Linking ecological and social systems in cities: urban planning in Finland as a case

The loss of urban green space as a result of urbanization threatens the overall biodiversity of urban areas, and prompts us to consider the importance of existing urban nature more carefully. Because urban ecological systems are in intense interaction with human-social systems, it is fruitful to create an interdisciplinary research and planning framework to ensure the maintenance of biodiversity in urban areas. For this purpose, we adapted a suitable theoretical and conceptual scheme for the setting of Finnish urban development, which provides an example of a situation where a lot of nature has so far remained inside and around urban area. The adapted scheme focuses on the land use change as a result of urban land use planning and development, and may provide a way to address the important variables and feedback mechanisms between information flowing from ecological systems and drivers from the social system. Furthermore, we outlined a more specific framework around the Finnish urban detailed planning process in order to study the interactions between these systems further. After addressing ecology-oriented questions of quantity, quality and needs of urban nature, and human-oriented drivers, such as flow and incorporation of information, knowledge, values and institutions, we identified several challenges in integrating the components of ecological and social systems. Creating common conceptual ground for different actors and disciplines, improving communication in the process, matching contradictory values and perceptions, and improving stakeholder participation would be in the best interest of nature and people of urban areas.     

Bird community patterns in response to the island features of urban woodlots in eastern China

Many studies have demonstrated the changes in the spatial patterns of plant and animal communities with respect to habitat fragmentation. Insular communities tend to exhibit some special patterns in connection with the characteristics of island habitats. In this paper, the relationships between richness, assemblage, and abundance of bird communities with respect to island features were analyzed in 20 urban woodlots in Hangzhou, China. Field investigations of bird communities, using the line transect method, were conducted from January to December, 1997. Each woodlot was surveyed 16 times during the year. Results indicated that bird richness was higher, per unit area, in the smaller woodlots than the larger ones, and overall bird density decreased with the increase in the size of woodlot. However, the evenness of species abundance increased with the area, and small woodlots were usually dominated by higher density species and large woodlots by medium density species. Most species occurring in the small woodlots also occurred in larger woodlots. Also, bird communities among urban woodlots showed a nestedness pattern in assemblage. These patterns implied that the main impacts of woodland habitat fragmentation are: (1) species are constricted and thus species number will increase at a given sample size; (2) as surface area decreases, the proportion of forest edge species as to interior species will increase; (3) community abundance will therefore increase per unit area but most individuals will be from a few dominant species; and (4) overall species diversity will decrease at a habitat level as well as at a region level. These patterns of community in response to the island features were therefore summarized as “island effects in community”. The underlying processes of such observations were also examined in this paper. Woodlot area, edge ratio, isolation, and habitat nestedness were considered as the important factors forming the island effects in community. High heterogeneity between habitats usually contributed most to the maintenance of regional biodiversity, especially in urban woodlots. __________ Translated from Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2005, 25(4): 657–663 [译自: 生态学报, 2005, 25(4): 657–663]     

Urban ecosystems and the North American carbon cycle

Approximately 75–80% of the population of North America currently lives in urban areas as defined by national census bureaus, and urbanization is continuing to increase. Future trajectories of fossil fuel emissions are associated with a high degree of uncertainty; however, if the activities of urban residents and the rate of urban land conversion can be captured in urban systems models, plausible emissions scenarios from major cities may be generated. Integrated land use and transportation models that simulate energy use and traffic‐related emissions are already in place in many North American cities. To these can be added a growing dataset of carbon gains and losses in vegetation and soils following urbanization, and a number of methods of validating urban carbon balance modeling, including top down atmospheric monitoring and urban ‘metabolic’ studies of whole ecosystem mass and energy flow. Here, we review the state of our understanding of urban areas as whole ecosystems with regard to carbon balance, including both drivers of fossil fuel emissions and carbon cycling in urban plants and soils. Interdisciplinary, whole‐ecosystem studies of the socioeconomic and biophysical factors that influence urban carbon cycles in a range of cities may greatly contribute to improving scenarios of future carbon balance at both continental and global scales.     

