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28 results on '"Threlfall, CG"'

1. Urban forest invertebrates: how they shape and respond to the urban environment

Author

Kotze, DJ, Lowe, EC, MacIvor, JS, Ossola, A, Norton, BA, Hochuli, DF, Mata, L, Moretti, M, Gagne, SA, Handa, IT, Jones, TM, Threlfall, CG, Hahs, AK, Kotze, DJ, Lowe, EC, MacIvor, JS, Ossola, A, Norton, BA, Hochuli, DF, Mata, L, Moretti, M, Gagne, SA, Handa, IT, Jones, TM, Threlfall, CG, and Hahs, AK

Abstract

Invertebrates comprise the most diversified animal group on Earth. Due to their long evolutionary history and small size, invertebrates occupy a remarkable range of ecological niches, and play an important role as “ecosystem engineers” by structuring networks of mutualistic and antagonistic ecological interactions in almost all terrestrial ecosystems. Urban forests provide critical ecosystem services to humans, and, as in other systems, invertebrates are central to structuring and maintaining the functioning of urban forests. Identifying the role of invertebrates in urban forests can help elucidate their importance to practitioners and the public, not only to preserve biodiversity in urban environments, but also to make the public aware of their functional importance in maintaining healthy greenspaces. In this review, we examine the multiple functional roles that invertebrates play in urban forests that contribute to ecosystem service provisioning, including pollination, predation, herbivory, seed and microorganism dispersal and organic matter decomposition, but also those that lead to disservices, primarily from a public health perspective, e.g., transmission of invertebrate-borne diseases. We then identify a number of ecological filters that structure urban forest invertebrate communities, such as changes in habitat structure, increased landscape imperviousness, microclimatic changes and pollution. We also discuss the complexity of ways that forest invertebrates respond to urbanisation, including acclimation, local extinction and evolution. Finally, we present management recommendations to support and conserve viable and diverse urban forest invertebrate populations into the future.

Published
2022

2. ‘The great publication race’ vs ‘abandon paper counting’: Benchmarking ECR publication and co-authorship rates over past 50 years to inform research evaluation

Author

Kendal, D, Lee, KE, Soanes, K, Threlfall, CG, Kendal, D, Lee, KE, Soanes, K, and Threlfall, CG

Abstract

Background: Publication and co-authorship rates have been increasing over decades. In response, calls are being made to restrict the number of publications included in research evaluations. Yet there is little evidence to guide publication expectations and inform research evaluation for early career researchers (ECRs). Methods: Here we examine the early career publication and co-authorship records between 1970 and 2019 of >140,000 authors of 2.8 million publications, to identify how publication and co-authorship rates have changed over the last 50 years. This examination is conducted in order to develop benchmarks of median publication rates for sensibly evaluating ECR research productivity, and to explore success in meeting these benchmarks with different co-authorship strategies using regression models. Results: Publication rates of multidisciplinary ECRs publishing in Nature, Science and PNAS have increased by 46% over the last 50 years and that publications rates in a set of disciplinary journals have increased by 105%. Co-authorship rates have increased even more, particularly for the multidisciplinary sample which now has 572% more co-authors per publication. Benchmarks based on median publication rates for all authors increased from one publication per year at the start of a career, to four publications per year after 10 years of publishing, and one first-author publication across all years. The probability of meeting these benchmarks increases when authors publish with different co-authors, and first authorship rates decrease for ECRs with many co-authors per publication. Conclusion: This evidence could be used to inform sensible publishing expectations for ECRs and the institutions they work for, and to inform calls to limit the number of publications produced by researchers and those used in research evaluations.

Published
2022

4. Enablers and challenges when engaging local communities for urban biodiversity conservation in Australian cities

Author

Taylor, L, Maller, CJ, Soanes, K, Ramalho, CE, Aiyer, A, Parris, KM, Threlfall, CG, Taylor, L, Maller, CJ, Soanes, K, Ramalho, CE, Aiyer, A, Parris, KM, and Threlfall, CG

Abstract

Across all landscape types, environmental managers work with communities to conserve biodiversity. The effectiveness of conservation practice, however, relies on acknowledging differences in preferences and values of nature. Implementing urban conservation is challenging because cities have diverse social, cultural and ecological attributes, meaning there are no simple solutions for the management or co-management of biodiversity. There is little guidance for urban environmental managers on how to 1) engage local urban communities and 2), implement conservation actions specific to cities and their communities. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 27 environmental managers from government and not-for-profit organizations across five Australian capital cities to 1) explore how environmental managers engaged local communities, and 2) understand the factors that enabled or constrained that engagement in conservation. Our aim was to understand the enablers and constraints of engagement with a view to share insights and patterns in the context of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) conceptual framework’s recognition of the diversity of values associated with nature’s contributions to people (NCP). We found that urban environmental managers facilitated NCP by working to improve people’s relationship with nature. Interviewees reported a range of enablers for community-based biodiversity conservation, including supportive organizational policies and strategies, community support, engaging Indigenous advisory groups, and deploying multi-use, integrative human-nature designs. Constraints and challenges included a lack of top-down commitment, reliance on individuals, and overly simplistic engagement strategies. Based on these findings, we identified opportunities for improved community engagement relevant to organizations responsible for urban environmental management.

Published
2021

5. Toward cross-realm management of coastal urban ecosystems

Author

Threlfall, CG, Marzinelli, EM, Ossola, A, Bugnot, AB, Bishop, MJ, Lowe, EC, Imberger, SJ, Myers, S, Steinberg, PD, Dafforn, KA, Threlfall, CG, Marzinelli, EM, Ossola, A, Bugnot, AB, Bishop, MJ, Lowe, EC, Imberger, SJ, Myers, S, Steinberg, PD, and Dafforn, KA

Published
2021

6. Butterfly richness and abundance along a gradient of imperviousness and the importance of matrix quality

Author

Kurylo, JS, Threlfall, CG, Parris, KM, Ossola, A, Williams, NSG, Evans, KL, Kurylo, JS, Threlfall, CG, Parris, KM, Ossola, A, Williams, NSG, and Evans, KL

Abstract

Heterogeneity in quantity and quality of resources provided in the urban matrix may mitigate adverse effects of urbanization intensity on the structure of biotic communities. To assess this we quantified the spatial variation in butterfly richness and abundance along an impervious surface gradient using three measures of urban matrix quality: floral resource availability and origin (native vs. exotic plants), tree cover, and the occurrence of remnant habitat patches. Butterfly richness and abundance were surveyed in 100 cells (500 × 500 m), selected using a random-stratified sampling design, across a continuous gradient of imperviousness in Melbourne, Australia. Sampling occurred twice during the butterfly flight season. Occurrence data were analyzed using generalized linear models at local and mesoscales. Despite high sampling completeness, we did not detect 75% of species from the regional species pool in the urban area, suggesting that urbanization has caused a large proportion of the region's butterflies to become absent or extremely rare within Melbourne's metro-area. Those species that do remain are largely very generalist in their choice of larval host plants. Butterfly species richness and abundance declined with increasing impervious surface cover and, contrary to evidence for other taxa, there was no evidence that richness peaked at intermediate levels of urbanization. Declines in abundance appeared to be more noticeable when impervious surface cover exceeded 25%, while richness declined linearly with increasing impervious surface cover. We find evidence that the quality of the urban matrix (floral resources and remnant vegetation) influenced butterfly richness and abundance although the effects were small. Total butterfly abundance responded negatively to exotic floral abundance early in the sampling season and positively to total floral abundance later in the sampling season. Butterfly species richness increased with tree cover. Negative impacts of incre

Published
2020

7. Green roof and ground-level invertebrate communities are similar and are driven by building height and landscape context

Author

Dromgold, JR, Threlfall, CG, Norton, BA, Williams, NSG, Dromgold, JR, Threlfall, CG, Norton, BA, and Williams, NSG

Abstract

Green roofs are increasingly promoted for urban biodiversity conservation, but the value of these novel habitats is uncertain. We aimed to test two hypotheses: (i) green roofs can support comparable invertebrate family and order richness, composition and abundances to ground-level habitats and (ii) green roofs planted with native species from local habitats will support a richer invertebrate community at family and order level than other green roofs. We sampled the invertebrate community on green roofs dominated by native grassland or introduced succulent species in Melbourne, Australia, and compared these to the invertebrate community in ground-level sites close by, and sites with similar vegetation types. The only significant differences between the invertebrate communities sampled on green roofs and ground-level habitats were total abundance and fly family richness, which were higher in ground-level habitats. Second hypothesis was not supported as invertebrate communities on green roofs supporting a local vegetation community and those planted with introduced Sedum and other succulents were not detectably different at family level. The per cent cover of green space surrounding each site was consistently important in predicting the richness and abundance of the invertebrate families we focussed on, while roof height, site age and size were influential for some taxa. Our results suggest that invertebrate communities of green roofs in Melbourne are driven largely by their surrounding environment and consequently the effectiveness of green roofs as invertebrate habitat is highly dependent on location and their horizontal and vertical connection to other habitats.

Published
2020

8. How Urban Forest Managers Evaluate Management and Governance Challenges in Their Decision-Making

Author

Ordonez, C, Kendal, D, Threlfall, CG, Hochuli, DF, Davern, M, Fuller, RA, van der Ree, R, Livesley, SJ, Ordonez, C, Kendal, D, Threlfall, CG, Hochuli, DF, Davern, M, Fuller, RA, van der Ree, R, and Livesley, SJ

Abstract

Decisions about urban forests are critical to urban liveability and resilience. This study aimed to evaluate the range of positions held by urban forest managers from local governments in the state of Victoria, Australia, regarding the management and governance challenges that affect their decision-making. This study was based on a Q-method approach, a procedure that allows researchers to evaluate the range of positions that exist about a topic in a structured manner based on the experiences of a wide group of people. We created statements on a wide range of urban forest management and governance challenges and asked urban forest managers to rate their level of agreement with these statements via an online survey. Managers generally agreed about the challenges posed by urban development and climate change for implementing local government policies on urban forest protection and expansion. However, there were divergent views about how effective solutions based on increasing operational capacities, such as increasing budgets and personnel, could address these challenges. For some managers, it was more effective to improve critical governance challenges, such as inter-departmental and inter-municipal coordination, community engagement, and addressing the culture of risk aversion in local governments. Urban forest regional strategies aimed at coordinating management and governance issues across cities should build on existing consensus on development and environmental threats and address critical management and governance issues not solely related to local government operational capacity.

