental change and the emergence of research on social–ecological systems. We identify three areas of research need: developing a flexible framework that incorporates feedback loops between social and ecological systems, anticipating whether a disturbance will change vulnerability to other environmental drivers, and incorporating changes in system sensitivity to disturbance in the face of global changes in environmental drivers. In the present article, we review how discoveries from the US Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network have influenced theoretical paradigms in disturbance ecology, and we refine a framework for describing social–ecological disturbance that addresses these three challenges. By operationalizing this framework for seven LTER sites spanning distinct biomes, we show how disturbance can maintain or alter ecosystem state, drive spatial patterns at landscape scales, influence social–ecological interactions, and cause divergent outcomes depending on other environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evelyn E Gaiser
- Department of Biological Sciences, Institute of Environment, Florida International University, Miami, Florida
| | - David M Bell
- Pacific Northwest Research Station, under the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Corvallis, Oregon
| | - Max C N Castorani
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
| | | | - Peter M Groffman
- City University of New York's Advanced Science Research Center, Graduate Center, New York, New York, and with the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, New York
| | - C Rhett Jackson
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
| | - John S Kominoski
- Department of Biological Sciences, Institute of Environment, Florida International University, Miami, Florida
| | - Debra P C Peters
- US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service's Jornada Experimental Range and Jornada Basin LTER Program, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | | | - Julie Ripplinger
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California—Riverside, Riverside, California
| | - Julie C Zinnert
- Department of Biology at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
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Chamberlain DE, Henry DAW, Reynolds C, Caprio E, Amar A. The relationship between wealth and biodiversity: A test of the Luxury Effect on bird species richness in the developing world. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:3045-3055. [PMID: 31077502 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Accepted: 04/24/2019] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The Luxury Effect hypothesizes a positive relationship between wealth and biodiversity within urban areas. Understanding how urban development, both in terms of socio-economic status and the built environment, affects biodiversity can contribute to the sustainable development of cities, and may be especially important in the developing world where current growth in urban populations is most rapid. We tested the Luxury Effect by analysing bird species richness in relation to income levels, as well as human population density and urban cover, in landscapes along an urbanization gradient in South Africa. The Luxury Effect was supported in landscapes with lower urbanization levels in that species richness was positively correlated with income level where urban cover was relatively low. However, the effect was reversed in highly urbanized landscapes, where species richness was negatively associated with income level. Tree cover was also positively correlated with species richness, although it could not explain the Luxury Effect. Species richness was negatively related to urban cover, but there was no association with human population density. Our model suggests that maintaining green space in at least an equal proportion to the built environment is likely to provide a development strategy that will enhance urban biodiversity, and with it, the positive benefits that are manifest for urban dwellers. Our findings can form a key contribution to a wider strategy to expand urban settlements in a sustainable way to provide for the growing urban population in South Africa, including addressing imbalances in environmental justice across income levels and racial groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan E Chamberlain
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Dominic A W Henry
- Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | - Chevonne Reynolds
- Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
- Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Braamfontein, South Africa
| | - Enrico Caprio
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Arjun Amar
- Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
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Asian Cities are Greening While Some North American Cities are Browning: Long-Term Greenspace Patterns in 16 Cities of the Pan-Pacific Region. Ecosystems 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-019-00409-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Al-Kofahi SD, Gharaibeh AA, Bsoul EY, Othman YA, St. Hilaire R. Investigating domestic gardens’ densities, spatial distribution and types among city districts. Urban Ecosyst 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s11252-019-0833-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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