Exotic vascular plant invasiveness and forest invasibility in urban boreal forest types

The riverine forests of the northern city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada display strong resilience to disturbance and are similar in species composition to southern boreal mixedwood forest types. This study addressed questions such as, how easily do exotic species become established in urban boreal forests (species invasiveness) and do urban boreal forest structural characteristics such as, native species richness, abundance, and vertical vegetation layers, confer resistance to exotic species establishment and spread (community invasibility)? Eighty-four forest stands were sampled and species composition and mean percent cover analyzed using ordination methods. Results showed that exotic tree/shrub types were of the most concern for invasion to urban boreal forests and that exotic species type, native habitat and propagule supply may be good indicators of invasive potential. Native forest structure appeared to confer a level of resistance to exotic species and medium to high disturbance intensity was associated with exotic species growth and spread without a corresponding loss in native species richness. Results provided large-scale evidence that diverse communities are less vulnerable to exotic species invasion, and that intermediate disturbance intensity supports species coexistence. From a management perspective, the retention of native species and native forest structure in urban forests is favored to minimize the impact of exotic species introductions, protect natural succession patterns, and minimize the spread of exotic species.     

Butterfly communities in South Australian urban reserves: Estimating abundance and diversity using the Pollard walk

Abstract Remnant habitats within and surrounding urbanized areas are becoming increasingly important for maintaining butterfly diversity. The ‘Pollard walk’ protocol has been used widely overseas to estimate and monitor species diversity and abundance of butterflies. However, there has been limited use of this technique in Australia. Here, we used the Pollard walk method to estimate the diversity of butterflies at three urban sites around Adelaide, South Australia: Belair National Park (BNP), Shepherds Hill Recreation Park (SHRP) and Brownhill Creek Recreation Park (BCRP). In total, 21 species of butterfly were detected across the three sites. Pollard walks detected butterfly species from five families, including rare and highly localized lycaenid and hesperiid species. The highest diversity of species was found at BCRP (16) followed by BNP (14) and SHRP (14). Multivariate analysis on the data revealed a distinct and temporally variable butterfly community at BNP when compared with the SHRP and BCRP. The results of this study show that the Pollard walk can be effectively used to distinguish communities and detect a wide variety of butterflies, including cryptic and rare species, within urban habitats of Adelaide.     

Species interactions and habitat associations of birds inhabiting urban areas of Sydney,Australia

Abstract The absence of small birds from many suburban areas may be due to adverse garden characteristics, interspecific aggression or human behaviour such as supplementary food provisioning that encourages predators. We investigated the relationship between these factors and the presence of seven small bird species in Sydney through a community‐based survey. The survey was conducted by participants over a 7‐day period between 7 am and 10 am in November and early December 2000. Three dominant species, the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), pied currawong (Strepera graculina) and common myna (Acridotheres tristis) were each present in over 59% of gardens. Each small bird species was present in less than 40% of gardens. All small birds were negatively associated with noisy miners, but only the silvereye (Zosterops lateralis) was negatively associated with pied currawongs. None of the species of small birds was negatively associated with common mynas. Four species of small birds were associated with at least one habitat variable, notably the proportion of native vegetation. Although more birds were recorded in gardens in which meat was provided, there were significantly fewer small birds in these gardens. There were also more birds recorded in gardens where seed was provided, with red‐browed finches (Neochmia temporalis) positively associated with seed provisioning in most regions of Sydney. The presence of dogs and cats was not related to the total abundance of birds overall or small birds in gardens. While garden characteristics may influence the presence of small birds to some degree, the presence of noisy miners, a species that are thought to aggressively exclude other species from their territories, is likely to be an important influence on these species in suburban areas. Furthermore, supplementary feeding by people is likely to negatively influence some small birds. The presence of carnivorous pets does not seem to influence the presence of small birds at the scale of the individual garden.     

Volunteer surveys as a means of inferring trends in garden mammal populations

• 1 Habitats associated with humans, and gardens in particular, may prove to be important for populations of certain mammal species. However, means for measuring change in these populations are lacking.
• 2 This paper uses power analyses to examine the potential for mammal observation data, gathered through an extensive volunteer‐based survey of garden birds, to provide measures of population change within garden habitats at both national and regional levels.
• 3 Analyses show that this survey protocol has sufficient power to detect a decline in presence of between 5% and 40% at the national level for 20 of the 24 species included in this study. These results demonstrate that data from volunteer surveys allow the annual monitoring of garden use by a range of mammal species within Britain, and highlight the wider potential of such schemes worldwide.