Published
2020

9. Benchmarks and predictors of coarse woody debris in native forests of eastern Australia

Author

Threlfall, CG, Law, BS, Peacock, RJ, Threlfall, CG, Law, BS, and Peacock, RJ

Abstract

Fallen coarse woody debris (CWD) is critical to forest biodiversity and function. Few studies model factors that influence CWD availability, although such investigations are critically needed to inform sustainable forest management. We assess benchmark levels of CWD in unharvested native forests and those harvested for timber, across a range of forests in north‐east New South Wales, Australia. We found timber‐harvesting was the dominant driver of CWD, with almost double the count (pieces ha−1) and volume (m3 ha−1) of total CWD in selectively harvested than unharvested sites. This pattern was consistent across wet and dry forest types. Harvested sites had greater counts of hollow‐bearing logs, and greater volumes of small and medium‐sized CWD (15–50 cm diameter) than unharvested sites. There was no effect of harvesting on the volume of large CWD (>51 cm diameter). Total volumes of CWD (>15 cm diameter) varied from 114 to 166 m3 ha−1. We found few differences in CWD counts and volumes between forest types, with grassy woodlands and forests containing less CWD than other dry and shrubby forest types, reflecting lower potential input rates. The CWD levels recorded here are similar to those recorded in dry and wet sclerophyll forests elsewhere in Australia and are typical of global estimates for ‘old growth’ forests. Using general linear models we captured up to 57% of the variation in CWD across sites, and found that timber harvesting, topography and the numbers of standing hollow‐bearing and dead trees were significant predictors of CWD. Values for unharvested forest provide a benchmark that could be used to inform retention guidelines for CWD in managed forests in this region. Further assessment of the effect of repeat timber harvesting is needed to fully understand its impact on CWD dynamics, especially if forest residues resulting from timber harvesting are removed from native forests for bioenergy production.

Published
2019

11. Trait-dependent tolerance of bats to urbanization: a global meta-analysis

Author

Jung, K, Threlfall, CG, Jung, K, and Threlfall, CG

Abstract

Urbanization is a severe threat to global biodiversity, often leading to taxonomic and functional homogenization. However, current urban ecology research has focused mostly on urban birds and plants, limiting our ability to make generalizations about the drivers of urban biodiversity globally. To address this gap, we conducted a global meta-analysis of 87 studies, including 180 bat species (Chiroptera) from urban areas in Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America. We aimed to (i) understand the importance of functional traits and phylogeny in driving changes in urban bat assemblages, and (ii) assess the capacity of traits for predicting which types of species are most sensitive to urbanization. Our results indicate that species-specific functional traits explain differences in the intensity of urban habitat use. Urban tolerance mainly occurred within the open and edge space foraging and trawling species as well as in bats with flexible roosting strategies. In addition, across bioregions and independent of phylogeny, urban tolerance correlated with higher aspect ratio, a trait enabling fast flight but less agile manoeuvres during aerial food acquisition. Predictive success varied between bioregions, between 43 and 83%. Our analysis demonstrates that the local extinction of bat species in urban areas is non-random, trait-based and predictable, allowing urban landscape managers to tailor local conservation actions to particular types of species.

