Editorial: Partitioning the Effects of Urbanization on Biodiversity: Beyond Wildlife Behavioural Responses to a Multilevel Assessment of Community Changes in Taxonomic, Functional and Phylogenetic Diversity

Federico Morelli,Jiri Reif,Madhusudan Katti,Piotr Tryjanowski,Anders Pape Møller

doi:10.3389/fevo.2020.00023

Abstract

Editorial: Partitioning the Effects of Urbanization on Biodiversity: Beyond Wildlife Behavioural Responses to a Multilevel Assessment of Community Changes in Taxonomic, Functional and Phylogenetic Diversity

Highlights

To cite this version: Federico Morelli, Piotr Tryjanowski, Anders Møller, Madhusudan Katti, Jiri Reif
We are living in the Anthropocene, where the effects of urbanization on biodiversity are increasingly important for global conservation (Aronson et al, 2014; Pickett et al, 2016)
Cities can be considered refuges for some species but more likely ecological traps for others, because urban spaces constitute poor habitats offering little opportunity for reproductive success despite their apparent suitability. In this special Frontiers issue, we investigate a broad range of characteristics of cities in order to get a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms driving species distribution and abundance, and the consequences of such proximate mechanisms for gaining a better understanding of the effects of urbanization on biodiversity

Summary

THE CHALLENGE OF BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN THE ANTHROPOCENE

We are living in the Anthropocene, where the effects of urbanization on biodiversity are increasingly important for global conservation (Aronson et al, 2014; Pickett et al, 2016). Cities can be considered refuges for some species but more likely ecological traps for others, because urban spaces constitute poor habitats offering little opportunity for reproductive success despite their apparent suitability. In this special Frontiers issue, we investigate a broad range of characteristics of cities in order to get a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms driving species distribution and abundance, and the consequences of such proximate mechanisms for gaining a better understanding of the effects of urbanization on biodiversity. In this Research Topic, we tried to explore some of these potential factors and mechanisms driving changes in the behavior and composition of bird and mammal species assemblages

Effects of Urbanization on Biodiversity

CONCLUSION