     

Pollination processes and the Allee effect in highly fragmented populations: consequences for the mating system in urban environments

The urban environment was used to study the plant reproductive system in small fragmented populations as well as the potential adaptations of plants to urban conditions. We examined the effect of density on the pollination process and on reproduction in urban populations of the allogamous species Crepis sancta. The habitat is composed of small uncultivated square patches (c. 2 m2) regularly spaced along the pavement in streets of the city of Montpellier, France. Pollinator behaviour (the presence of pollinators, the number of flowers visited and the duration of each visit) and seed set as a function of the number of plants in patches and selfing rates, determined using progeny array analysis, were studied. The propensity for the urban populations to produce seeds by self-fertilization in insect-proof glasshouse was also analysed. We found strong evidence of reduced pollinator activities at low densities, resulting in reduced pollination and a reduction in seed set from 80 to 20% of ovules fertilized (the Allee effect). Progeny array analysis revealed a slight increase (marginally significant) in selfing rates in urban populations compared with large populations. In spite of lower pollinator activity, urban populations did not show a greater ability to self-fertilize compared with rural populations from the nearby countryside.     

Urban landscapes increase dispersal,gene flow,and pathogen transmission potential in banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) in northern Botswana

Disease transmission can be strongly influenced by the manner in which conspecifics are connected across a landscape and the effects of land use upon these dynamics. In northern Botswana, the territorial and group‐living banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) lives across urban and natural landscapes and is infected with a novel Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex pathogen, M. mungi. Using microsatellite markers amplified from DNA derived from banded mongoose fecal and tissue samples (n = 168), we evaluated population genetic structure, individual dispersal, and gene flow for 12 troops. Genetic structure was detectable and moderately strong across groups (F _ST = 0.086), with K = 7 being the best‐supported number of genetic clusters. Indications of admixture in certain troops suggest formation of new groups through recent fusion events. Differentiation was higher for troops inhabiting natural areas (F _ST = 0.102) than for troops in urban landscapes (F _ST = 0.081). While this suggests increased levels of gene flow between urban‐dwelling troops, the inclusion of a smaller number of study troops from natural land types may have influenced these findings. Of those individuals confirmed infected with M. mungi, the majority (73%, n = 11) were assigned to their natal group which is consistent with previous observations linking lower levels of dispersal with infection. Twenty‐one probable dispersing individuals were identified, with all suspected migrants originating from troops within the urban landscape. Findings suggest that urbanized landscapes may increase gene flow and dispersal behavior with a concomitant increase in the risk of pathogen spread. As urban landscapes expand, there is an increasing need to understand how land use and pathogen infection may change wildlife behavior and disease transmission potential.     

Translocation of Gunnison's prairie dogs from an urban and suburban colony to abandoned wildland colonies

Translocating prairie dogs from areas in or near human developments to wildlands can reduce conflicts with humans or supplement wild populations, but translocation methods differ in cost and fate of translocated individuals is often difficult to assess. We translocated 74 Gunnison's prairie dogs from 1 source colony in downtown Flagstaff, Arizona (urban) and 75 from 1 source colony in lower density housing outside the city (suburban) to 2 abandoned, recipient colonies on open grasslands 50 km north of the city (wildland). We released animals into uncaged, pre-existing burrow entrances (hard release) or into temporary cages over pre-existing burrow entrances (soft release). We captured 15 (10%) marked animals 1 year post-translocation at the 2 recipient colonies, 7 from soft release treatments and 8 from hard release treatments but visual surveys indicated a minimum of 57 adult prairie dogs and 76 pups present. Adult prairie dogs in all photographs taken by automated cameras placed at burrow entrances at each recipient colony had ear tags, suggesting that most animals at these colonies were survivors from translocation and that survival was likely higher than 10%. By 1 year post-release, recipient colonies occupied an area roughly 9–18 times that of source colonies. Urban Gunnison's prairie dogs can be successfully translocated to abandoned wildland colonies without using soft release methods, but animals may disperse widely. Given the cost and effort translocation requires, and the fact that all 6 confirmed mortalities were from human shooting, we recommend temporary restrictions on shooting at recipient colonies until populations have met management goals. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.