Published
2018

12. The database of the Predicts (Projecting responses of ecological diversity in changing terrestrial systems) project

Author

Hudson, LN, Newbold, T, Contu, S, Hill, SLL, Lysenko, I, De Palma, A, Phillips, HRP, Alhusseini, TI, Bedford, FE, Bennett, DJ, Booth, H, Burton, VJ, Chng, CWT, Choimes, A, Correia, DLP, Day, J, Echeverría-Londoño, S, Emerson, SR, Gao, D, Garon, M, Harrison, MLK, Ingram, DJ, Jung, M, Kemp, V, Kirkpatrick, L, Martin, CD, Pan, Y, Pask-Hale, GD, Pynegar, EL, Robinson, AN, Sanchez-Ortiz, K, Senior, RA, Simmons, BI, White, HJ, Zhang, H, Aben, J, Abrahamczyk, S, Adum, GB, Aguilar-Barquero, V, Aizen, MA, Albertos, B, Alcala, EL, del Mar Alguacil, M, Alignier, A, Ancrenaz, M, Andersen, AN, Arbeláez-Cortés, E, Armbrecht, I, Arroyo-Rodríguez, V, Aumann, T, Axmacher, JC, Azhar, B, Azpiroz, AB, Baeten, L, Bakayoko, A, Báldi, A, Banks, JE, Baral, SK, Barlow, J, Barratt, BIP, Barrico, L, Bartolommei, P, Barton, DM, Basset, Y, Batáry, P, Bates, AJ, Baur, B, Bayne, EM, Beja, P, Benedick, S, Berg, Å, Bernard, H, Berry, NJ, Bhatt, D, Bicknell, JE, Bihn, JH, Blake, RJ, Bobo, KS, Bóçon, R, Boekhout, T, Böhning-Gaese, K, Bonham, KJ, Borges, PAV, Borges, SH, Boutin, C, Bouyer, J, Bragagnolo, C, Brandt, JS, Brearley, FQ, Brito, I, Bros, V, Brunet, J, Buczkowski, G, Buddle, CM, Bugter, R, Buscardo, E, Buse, J, Cabra-García, J, Cáceres, NC, Cagle, NL, Calviño-Cancela, M, Cameron, SA, Cancello, EM, Caparrós, R, Cardoso, P, Carpenter, D, Carrijo, TF, Carvalho, AL, Cassano, CR, Castro, H, Castro-Luna, AA, Rolando, CB, Cerezo, A, Chapman, KA, Chauvat, M, Christensen, M, Clarke, FM, Cleary, DFR, Colombo, G, Connop, SP, Craig, MD, Cruz-López, L, Cunningham, SA, D'Aniello, B, D'Cruze, N, da Silva, PG, Dallimer, M, Danquah, E, Darvill, B, Dauber, J, Davis, ALV, Dawson, J, de Sassi, C, de Thoisy, B, Deheuvels, O, Dejean, A, Devineau, J-L, Diekötter, T, Dolia, JV, Domínguez, E, Dominguez-Haydar, Y, Dorn, S, Draper, I, Dreber, N, Dumont, B, Dures, SG, Dynesius, M, Edenius, L, Eggleton, P, Eigenbrod, F, Elek, Z, Entling, MH, Esler, KJ, de Lima, RF, Faruk, A, Farwig, N, Fayle, TM, Felicioli, A, Felton, AM, Fensham, RJ, Fernandez, IC, Ferreira, CC, Ficetola, GF, Fiera, C, Filgueiras, BKC, Fırıncıoğlu, HK, Flaspohler, D, Floren, A, Fonte, SJ, Fournier, A, Fowler, RE, Franzén, M, Fraser, LH, Fredriksson, GM, Freire, GB, Frizzo, TLM, Fukuda, D, Furlani, D, Gaigher, R, Ganzhorn, JU, García, KP, Garcia-R, JC, Garden, JG, Garilleti, R, Ge, B-M, Gendreau-Berthiaume, B, Gerard, PJ, Gheler-Costa, C, Gilbert, B, Giordani, P, Giordano, S, Golodets, C, Gomes, LGL, Gould, RK, Goulson, D, Gove, AD, Granjon, L, Grass, I, Gray, CL, Grogan, J, Gu, W, Guardiola, M, Gunawardene, NR, Gutierrez, AG, Gutiérrez-Lamus, DL, Haarmeyer, DH, Hanley, ME, Hanson, T, Hashim, NR, Hassan, SN, Hatfield, RG, Hawes, JE, Hayward, MW, Hébert, C, Helden, AJ, Henden, J-A, Henschel, P, Hernández, L, Herrera, JP, Herrmann, F, Herzog, F, Higuera-Diaz, D, Hilje, B, Höfer, H, Hoffmann, A, Horgan, FG, Hornung, E, Horváth, R, Hylander, K, Isaacs-Cubides, P, Ishida, H, Ishitani, M, Jacobs, CT, Jaramillo, VJ, Jauker, B, Hernández, FJ, Johnson, MF, Jolli, V, Jonsell, M, Juliani, SN, Jung, TS, Kapoor, V, Kappes, H, Kati, V, Katovai, E, Kellner, K, Kessler, M, Kirby, KR, Kittle, AM, Knight, ME, Knop, E, Kohler, F, Koivula, M, Kolb, A, Kone, M, Kőrösi, Á, Krauss, J, Kumar, A, Kumar, R, Kurz, DJ, Kutt, AS, Lachat, T, Lantschner, V, Lara, F, Lasky, JR, Latta, SC, Laurance, WF, Lavelle, P, Le Féon, V, LeBuhn, G, Légaré, J-P, Lehouck, V, Lencinas, MV, Lentini, PE, Letcher, SG, Li, Q, Litchwark, SA, Littlewood, NA, Liu, Y, Lo-Man-Hung, N, López-Quintero, CA, Louhaichi, M, Lövei, GL, Lucas-Borja, ME, Luja, VH, Luskin, MS, MacSwiney G, MC, Maeto, K, Magura, T, Mallari, NA, Malone, LA, Malonza, PK, Malumbres-Olarte, J, Mandujano, S, Måren, IE, Marin-Spiotta, E, Marsh, CJ, Marshall, EJP, Martínez, E, Martínez Pastur, G, Moreno Mateos, D, Mayfield, MM, Mazimpaka, V, McCarthy, JL, McCarthy, KP, McFrederick, QS, McNamara, S, Medina, NG, Medina, R, Mena, JL, Mico, E, Mikusinski, G, Milder, JC, Miller, JR, Miranda-Esquivel, DR, Moir, ML, Morales, CL, Muchane, MN, Muchane, M, Mudri-Stojnic, S, Munira, AN, Muoñz-Alonso, A, Munyekenye, BF, Naidoo, R, Naithani, A, Nakagawa, M, Nakamura, A, Nakashima, Y, Naoe, S, Nates-Parra, G, Navarrete Gutierrez, DA, Navarro-Iriarte, L, Ndang'ang'a, PK, Neuschulz, EL, Ngai, JT, Nicolas, V, Nilsson, SG, Noreika, N, Norfolk, O, Noriega, JA, Norton, DA, Nöske, NM, Nowakowski, AJ, Numa, C, O'Dea, N, O'Farrell, PJ, Oduro, W, Oertli, S, Ofori-Boateng, C, Oke, CO, Oostra, V, Osgathorpe, LM, Otavo, SE, Page, NV, Paritsis, J, Parra-H, A, Parry, L, Pe'er, G, Pearman, PB, Pelegrin, N, Pélissier, R, Peres, CA, Peri, PL, Persson, AS, Petanidou, T, Peters, MK, Pethiyagoda, RS, Phalan, B, Philips, TK, Pillsbury, FC, Pincheira-Ulbrich, J, Pineda, E, Pino, J, Pizarro-Araya, J, Plumptre, AJ, Poggio, SL, Politi, N, Pons, P, Poveda, K, Power, EF, Presley, SJ, Proença, V, Quaranta, M, Quintero, C, Rader, R, Ramesh, BR, Ramirez-Pinilla, MP, Ranganathan, J, Rasmussen, C, Redpath-Downing, NA, Reid, JL, Reis, YT, Rey Benayas, JM, Rey-Velasco, JC, Reynolds, C, Ribeiro, DB, Richards, MH, Richardson, BA, Richardson, MJ, Ríos, RM, Robinson, R, Robles, CA, Römbke, J, Romero-Duque, LP, Rös, M, Rosselli, L, Rossiter, SJ, Roth, DS, Roulston, TH, Rousseau, L, Rubio, AV, Ruel, J-C, Sadler, JP, Sáfián, S, Saldaña-Vázquez, RA, Sam, K, Samnegård, U, Santana, J, Santos, X, Savage, J, Schellhorn, NA, Schilthuizen, M, Schmiedel, U, Schmitt, CB, Schon, NL, Schüepp, C, Schumann, K, Schweiger, O, Scott, DM, Scott, KA, Sedlock, JL, Seefeldt, SS, Shahabuddin, G, Shannon, G, Sheil, D, Sheldon, FH, Shochat, E, Siebert, SJ, Silva, FAB, Simonetti, JA, Slade, EM, Smith, J, Smith-Pardo, AH, Sodhi, NS, Somarriba, EJ, Sosa, RA, Soto Quiroga, G, St-Laurent, M-H, Starzomski, BM, Stefanescu, C, Steffan-Dewenter, I, Stouffer, PC, Stout, JC, Strauch, AM, Struebig, MJ, Su, Z, Suarez-Rubio, M, Sugiura, S, Summerville, KS, Sung, Y-H, Sutrisno, H, Svenning, J-C, Teder, T, Threlfall, CG, Tiitsaar, A, Todd, JH, Tonietto, RK, Torre, I, Tóthmérész, B, Tscharntke, T, Turner, EC, Tylianakis, JM, Uehara-Prado, M, Urbina-Cardona, N, Vallan, D, Vanbergen, AJ, Vasconcelos, HL, Vassilev, K, Verboven, HAF, Verdasca, MJ, Verdú, JR, Vergara, CH, Vergara, PM, Verhulst, J, Virgilio, M, Vu, LV, Waite, EM, Walker, TR, Wang, H-F, Wang, Y, Watling, JI, Weller, B, Wells, K, Westphal, C, Wiafe, ED, Williams, CD, Willig, MR, Woinarski, JCZ, Wolf, JHD, Wolters, V, Woodcock, BA, Wu, J, Wunderle, JM, Yamaura, Y, Yoshikura, S, Yu, DW, Zaitsev, AS, Zeidler, J, Zou, F, Collen, B, Ewers, RM, Mace, GM, Purves, DW, Scharlemann, JPW, Purvis, A, The Natural History Museum [London] (NHM), United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, Centre for Biodiversity and Environment, Research, University College of London [London] (UCL), Department of Life Sciences [Trieste], Università degli studi di Trieste, Imperial College London, Department of Zoology, Auburn University (AU), Frankfurt Zoological Society, Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet DTP and the Department of Life Sciences, Centre d’étude de la forêt, Université Laval, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, School of Biological Sciences [London], Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), School of Biological and Ecological Sciences, University of Stirling, School of Biological Sciences [Egham), Royal Holloway [University of London] (RHUL), School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, University College London (UCL), School of Biological Sciences [Clayton], Monash University [Clayton], Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, (SFIRC), Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Antwerp (UA), Nees Institute for Plant Biodiversity, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Wildlife and Range Management Department, Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Save the frogs!, Escuela de Biología, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente [Bariloche] (INIBIOMA-CONICET), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas [Buenos Aires] (CONICET)-Universidad Nacional del Comahue [Neuquén] (UNCOMA), Departamento de Botánica, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Valencia, Marine Laboratory, Silliman University-Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management, Silliman University, Department of Soil and Water Conservation, Centro de Edafologia y Biologia Aplicada del Segura, SAD Paysage (SAD Paysage), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Dynamiques Forestières dans l'Espace Rural (DYNAFOR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Animal, Santé, Territoires, Risques et Ecosystèmes (UMR ASTRE), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (UMR CBGP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Abeilles et Environnement (AE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Avignon Université (AU), Patrimoines locaux, Environnement et Globalisation (PALOC), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Sorbonne Université (SU), Università degli studi di Trieste = University of Trieste, Université Laval [Québec] (ULaval), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse (ENSAT), Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS), The Royal Society, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology [GHANA] (KNUST), AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse [ENSAT]-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute - Yeast Research, Hudson, Lawrence N [0000-0003-4072-7469], Choimes, Argyrios [0000-0002-9849-1500], Jung, Martin [0000-0002-7569-1390], Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository, Hudson, Lawrence N, Newbold, Tim, Contu, Sara, Hill, Samantha L. L., Lysenko, Igor, De Palma, Adriana, Phillips, Helen R. P., Alhusseini, Tamera I., Bedford, Felicity E., Bennett, Dominic J., Booth, Hollie, Burton, Victoria J., Chng, Charlotte W. T., Choimes, Argyrio, Correia, David L. P., Day, Julie, Echeverría Londoño, Susy, Emerson, Susan R., Gao, Di, Garon, Morgan, Harrison, Michelle L. K., Ingram, Daniel J., Jung, Martin, Kemp, Victoria, Kirkpatrick, Lucinda, Martin, Callum D., Pan, Yuan, Pask Hale, Gwilym D., Pynegar, Edwin L., Robinson, Alexandra N., Sanchez Ortiz, Katia, Senior, Rebecca A., Simmons, Benno I., White, Hannah J., Zhang, Hanbin, Aben, Job, Abrahamczyk, Stefan, Adum, Gilbert B., Aguilar Barquero, Virginia, Aizen, Marcelo A., Albertos, Belén, Alcala, E. L., del Mar Alguacil, Maria, Alignier, Audrey, Ancrenaz, Marc, Andersen, Alan N., Arbeláez