Abstract
Gagné, S. A., and L. Fahrig. 2010. The trade-off between housing density and sprawl area: minimizing impacts to carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Ecology and Society 15(4): 12. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-03635-150412
Highlights
Urbanization generally has negative effects on native biodiversity
A pertinent question is at what housing density are the impacts of a given human population on native biodiversity minimized? We addressed this question with carabid beetles in Ottawa and Gatineau, Canada
A pertinent question is at what housing density are the impacts of a given human population on native biodiversity minimized? For a given human population, it is unclear whether the impacts on native biodiversity are less where housing density is high and sprawl area is small or where housing density is low and sprawl area is large
Summary
Urbanization generally has negative effects on native biodiversity. An increase in housing density along the rural–urban gradient is accompanied by decreases in the abundance and species richness of native insects, amphibians, lizards, birds, and mammals (reviewed in McKinney 2002 and Hansen et al 2005), with strong declines for native specialists. Blair (1999) reported the near complete loss of native bird and butterfly species present in a biological preserve in California as housing density increased. For a given human population, it is unclear whether the impacts on native biodiversity are less where housing density is high and sprawl area is small or where housing density is low and sprawl area is large. This question was recently listed as one of the 100 questions that, if answered and acted upon, would have the greatest impact on the conservation of biological diversity worldwide (Sutherland et al 2009)
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