Cortés, Enrique, Armbrecht, Inge, Arroyo Rodríguez, Víctor, Aumann, Tom, Axmacher, Jan C., Azhar, Badrul, Azpiroz, Adrián B., Baeten, Lander, Bakayoko, Adama, Báldi, Andrá, Banks, John E., Baral, Sharad K., Barlow, Jo, Barratt, Barbara I. P., Barrico, Lurde, Bartolommei, Paola, Barton, Diane M., Basset, Yve, Batáry, Péter, Bates, Adam J., Baur, Bruno, Bayne, Erin M., Beja, Pedro, Benedick, Suzan, Berg, Åke, Bernard, Henry, Berry, Nicholas J., Bhatt, Dinesh, Bicknell, Jake E., Bihn, Jochen H., Blake, Robin J., Bobo, Kadiri S., Bóçon, Roberto, Boekhout, Teun, Böhning Gaese, Katrin, Bonham, Kevin J., Borges, Paulo A. V., Borges, Sérgio H., Boutin, Céline, Bouyer, Jérémy, Bragagnolo, Cibele, Brandt, Jodi S., Brearley, Francis Q., Brito, Isabel, Bros, Vicenç, Brunet, Jörg, Buczkowski, Grzegorz, Buddle, Christopher M., Bugter, Rob, Buscardo, Erika, Buse, Jörn, Cabra García, Jimmy, Cáceres, Nilton C., Cagle, Nicolette L., Calviño Cancela, María, Cameron, Sydney A., Cancello, Eliana M., Caparrós, Rut, Cardoso, Pedro, Carpenter, Dan, Carrijo, Tiago F., Carvalho, Anelena L., Cassano, Camila R., Castro, Helena, Castro Luna, Alejandro A., Rolando, Cerda B., Cerezo, Alexi, Chapman, Kim Alan, Chauvat, Matthieu, Christensen, Morten, Clarke, Francis M., Cleary, Daniel F. R., Colombo, Giorgio, Connop, Stuart P., Craig, Michael D., Cruz López, Leopoldo, Cunningham, Saul A., D'Aniello, Biagio, D'Cruze, Neil, da Silva, Pedro Giovâni, Dallimer, Martin, Danquah, Emmanuel, Darvill, Ben, Dauber, Jen, Davis, Adrian L. V., Dawson, Jeff, de Sassi, Claudio, de Thoisy, Benoit, Deheuvels, Olivier, Dejean, Alain, Devineau, Jean Loui, Diekötter, Tim, Dolia, Jignasu V., Domínguez, Erwin, Dominguez Haydar, Yamileth, Dorn, Silvia, Draper, Isabel, Dreber, Niel, Dumont, Bertrand, Dures, Simon G., Dynesius, Mat, Edenius, Lar, Eggleton, Paul, Eigenbrod, Felix, Elek, Zoltán, Entling, Martin H., Esler, Karen J., de Lima, Ricardo F., Faruk, Aisyah, Farwig, Nina, Fayle, Tom M., Felicioli, Antonio, Felton, Annika M., Fensham, Roderick J., Fernandez, Ignacio C., Ferreira, Catarina C., Ficetola, Gentile F., Fiera, Cristina, Filgueiras, Bruno K. C., Fırıncıoğlu, Hüseyin K., Flaspohler, David, Floren, Andrea, Fonte, Steven J., Fournier, Anne, Fowler, Robert E., Franzén, Marku, Fraser, Lauchlan H., Fredriksson, Gabriella M., Freire, Geraldo B., Frizzo, Tiago L. M., Fukuda, Daisuke, Furlani, Dario, Gaigher, René, Ganzhorn, Jörg U., García, Karla P., Garcia R, Juan C., Garden, Jenni G., Garilleti, Ricardo, Ge, Bao Ming, Gendreau Berthiaume, Benoit, Gerard, Philippa J., Gheler Costa, Carla, Gilbert, Benjamin, Giordani, Paolo, Giordano, Simonetta, Golodets, Carly, Gomes, Laurens G. L., Gould, Rachelle K., Goulson, Dave, Gove, Aaron D., Granjon, Laurent, Grass, Ingo, Gray, Claudia L., Grogan, Jame, Gu, Weibin, Guardiola, Moisè, Gunawardene, Nihara R., Gutierrez, Alvaro G., Gutiérrez Lamus, Doris L., Haarmeyer, Daniela H., Hanley, Mick E., Hanson, Thor, Hashim, Nor R., Hassan, Shombe N., Hatfield, Richard G., Hawes, Joseph E., Hayward, Matt W., Hébert, Christian, Helden, Alvin J., Henden, John André, Henschel, Philipp, Hernández, Lionel, Herrera, James P., Herrmann, Farina, Herzog, Felix, Higuera Diaz, Diego, Hilje, Branko, Höfer, Hubert, Hoffmann, Anke, Horgan, Finbarr G., Hornung, Elisabeth, Horváth, Roland, Hylander, Kristoffer, Isaacs Cubides, Paola, Ishida, Hiroaki, Ishitani, Masahiro, Jacobs, Carmen T., Jaramillo, Víctor J., Jauker, Birgit, Hernández, F. Jiménez, Johnson, McKenzie F., Jolli, Virat, Jonsell, Mat, Juliani, S. Nur, Jung, Thomas S., Kapoor, Vena, Kappes, Heike, Kati, Vassiliki, Katovai, Eric, Kellner, Klau, Kessler, Michael, Kirby, Kathryn R., Kittle, Andrew M., Knight, Mairi E., Knop, Eva, Kohler, Florian, Koivula, Matti, Kolb, Annette, Kone, Mouhamadou, Kőrösi, Ádám, Krauss, Jochen, Kumar, Ajith, Kumar, Raman, Kurz, David J., Kutt, Alex S., Lachat, Thibault, Lantschner, Victoria, Lara, Francisco, Lasky, Jesse R., Latta, Steven C., Laurance, William F., Lavelle, Patrick, Le Féon, Violette, Lebuhn, Gretchen, Légaré, Jean Philippe, Lehouck, Valérie, Lencinas, María V., Lentini, Pia E., Letcher, Susan G., Li, Qi, Litchwark, Simon A., Littlewood, Nick A., Liu, Yunhui, Lo Man Hung, Nancy, López Quintero, Carlos A., Louhaichi, Mounir, Lövei, Gabor L., Lucas Borja, Manuel Esteban, Luja, Victor H., Luskin, Matthew S., MacSwiney G, M. Cristina, Maeto, Kaoru, Magura, Tibor, Mallari, Neil Aldrin, Malone, Louise A., Malonza, Patrick K., Malumbres Olarte, Jagoba, Mandujano, Salvador, Måren, Inger E., Marin Spiotta, Erika, Marsh, Charles J., Marshall, E. J. P., Martínez, Eliana, Martínez Pastur, Guillermo, Moreno Mateos, David, Mayfield, Margaret M., Mazimpaka, Vicente, Mccarthy, Jennifer L., Mccarthy, Kyle P., Mcfrederick, Quinn S., Mcnamara, Sean, Medina, Nagore G., Medina, Rafael, Mena, Jose L., Mico, Estefania, Mikusinski, Grzegorz, Milder, Jeffrey C., Miller, James R., Miranda Esquivel, Daniel R., Moir, Melinda L., Morales, Carolina L., Muchane, Mary N., Muchane, Muchai, Mudri Stojnic, Sonja, Munira, A. Nur, Muoñz Alonso, Antonio, Munyekenye, B. F., Naidoo, Robin, Naithani, A., Nakagawa, Michiko, Nakamura, Akihiro, Nakashima, Yoshihiro, Naoe, Shoji, Nates Parra, Guiomar, Navarrete Gutierrez, Dario A., Navarro Iriarte, Lui, Ndang'Ang'A, Paul K., Neuschulz, Eike L., Ngai, Jacqueline T., Nicolas, Violaine, Nilsson, Sven G., Noreika, Norberta, Norfolk, Olivia, Noriega, Jorge Ari, Norton, David A., Nöske, Nicole M., Nowakowski, A. Justin, Numa, Catherine, O'Dea, Niall, O'Farrell, Patrick J., Oduro, William, Oertli, Sabine, Ofori Boateng, Caleb, Oke, Christopher Omamoke, Oostra, Vicencio, Osgathorpe, Lynne M., Otavo, Samuel Eduardo, Page, Navendu V., Paritsis, Juan, Parra H, Alejandro, Parry, Luke, Pe'Er, Guy, Pearman, Peter B., Pelegrin, Nicolá, Pélissier, Raphaël, Peres, Carlos A., Peri, Pablo L., Persson, Anna S., Petanidou, Theodora, Peters, Marcell K., Pethiyagoda, Rohan S., Phalan, Ben, Philips, T. Keith, Pillsbury, Finn C., Pincheira Ulbrich, Jimmy, Pineda, Eduardo, Pino, Joan, Pizarro Araya, Jaime, Plumptre, A. J., Poggio, Santiago L., Politi, Natalia, Pons, Pere, Poveda, Katja, Power, Eileen F., Presley, Steven J., Proença, Vânia, Quaranta, Marino, Quintero, Carolina, Rader, Romina, Ramesh, B. R., Ramirez Pinilla, Martha P., Ranganathan, Jai, Rasmussen, Clau, Redpath Downing, Nicola A., Reid, J. Leighton, Reis, Yana T., Rey Benayas, José M., Rey Velasco, Juan Carlo, Reynolds, Chevonne, Ribeiro, Danilo Bandini, Richards, Miriam H., Richardson, Barbara A., Richardson, Michael J., Ríos, Rodrigo Macip, Robinson, Richard, Robles, Carolina A., Römbke, Jörg, Romero Duque, Luz Piedad, Rös, Matthia, Rosselli, Loreta, Rossiter, Stephen J., Roth, Dana S., Roulston, T'ai H., Rousseau, Laurent, Rubio, André V., Ruel, Jean Claude, Sadler, Jonathan P., Sáfián, Szabolc, Saldaña Vázquez, Romeo A., Sam, Katerina, Samnegård, Ulrika, Santana, Joana, Santos, Xavier, Savage, Jade, Schellhorn, Nancy A., Schilthuizen, Menno, Schmiedel, Ute, Schmitt, Christine B., Schon, Nicole L., Schüepp, Christof, Schumann, Katharina, Schweiger, Oliver, Scott, Dawn M., Scott, Kenneth A., Sedlock, Jodi L., Seefeldt, Steven S., Shahabuddin, Ghazala, Shannon, Graeme, Sheil, Dougla, Sheldon, Frederick H., Shochat, Eyal, Siebert, Stefan J., Silva, Fernando A. B., Simonetti, Javier A., Slade, Eleanor M., Smith, Jo, Smith Pardo, Allan H., Sodhi, Navjot S., Somarriba, Eduardo J., Sosa, Ramón A., Soto Quiroga, Grimaldo, St Laurent, Martin Hugue, Starzomski, Brian M., Stefanescu, Constanti, Steffan Dewenter, Ingolf, Stouffer, Philip C., Stout, Jane C., Strauch, Ayron M., Struebig, Matthew J., Su, Zhimin, Suarez Rubio, Marcela, Sugiura, Shinji, Summerville, Keith S., Sung, Yik Hei, Sutrisno, Hari, Svenning, Jens Christian, Teder, Tiit, Threlfall, Caragh G., Tiitsaar, Anu, Todd, Jacqui H., Tonietto, Rebecca K., Torre, Ignasi, Tóthmérész, Béla, Tscharntke, Teja, Turner, Edgar C., Tylianakis, Jason M., Uehara Prado, Marcio, Urbina Cardona, Nicola, Vallan, Deni, Vanbergen, Adam J., Vasconcelos, Heraldo L., Vassilev, Kiril, Verboven, Hans A. F., Verdasca, Maria João, Verdú, José R., Vergara, Carlos H., Vergara, Pablo M., Verhulst, Jort, Virgilio, Massimiliano, Vu, Lien Van, Waite, Edward M., Walker, Tony R., Wang, Hua Feng, Wang, Yanping, Watling, James I., Weller, Britta, Wells, Konstan, Westphal, Catrin, Wiafe, Edward D., Williams, Christopher D., Willig, Michael R., Woinarski, John C. Z., Wolf, Jan H. D., Wolters, Volkmar, Woodcock, Ben A., Wu, Jihua, Wunderle, Joseph M., Yamaura, Yuichi, Yoshikura, Satoko, Yu, Douglas W., Zaitsev, Andrey S., Zeidler, Juliane, Zou, Fasheng, Collen, Ben, Ewers, Rob M., Mace, Georgina M., Purves, Drew W., Scharlemann, Jörn P. W., Purvis, Andy, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CNRS (FRANCE), Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse - INPT (FRANCE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - INRA (FRANCE), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT3 (FRANCE), Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse - Toulouse INP (FRANCE), Natural History Museum, 3Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, Centre for Biodiversity and Environment, Research, University College London ( UCL ), Department of Life Sciences, Universita di Trieste, Auburn University, Queen Mary University of London ( QMUL ), Royal Holloway [University of London] ( RHUL ), ( SFIRC ), University of Antwerp ( UA ), University of Bonn (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology ( KNUST ), Universidad de Costa Rica, Laboratorio Ecotono-CRUB, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, SAD Paysage ( SAD Paysage ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Dynamiques Forestières dans l'Espace Rural ( DYNAFOR ), Institut National Polytechnique [Toulouse] ( INP ) -Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse, Contrôle des maladies animales exotiques et émergentes [Montpellier] ( CMAEE ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement [CIRAD] : UMR15, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations ( CBGP ), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement ( CIRAD ) -Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques ( Montpellier SupAgro ) -Institut national de la recherche agronomique [Montpellier] ( INRA Montpellier ) -Université de Montpellier ( UM ) -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement ( IRD [France-Sud] ) -Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier ( Montpellier SupAgro ), Abeilles et Environnement ( AE ), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Université d'Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse ( UAPV )

Subjects
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Ecology: 488, Biodiversité et Ecologie, data sharing, habitat, Biológiai tudományok, Q1, BIRD SPECIES RICHNESS, TROPICAL DRY FOREST, VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Økologi: 488, MEXICAN COFFEE PLANTATIONS, Természettudományok, Data and Information, Milieux et Changements globaux, LOWLAND, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Original Research, Ecology, global biodiversity modeling, global change, habitat destruction, land use, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Nature and Landscape Conservation, LAND-USE CHANGE, [ SDE.MCG ] Environmental Sciences/Global Changes, Chemistry, Earth and Related Environmental Sciences, Evolution, [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes, INTENSIVELY MANAGED FARMLAND, Ingénierie de l'environnement, CARABID BEETLE ASSEMBLAGES, FRUIT-FEEDING BUTTERFLIES, Ecology and Environment, Biodiversity and Ecology, keywords: data sharing, Behavior and Systematics, Biology, Ekologi, [ SDE.BE ] Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, QL, DIPTEROCARP FOREST, QH, PLANT COMMUNITY COMPOSITION, Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap, Biology and Life Sciences, destruction, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematic, URBAN-RURAL GRADIENT, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Environnement et Société, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
Abstract

Source at https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2579. The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.

Published
2017

14. Conserving herbivorous and predatory insects in urban green spaces

Author

Mata, L, Threlfall, CG, Williams, NSG, Hahs, AK, Malipatil, M, Stork, NE, Livesley, SJ, Mata, L, Threlfall, CG, Williams, NSG, Hahs, AK, Malipatil, M, Stork, NE, and Livesley, SJ

Abstract

Insects are key components of urban ecological networks and are greatly impacted by anthropogenic activities. Yet, few studies have examined how insect functional groups respond to changes to urban vegetation associated with different management actions. We investigated the response of herbivorous and predatory heteropteran bugs to differences in vegetation structure and diversity in golf courses, gardens and parks. We assessed how the species richness of these groups varied amongst green space types, and the effect of vegetation volume and plant diversity on trophic- and species-specific occupancy. We found that golf courses sustain higher species richness of herbivores and predators than parks and gardens. At the trophic- and species-specific levels, herbivores and predators show strong positive responses to vegetation volume. The effect of plant diversity, however, is distinctly species-specific, with species showing both positive and negative responses. Our findings further suggest that high occupancy of bugs is obtained in green spaces with specific combinations of vegetation structure and diversity. The challenge for managers is to boost green space conservation value through actions promoting synergistic combinations of vegetation structure and diversity. Tackling this conservation challenge could provide enormous benefits for other elements of urban ecological networks and people that live in cities.

Published
2017

15. The conservation value of urban green space habitats for Australian native bee communities

Author

Threlfall, CG, Walker, K, Williams, NSG, Hahs, AK, Mata, L, Stork, N, Livesley, SJ, Threlfall, CG, Walker, K, Williams, NSG, Hahs, AK, Mata, L, Stork, N, and Livesley, SJ

Abstract

Networks of urban green space can provide critical resources for wild bees, however it is unclear which attributes of green spaces provide these resources, or how their management can be improved to benefit a diversity of bee species. We examined bee communities in three dominant urban green space habitats: (1) golf courses (2) public parks and (3) front gardens and streetscapes in residential neighbourhoods in Melbourne, Australia and assessed which local and landscape attributes influenced bee communities. There was a greater abundance and richness of bee species in public parks compared to golf courses and residential neighbourhoods, where the latter habitat was dominated by European Honeybees (Apis mellifera). The occurrence of A. mellifera was positively associated with increases in flowering and native plants. Ground-nesting Homalictus species occurred more frequently in older golf courses and public parks surrounded by low impervious surface cover, and with a low diversity of flowering plants. Cavity nesting, floral specialists within the Colletidae family occurred more often in green space habitats with greater native vegetation, and occurred infrequently in residential neighbourhoods. The lack of appropriate nesting habitat and dominance of exotic flowering plants in residential neighbourhoods appeared to positively impact upon the generalist A. mellifera, but negatively affected cavity and ground nesting floral specialist bee species (e.g. Halictidae and Colletidae). Our results highlight the need to include urban areas in pollinator conservation initiatives, as providing resources critical to diverse bee communities can assist in maintaining these key pollinators in urban landscapes.

Published
2015

16. The PREDICTS database: a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts

Author

Hudson, LN, Newbold, T, Contu, S, Hill, SLL, Lysenko, I, De Palma, A, Phillips, HRP, Senior, RA, Bennett, DJ, Booth, H, Choimes, A, Correia, DLP, Day, J, Echeverria-Londono, S, Garon, M, Harrison, MLK, Ingram, DJ, Jung, M, Kemp, V, Kirkpatrick, L, Martin, CD, Pan, Y, White, HJ, Aben, J, Abrahamczyk, S, Adum, GB, Aguilar-Barquero, V, Aizen, MA, Ancrenaz, M, Arbelaez-Cortes, E, Armbrecht, I, Azhar, B, Azpiroz, AB, Baeten, L, Baldi, A, Banks, JE, Barlow, J, Batary, P, Bates, AJ, Bayne, EM, Beja, P, Berg, A, Berry, NJ, Bicknell, JE, Bihn, JH, Boehning-Gaese, K, Boekhout, T, Boutin, C, Bouyer, J, Brearley, FQ, Brito, I, Brunet, J, Buczkowski, G, Buscardo, E, Cabra-Garcia, J, Calvino-Cancela, M, Cameron, SA, Cancello, EM, Carrijo, TF, Carvalho, AL, Castro, H, Castro-Luna, AA, Cerda, R, Cerezo, A, Chauvat, M, Clarke, FM, Cleary, DFR, Connop, SP, D'Aniello, B, da Silva, PG, Darvill, B, Dauber, J, Dejean, A, Diekoetter, T, Dominguez-Haydar, Y, Dormann, CF, Dumont, B, Dures, SG, Dynesius, M, Edenius, L, Elek, Z, Entling, MH, Farwig, N, Fayle, TM, Felicioli, A, Felton, AM, Ficetola, GF, Filgueiras, BKC, Fonte, SJ, Fraser, LH, Fukuda, D, Furlani, D, Ganzhorn, JU, Garden, JG, Gheler-Costa, C, Giordani, P, Giordano, S, Gottschalk, MS, Goulson, D, Gove, AD, Grogan, J, Hanley, ME, Hanson, T, Hashim, NR, Hawes, JE, Hebert, C, Helden, AJ, Henden, J-A, Hernandez, L, Herzog, F, Higuera-Diaz, D, Hilje, B, Horgan, FG, Horvath, R, Hylander, K, Isaacs-Cubides, P, Ishitani, M, Jacobs, CT, Jaramillo, VJ, Jauker, B, Jonsell, M, Jung, TS, Kapoor, V, Kati, V, Katovai, E, Kessler, M, Knop, E, Kolb, A, Koroesi, A, Lachat, T, Lantschner, V, Le Feon, V, LeBuhn, G, Legare, J-P, Letcher, SG, Littlewood, NA, Lopez-Quintero, CA, Louhaichi, M, Loevei, GL, Lucas-Borja, ME, Luja, VH, Maeto, K, Magura, T, Mallari, NA, Marin-Spiotta, E, Marshall, EJP, Martinez, E, Mayfield, MM, Mikusinski, G, Milder, JC, Miller, JR, Morales, CL, Muchane, MN, Muchane, M, Naidoo, R, Nakamura, A, Naoe, S, Nates-Parra, G, Navarrete Gutierrez, DA, Neuschulz, EL, Noreika, N, Norfolk, O, Noriega, JA, Noeske, NM, O'Dea, N, Oduro, W, Ofori-Boateng, C, Oke, CO, Osgathorpe, LM, Paritsis, J, Parra-H, A, Pelegrin, N, Peres, CA, Persson, AS, Petanidou, T, Phalan, B, Philips, TK, Poveda, K, Power, EF, Presley, SJ, Proenca, V, Quaranta, M, Quintero, C, Redpath-Downing, NA, Reid, JL, Reis, YT, Ribeiro, DB, Richardson, BA, Richardson, MJ, Robles, CA, Roembke, J, Romero-Duque, LP, Rosselli, L, Rossiter, SJ, Roulston, TH, Rousseau, L, Sadler, JP, Safian, S, Saldana-Vazquez, RA, Samnegard, U, Schueepp, C, Schweiger, O, Sedlock, JL, Shahabuddin, G, Sheil, D, Silva, FAB, Slade, EM, Smith-Pardo, AH, Sodhi, NS, Somarriba, EJ, Sosa, RA, Stout, JC, Struebig, MJ, Sung, Y-H, Threlfall, CG, Tonietto, R, Tothmeresz, B, Tscharntke, T, Turner, EC, Tylianakis, JM, Vanbergen, AJ, Vassilev, K, Verboven, HAF, Vergara, CH, Vergara, PM, Verhulst, J, Walker, TR, Wang, Y, Watling, JI, Wells, K, Williams, CD, Willig, MR, Woinarski, JCZ, Wolf, JHD, Woodcock, BA, Yu, DW, Zaitsev, AS, Collen, B, Ewers, RM, Mace, GM, Purves, DW, Scharlemann, JPW, Purvis, A, Hudson, LN, Newbold, T, Contu, S, Hill, SLL, Lysenko, I, De Palma, A, Phillips, HRP, Senior, RA, Bennett, DJ, Booth, H, Choimes, A, Correia, DLP, Day, J, Echeverria-Londono, S, Garon, M, Harrison, MLK, Ingram, DJ, Jung, M, Kemp, V, Kirkpatrick, L, Martin, CD, Pan, Y, White, HJ, Aben, J, Abrahamczyk, S, Adum, GB, Aguilar-Barquero, V, Aizen, MA, Ancrenaz, M, Arbelaez-Cortes, E, Armbrecht, I, Azhar, B, Azpiroz, AB, Baeten, L, Baldi, A, Banks, JE, Barlow, J, Batary, P, Bates, AJ, Bayne, EM, Beja, P, Berg, A, Berry, NJ, Bicknell, JE, Bihn, JH, Boehning-Gaese, K, Boekhout, T, Boutin, C, Bouyer, J, Brearley, FQ, Brito, I, Brunet, J, Buczkowski, G, Buscardo, E, Cabra-Garcia, J, Calvino-Cancela, M, Cameron, SA, Cancello, EM, Carrijo, TF, Carvalho, AL, Castro, H, Castro-Luna, AA, Cerda, R, Cerezo, A, Chauvat, M, Clarke, FM, Cleary, DFR, Connop, SP, D'Aniello, B, da Silva, PG, Darvill, B, Dauber, J, Dejean, A, Diekoetter, T, Dominguez-Haydar, Y, Dormann, CF, Dumont, B, Dures, SG, Dynesius, M, Edenius, L, Elek, Z, Entling, MH, Farwig, N, Fayle, TM, Felicioli, A, Felton, AM, Ficetola, GF, Filgueiras, BKC, Fonte, SJ, Fraser, LH, Fukuda, D, Furlani, D, Ganzhorn, JU, Garden, JG, Gheler-Costa, C, Giordani, P, Giordano, S, Gottschalk, MS, Goulson, D, Gove, AD, Grogan, J, Hanley, ME, Hanson, T, Hashim, NR, Hawes, JE, Hebert, C, Helden, AJ, Henden, J-A, Hernandez, L, Herzog, F, Higuera-Diaz, D, Hilje, B, Horgan, FG, Horvath, R, Hylander, K, Isaacs-Cubides, P, Ishitani, M, Jacobs, CT, Jaramillo, VJ, Jauker, B, Jonsell, M, Jung, TS, Kapoor, V, Kati, V, Katovai, E, Kessler, M, Knop, E, Kolb, A, Koroesi, A, Lachat, T, Lantschner, V, Le Feon, V, LeBuhn, G, Legare, J-P, Letcher, SG, Littlewood, NA, Lopez-Quintero, CA, Louhaichi, M, Loevei, GL, Lucas-Borja, ME, Luja, VH, Maeto, K, Magura, T, Mallari, NA, Marin-Spiotta, E, Marshall, EJP, Martinez, E, Mayfield, MM, Mikusinski, G, Milder, JC, Miller, JR, Morales, CL, Muchane, MN, Muchane, M, Naidoo, R, Nakamura, A, Naoe, S, Nates-Parra, G, Navarrete Gutierrez, DA, Neuschulz, EL, Noreika, N, Norfolk, O, Noriega, JA, Noeske, NM, O'Dea, N, Oduro, W, Ofori-Boateng, C, Oke, CO, Osgathorpe, LM, Paritsis, J, Parra-H, A, Pelegrin, N, Peres, CA, Persson, AS, Petanidou, T, Phalan, B, Philips, TK, Poveda, K, Power, EF, Presley, SJ, Proenca, V, Quaranta, M, Quintero, C, Redpath-Downing, NA, Reid, JL, Reis, YT, Ribeiro, DB, Richardson, BA, Richardson, MJ, Robles, CA, Roembke, J, Romero-Duque, LP, Rosselli, L, Rossiter, SJ, Roulston, TH, Rousseau, L, Sadler, JP, Safian, S, Saldana-Vazquez, RA, Samnegard, U, Schueepp, C, Schweiger, O, Sedlock, JL, Shahabuddin, G, Sheil, D, Silva, FAB, Slade, EM, Smith-Pardo, AH, Sodhi, NS, Somarriba, EJ, Sosa, RA, Stout, JC, Struebig, MJ, Sung, Y-H, Threlfall, CG, Tonietto, R, Tothmeresz, B, Tscharntke, T, Turner, EC, Tylianakis, JM, Vanbergen, AJ, Vassilev, K, Verboven, HAF, Vergara, CH, Vergara, PM, Verhulst, J, Walker, TR, Wang, Y, Watling, JI, Wells, K, Williams, CD, Willig, MR, Woinarski, JCZ, Wolf, JHD, Woodcock, BA, Yu, DW, Zaitsev, AS, Collen, B, Ewers, RM, Mace, GM, Purves, DW, Scharlemann, JPW, and Purvis, A

Abstract

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems – www.predicts.org.uk). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015.

Published
2014

17. Influence of Landscape Structure and Human Modifications on Insect Biomass and Bat Foraging Activity in an Urban Landscape

Author

Wilby, A, Threlfall, CG, Law, B, Banks, PB, Wilby, A, Threlfall, CG, Law, B, and Banks, PB

Abstract

Urban landscapes are often located in biologically diverse, productive regions. As such, urbanization may have dramatic consequences for this diversity, largely due to changes in the structure and function of urban communities. We examined the influence of landscape productivity (indexed by geology), housing density and vegetation clearing on the spatial distribution of nocturnal insect biomass and the foraging activity of insectivorous bats in the urban landscape of Sydney, Australia. Nocturnal insect biomass (g) and bat foraging activity were sampled from 113 sites representing backyard, open space, bushland and riparian landscape elements, across urban, suburban and vegetated landscapes within 60 km of Sydney's Central Business District. We found that insect biomass was at least an order of magnitude greater within suburban landscapes in bushland and backyard elements located on the most fertile shale influenced geologies (both p<0.001) compared to nutrient poor sandstone landscapes. Similarly, the feeding activity of bats was greatest in bushland, and riparian elements within suburbs on fertile geologies (p = 0.039). Regression tree analysis indicated that the same three variables explained the major proportion of the variation in insect biomass and bat foraging activity. These were ambient temperature (positive), housing density (negative) and the percent of fertile shale geologies (positive) in the landscape; however variation in insect biomass did not directly explain bat foraging activity. We suggest that prey may be unavailable to bats in highly urbanized areas if these areas are avoided by many species, suggesting that reduced feeding activity may reflect under-use of urban habitats by bats. Restoration activities to improve ecological function and maintain the activity of a diversity of bat species should focus on maintaining and restoring bushland and riparian habitat, particularly in areas with fertile geology as these were key bat foraging habitats.

Published
2012

18. Urbanisation generates multiple trait syndromes for terrestrial animal taxa worldwide.

Author

Hahs AK, Fournier B, Aronson MFJ, Nilon CH, Herrera-Montes A, Salisbury AB, Threlfall CG, Rega-Brodsky CC, Lepczyk CA, La Sorte FA, MacGregor-Fors I, Scott MacIvor J, Jung K, Piana MR, Williams NSG, Knapp S, Vergnes A, Acevedo AA, Gainsbury AM, Rainho A, Hamer AJ, Shwartz A, Voigt CC, Lewanzik D, Lowenstein DM, O'Brien D, Tommasi D, Pineda E, Carpenter ES, Belskaya E, Lövei GL, Makinson JC, Coleman JL, Sadler JP, Shroyer J, Shapiro JT, Baldock KCR, Ksiazek-Mikenas K, Matteson KC, Barrett K, Siles L, Aguirre LF, Armesto LO, Zalewski M, Herrera-Montes MI, Obrist MK, Tonietto RK, Gagné SA, Hinners SJ, Latty T, Surasinghe TD, Sattler T, Magura T, Ulrich W, Elek Z, Castañeda-Oviedo J, Torrado R, Kotze DJ, and Moretti M

Subjects
Animals, Bees, Syndrome, Ecosystem, Biodiversity, Birds, Urbanization, Chiroptera
Abstract

Cities can host significant biological diversity. Yet, urbanisation leads to the loss of habitats, species, and functional groups. Understanding how multiple taxa respond to urbanisation globally is essential to promote and conserve biodiversity in cities. Using a dataset encompassing six terrestrial faunal taxa (amphibians, bats, bees, birds, carabid beetles and reptiles) across 379 cities on 6 continents, we show that urbanisation produces taxon-specific changes in trait composition, with traits related to reproductive strategy showing the strongest response. Our findings suggest that urbanisation results in four trait syndromes (mobile generalists, site specialists, central place foragers, and mobile specialists), with resources associated with reproduction and diet likely driving patterns in traits associated with mobility and body size. Functional diversity measures showed varied responses, leading to shifts in trait space likely driven by critical resource distribution and abundance, and taxon-specific trait syndromes. Maximising opportunities to support taxa with different urban trait syndromes should be pivotal in conservation and management programmes within and among cities. This will reduce the likelihood of biotic homogenisation and helps ensure that urban environments have the capacity to respond to future challenges. These actions are critical to reframe the role of cities in global biodiversity loss., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Published
2023
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19. Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover.

Author

Santangelo JS, Ness RW, Cohan B, Fitzpatrick CR, Innes SG, Koch S, Miles LS, Munim S, Peres-Neto PR, Prashad C, Tong AT, Aguirre WE, Akinwole PO, Alberti M, Álvarez J, Anderson JT, Anderson JJ, Ando Y, Andrew NR, Angeoletto F, Anstett DN, Anstett J, Aoki-Gonçalves F, Arietta AZA, Arroyo MTK, Austen EJ, Baena-Díaz F, Barker CA, Baylis HA, Beliz JM, Benitez-Mora A, Bickford D, Biedebach G, Blackburn GS, Boehm MMA, Bonser SP, Bonte D, Bragger JR, Branquinho C, Brans KI, Bresciano JC, Brom PD, Bucharova A, Burt B, Cahill JF, Campbell KD, Carlen EJ, Carmona D, Castellanos MC, Centenaro G, Chalen I, Chaves JA, Chávez-Pesqueira M, Chen XY, Chilton AM, Chomiak KM, Cisneros-Heredia DF, Cisse IK, Classen AT, Comerford MS, Fradinger CC, Corney H, Crawford AJ, Crawford KM, Dahirel M, David S, De Haan R, Deacon NJ, Dean C, Del-Val E, Deligiannis EK, Denney D, Dettlaff MA, DiLeo MF, Ding YY, Domínguez-López ME, Dominoni DM, Draud SL, Dyson K, Ellers J, Espinosa CI, Essi L, Falahati-Anbaran M, Falcão JCF, Fargo HT, Fellowes MDE, Fitzpatrick RM, Flaherty LE, Flood PJ, Flores MF, Fornoni J, Foster AG, Frost CJ, Fuentes TL, Fulkerson JR, Gagnon E, Garbsch F, Garroway CJ, Gerstein AC, Giasson MM, Girdler EB, Gkelis S, Godsoe W, Golemiec AM, Golemiec M, González-Lagos C, Gorton AJ, Gotanda KM, Granath G, Greiner S, Griffiths JS, Grilo F, Gundel PE, Hamilton B, Hardin JM, He T, Heard SB, Henriques AF, Hernández-Poveda M, Hetherington-Rauth MC, Hill SJ, Hochuli DF, Hodgins KA, Hood GR, Hopkins GR, Hovanes KA, Howard AR, Hubbard SC, Ibarra-Cerdeña CN, Iñiguez-Armijos C, Jara-Arancio P, Jarrett BJM, Jeannot M, Jiménez-Lobato V, Johnson M, Johnson O, Johnson PP, Johnson R, Josephson MP, Jung MC, Just MG, Kahilainen A, Kailing OS, Kariñho-Betancourt E, Karousou R, Kirn LA, Kirschbaum A, Laine AL, LaMontagne JM, Lampei C, Lara C, Larson EL, Lázaro-Lobo A, Le JH, Leandro DS, Lee C, Lei Y, León CA, Lequerica Tamara ME, Levesque DC, Liao WJ, Ljubotina M, Locke H, Lockett MT, Longo TC, Lundholm JT, MacGillavry T, Mackin CR, Mahmoud AR, Manju IA, Mariën J, Martínez DN, Martínez-Bartolomé M, Meineke EK, Mendoza-Arroyo W, Merritt TJS, Merritt LEL, Migiani G, Minor ES, Mitchell N, Mohammadi Bazargani M, Moles AT, Monk JD, Moore CM, Morales-Morales PA, Moyers BT, Muñoz-Rojas M, Munshi-South J, Murphy SM, Murúa MM, Neila M, Nikolaidis O, Njunjić I, Nosko P, Núñez-Farfán J, Ohgushi T, Olsen KM, Opedal ØH, Ornelas C, Parachnowitsch AL, Paratore AS, Parody-Merino AM, Paule J, Paulo OS, Pena JC, Pfeiffer VW, Pinho P, Piot A, Porth IM, Poulos N, Puentes A, Qu J, Quintero-Vallejo E, Raciti SM, Raeymaekers JAM, Raveala KM, Rennison DJ, Ribeiro MC, Richardson JL, Rivas-Torres G, Rivera BJ, Roddy AB, Rodriguez-Muñoz E, Román JR, Rossi LS, Rowntree JK, Ryan TJ, Salinas S, Sanders NJ, Santiago-Rosario LY, Savage AM, Scheepens JF, Schilthuizen M, Schneider AC, Scholier T, Scott JL, Shaheed SA, Shefferson RP, Shepard CA, Shykoff JA, Silveira G, Smith AD, Solis-Gabriel L, Soro A, Spellman KV, Whitney KS, Starke-Ottich I, Stephan JG, Stephens JD, Szulc J, Szulkin M, Tack AJM, Tamburrino Í, Tate TD, Tergemina E, Theodorou P, Thompson KA, Threlfall CG, Tinghitella RM, Toledo-Chelala L, Tong X, Uroy L, Utsumi S, Vandegehuchte ML, VanWallendael A, Vidal PM, Wadgymar SM, Wang AY, Wang N, Warbrick ML, Whitney KD, Wiesmeier M, Wiles JT, Wu J, Xirocostas ZA, Yan Z, Yao J, Yoder JB, Yoshida O, Zhang J, Zhao Z, Ziter CD, Zuellig MP, Zufall RA, Zurita JE, Zytynska SE, and Johnson MTJ

Subjects
Cities, Genes, Plant, Genome, Plant, Hydrogen Cyanide metabolism, Rural Population, Trifolium genetics, Adaptation, Physiological, Biological Evolution, Ecosystem, Trifolium physiology, Urbanization
Abstract

Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale.

Published
2022
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20. Butterfly richness and abundance along a gradient of imperviousness and the importance of matrix quality.

Author

Kurylo JS, Threlfall CG, Parris KM, Ossola A, Williams NSG, and Evans KL

Subjects
Animals, Australia, Biodiversity, Ecosystem, Plants, Urbanization, Butterflies
Abstract

Heterogeneity in quantity and quality of resources provided in the urban matrix may mitigate adverse effects of urbanization intensity on the structure of biotic communities. To assess this we quantified the spatial variation in butterfly richness and abundance along an impervious surface gradient using three measures of urban matrix quality: floral resource availability and origin (native vs. exotic plants), tree cover, and the occurrence of remnant habitat patches. Butterfly richness and abundance were surveyed in 100 cells (500 × 500 m), selected using a random-stratified sampling design, across a continuous gradient of imperviousness in Melbourne, Australia. Sampling occurred twice during the butterfly flight season. Occurrence data were analyzed using generalized linear models at local and mesoscales. Despite high sampling completeness, we did not detect 75% of species from the regional species pool in the urban area, suggesting that urbanization has caused a large proportion of the region's butterflies to become absent or extremely rare within Melbourne's metro-area. Those species that do remain are largely very generalist in their choice of larval host plants. Butterfly species richness and abundance declined with increasing impervious surface cover and, contrary to evidence for other taxa, there was no evidence that richness peaked at intermediate levels of urbanization. Declines in abundance appeared to be more noticeable when impervious surface cover exceeded 25%, while richness declined linearly with increasing impervious surface cover. We find evidence that the quality of the urban matrix (floral resources and remnant vegetation) influenced butterfly richness and abundance although the effects were small. Total butterfly abundance responded negatively to exotic floral abundance early in the sampling season and positively to total floral abundance later in the sampling season. Butterfly species richness increased with tree cover. Negative impacts of increased urbanization intensity on butterfly species richness and abundance may be mitigated to some extent by improving the quality of the urban matrix by enhancing tree cover and the provision of floral resources, with some evidence that native plants are more effective., (© 2020 by the Ecological Society of America.)

Published
2020
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21. Temperature variability influences urban garden plant richness and gardener water use behavior, but not planting decisions.

Author

Egerer MH, Lin BB, Threlfall CG, and Kendal D

Subjects
Australia, Cities, Humans, Water, Agriculture methods, Gardens, Temperature, Water Supply statistics & numerical data
Abstract

Urban environments are being subject to increasing temperatures due to the combined effects of global climate change and urban heat. These increased temperatures, coupled with human planting preferences and green space management practices, influence how urban plants grow and survive. Urban community gardens are an increasingly popular land use, and a green space type that is influenced by unique climate-human behavior interactions. Despite ongoing rapid temperature changes in cities, it is unknown how gardeners are adapting to these changes, and to what extent changes influence planting decisions and patterns of urban plant diversity. In this study, we monitored the variation in daily air temperatures and measured plant species richness at the garden and garden plot scale in 11 community gardens in Melbourne, Australia. We surveyed >180 gardeners to better understand the relationships between temperature variation, garden plant species diversity, and gardener management practices. We found that garden scale temperature variability is driven by regional context, and temperatures are more stable in landscapes with higher impervious surface cover. Gardeners agreed that climatic/temperature changes are influencing their watering behavior, but not their plant selection. Instead plant selection is being driven by desired food production. Yet, when comparing two bioregions, temperature did have a measurable relationship with garden plant composition in the region with more temperature variation. Temperature variability negatively related to plant species richness within garden plots, providing evidence that plant survival is related to climate at this scale in such regions. Although gardeners may be able to water more in response to regional climate changes, gardeners are unlikely to be able to completely control the effects of temperature on plant survival in more variable conditions. This suggests the inner city with more stable temperatures (albeit potentially hotter for longer due to heat island) may accommodate more species diverse gardens., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Published
2019
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22. Trait-dependent tolerance of bats to urbanization: a global meta-analysis.

Author

Jung K and Threlfall CG

Subjects
Animals, Ecosystem, Species Specificity, Biodiversity, Chiroptera physiology, Conservation of Natural Resources, Urbanization
Abstract

Urbanization is a severe threat to global biodiversity, often leading to taxonomic and functional homogenization. However, current urban ecology research has focused mostly on urban birds and plants, limiting our ability to make generalizations about the drivers of urban biodiversity globally. To address this gap, we conducted a global meta-analysis of 87 studies, including 180 bat species (Chiroptera) from urban areas in Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America. We aimed to (i) understand the importance of functional traits and phylogeny in driving changes in urban bat assemblages, and (ii) assess the capacity of traits for predicting which types of species are most sensitive to urbanization. Our results indicate that species-specific functional traits explain differences in the intensity of urban habitat use. Urban tolerance mainly occurred within the open and edge space foraging and trawling species as well as in bats with flexible roosting strategies. In addition, across bioregions and independent of phylogeny, urban tolerance correlated with higher aspect ratio, a trait enabling fast flight but less agile manoeuvres during aerial food acquisition. Predictive success varied between bioregions, between 43 and 83%. Our analysis demonstrates that the local extinction of bat species in urban areas is non-random, trait-based and predictable, allowing urban landscape managers to tailor local conservation actions to particular types of species., (© 2018 The Authors.)

Published
2018
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23. The city as a refuge for insect pollinators.

Author

Hall DM, Camilo GR, Tonietto RK, Ollerton J, Ahrné K, Arduser M, Ascher JS, Baldock KC, Fowler R, Frankie G, Goulson D, Gunnarsson B, Hanley ME, Jackson JI, Langellotto G, Lowenstein D, Minor ES, Philpott SM, Potts SG, Sirohi MH, Spevak EM, Stone GN, and Threlfall CG

Subjects
Animals, Biodiversity, Ecosystem, Insecta, Mammals, Bees, Cities, Conservation of Natural Resources, Urbanization
Abstract

Research on urban insect pollinators is changing views on the biological value and ecological importance of cities. The abundance and diversity of native bee species in urban landscapes that are absent in nearby rural lands evidence the biological value and ecological importance of cities and have implications for biodiversity conservation. Lagging behind this revised image of the city are urban conservation programs that historically have invested in education and outreach rather than programs designed to achieve high-priority species conservation results. We synthesized research on urban bee species diversity and abundance to determine how urban conservation could be repositioned to better align with new views on the ecological importance of urban landscapes. Due to insect pollinators' relatively small functional requirements-habitat range, life cycle, and nesting behavior-relative to larger mammals, we argue that pollinators put high-priority and high-impact urban conservation within reach. In a rapidly urbanizing world, transforming how environmental managers view the city can improve citizen engagement and contribute to the development of more sustainable urbanization., (© 2016 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.)

Published
2017
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24. Conserving herbivorous and predatory insects in urban green spaces.

Author

Mata L, Threlfall CG, Williams NS, Hahs AK, Malipatil M, Stork NE, and Livesley SJ

Subjects
Animals, Gardens, Parks, Recreational, Biodiversity, Cities, Ecosystem, Insecta classification, Insecta growth & development
Abstract

Insects are key components of urban ecological networks and are greatly impacted by anthropogenic activities. Yet, few studies have examined how insect functional groups respond to changes to urban vegetation associated with different management actions. We investigated the response of herbivorous and predatory heteropteran bugs to differences in vegetation structure and diversity in golf courses, gardens and parks. We assessed how the species richness of these groups varied amongst green space types, and the effect of vegetation volume and plant diversity on trophic- and species-specific occupancy. We found that golf courses sustain higher species richness of herbivores and predators than parks and gardens. At the trophic- and species-specific levels, herbivores and predators show strong positive responses to vegetation volume. The effect of plant diversity, however, is distinctly species-specific, with species showing both positive and negative responses. Our findings further suggest that high occupancy of bugs is obtained in green spaces with specific combinations of vegetation structure and diversity. The challenge for managers is to boost green space conservation value through actions promoting synergistic combinations of vegetation structure and diversity. Tackling this conservation challenge could provide enormous benefits for other elements of urban ecological networks and people that live in cities.

Published
2017
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25. The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project.

Author

Hudson LN, Newbold T, Contu S, Hill SL, Lysenko I, De Palma A, Phillips HR, Alhusseini TI, Bedford FE, Bennett DJ, Booth H, Burton VJ, Chng CW, Choimes A, Correia DL, Day J, Echeverría-Londoño S, Emerson SR, Gao D, Garon M, Harrison ML, Ingram DJ, Jung M, Kemp V, Kirkpatrick L, Martin CD, Pan Y, Pask-Hale GD, Pynegar EL, Robinson AN, Sanchez-Ortiz K, Senior RA, Simmons BI, White HJ, Zhang H, Aben J, Abrahamczyk S, Adum GB, Aguilar-Barquero V, Aizen MA, Albertos B, Alcala EL, Del Mar Alguacil M, Alignier A, Ancrenaz M, Andersen AN, Arbeláez-Cortés E, Armbrecht I, Arroyo-Rodríguez V, Aumann T, Axmacher JC, Azhar B, Azpiroz AB, Baeten L, Bakayoko A, Báldi A, Banks JE, Baral SK, Barlow J, Barratt BI, Barrico L, Bartolommei P, Barton DM, Basset Y, Batáry P, Bates AJ, Baur B, Bayne EM, Beja P, Benedick S, Berg Å, Bernard H, Berry NJ, Bhatt D, Bicknell JE, Bihn JH, Blake RJ, Bobo KS, Bóçon R, Boekhout T, Böhning-Gaese K, Bonham KJ, Borges PA, Borges SH, Boutin C, Bouyer J, Bragagnolo C, Brandt JS, Brearley FQ, Brito I, Bros V, Brunet J, Buczkowski G, Buddle CM, Bugter R, Buscardo E, Buse J, Cabra-García J, Cáceres NC, Cagle NL, Calviño-Cancela M, Cameron SA, Cancello EM, Caparrós R, Cardoso P, Carpenter D, Carrijo TF, Carvalho AL, Cassano CR, Castro H, Castro-Luna AA, Rolando CB, Cerezo A, Chapman KA, Chauvat M, Christensen M, Clarke FM, Cleary DF, Colombo G, Connop SP, Craig MD, Cruz-López L, Cunningham SA, D'Aniello B, D'Cruze N, da Silva PG, Dallimer M, Danquah E, Darvill B, Dauber J, Davis AL, Dawson J, de Sassi C, de Thoisy B, Deheuvels O, Dejean A, Devineau JL, Diekötter T, Dolia JV, Domínguez E, Dominguez-Haydar Y, Dorn S, Draper I, Dreber N, Dumont B, Dures SG, Dynesius M, Edenius L, Eggleton P, Eigenbrod F, Elek Z, Entling MH, Esler KJ, de Lima RF, Faruk A, Farwig N, Fayle TM, Felicioli A, Felton AM, Fensham RJ, Fernandez IC, Ferreira CC, Ficetola GF, Fiera C, Filgueiras BK, Fırıncıoğlu HK, Flaspohler D, Floren A, Fonte SJ, Fournier A, Fowler RE, Franzén M, Fraser LH, Fredriksson GM, Freire GB Jr, Frizzo TL, Fukuda D, Furlani D, Gaigher R, Ganzhorn JU, García KP, Garcia-R JC, Garden JG, Garilleti R, Ge BM, Gendreau-Berthiaume B, Gerard PJ, Gheler-Costa C, Gilbert B, Giordani P, Giordano S, Golodets C, Gomes LG, Gould RK, Goulson D, Gove AD, Granjon L, Grass I, Gray CL, Grogan J, Gu W, Guardiola M, Gunawardene NR, Gutierrez AG, Gutiérrez-Lamus DL, Haarmeyer DH, Hanley ME, Hanson T, Hashim NR, Hassan SN, Hatfield RG, Hawes JE, Hayward MW, Hébert C, Helden AJ, Henden JA, Henschel P, Hernández L, Herrera JP, Herrmann F, Herzog F, Higuera-Diaz D, Hilje B, Höfer H, Hoffmann A, Horgan FG, Hornung E, Horváth R, Hylander K, Isaacs-Cubides P, Ishida H, Ishitani M, Jacobs CT, Jaramillo VJ, Jauker B, Hernández FJ, Johnson MF, Jolli V, Jonsell M, Juliani SN, Jung TS, Kapoor V, Kappes H, Kati V, Katovai E, Kellner K, Kessler M, Kirby KR, Kittle AM, Knight ME, Knop E, Kohler F, Koivula M, Kolb A, Kone M, Kőrösi Á, Krauss J, Kumar A, Kumar R, Kurz DJ, Kutt AS, Lachat T, Lantschner V, Lara F, Lasky JR, Latta SC, Laurance WF, Lavelle P, Le Féon V, LeBuhn G, Légaré JP, Lehouck V, Lencinas MV, Lentini PE, Letcher SG, Li Q, Litchwark SA, Littlewood NA, Liu Y, Lo-Man-Hung N, López-Quintero CA, Louhaichi M, Lövei GL, Lucas-Borja ME, Luja VH, Luskin MS, MacSwiney G MC, Maeto K, Magura T, Mallari NA, Malone LA, Malonza PK, Malumbres-Olarte J, Mandujano S, Måren IE, Marin-Spiotta E, Marsh CJ, Marshall EJ, Martínez E, Martínez Pastur G, Moreno Mateos D, Mayfield MM, Mazimpaka V, McCarthy JL, McCarthy KP, McFrederick QS, McNamara S, Medina NG, Medina R, Mena JL, Mico E, Mikusinski G, Milder JC, Miller JR, Miranda-Esquivel DR, Moir ML, Morales CL, Muchane MN, Muchane M, Mudri-Stojnic S, Munira AN, Muoñz-Alonso A, Munyekenye BF, Naidoo R, Naithani A, Nakagawa M, Nakamura A, Nakashima Y, Naoe S, Nates-Parra G, Navarrete Gutierrez DA, Navarro-Iriarte L, Ndang'ang'a PK, Neuschulz EL, Ngai JT, Nicolas V, Nilsson SG, Noreika N, Norfolk O, Noriega JA, Norton DA, Nöske NM, Nowakowski AJ, Numa C, O'Dea N, O'Farrell PJ, Oduro W, Oertli S, Ofori-Boateng C, Oke CO, Oostra V, Osgathorpe LM, Otavo SE, Page NV, Paritsis J, Parra-H A, Parry L, Pe'er G, Pearman PB, Pelegrin N, Pélissier R, Peres CA, Peri PL, Persson AS, Petanidou T, Peters MK, Pethiyagoda RS, Phalan B, Philips TK, Pillsbury FC, Pincheira-Ulbrich J, Pineda E, Pino J, Pizarro-Araya J, Plumptre AJ, Poggio SL, Politi N, Pons P, Poveda K, Power EF, Presley SJ, Proença V, Quaranta M, Quintero C, Rader R, Ramesh BR, Ramirez-Pinilla MP, Ranganathan J, Rasmussen C, Redpath-Downing NA, Reid JL, Reis YT, Rey Benayas JM, Rey-Velasco JC, Reynolds C, Ribeiro DB, Richards MH, Richardson BA, Richardson MJ, Ríos RM, Robinson R, Robles CA, Römbke J, Romero-Duque LP, Rös M, Rosselli L, Rossiter SJ, Roth DS, Roulston TH, Rousseau L, Rubio AV, Ruel JC, Sadler JP, Sáfián S, Saldaña-Vázquez RA, Sam K, Samnegård U, Santana J, Santos X, Savage J, Schellhorn NA, Schilthuizen M, Schmiedel U, Schmitt CB, Schon NL, Schüepp C, Schumann K, Schweiger O, Scott DM, Scott KA, Sedlock JL, Seefeldt SS, Shahabuddin G, Shannon G, Sheil D, Sheldon FH, Shochat E, Siebert SJ, Silva FA, Simonetti JA, Slade EM, Smith J, Smith-Pardo AH, Sodhi NS, Somarriba EJ, Sosa RA, Soto Quiroga G, St-Laurent MH, Starzomski BM, Stefanescu C, Steffan-Dewenter I, Stouffer PC, Stout JC, Strauch AM, Struebig MJ, Su Z, Suarez-Rubio M, Sugiura S, Summerville KS, Sung YH, Sutrisno H, Svenning JC, Teder T, Threlfall CG, Tiitsaar A, Todd JH, Tonietto RK, Torre I, Tóthmérész B, Tscharntke T, Turner EC, Tylianakis JM, Uehara-Prado M, Urbina-Cardona N, Vallan D, Vanbergen AJ, Vasconcelos HL, Vassilev K, Verboven HA, Verdasca MJ, Verdú JR, Vergara CH, Vergara PM, Verhulst J, Virgilio M, Vu LV, Waite EM, Walker TR, Wang HF, Wang Y, Watling JI, Weller B, Wells K, Westphal C, Wiafe ED, Williams CD, Willig MR, Woinarski JC, Wolf JH, Wolters V, Woodcock BA, Wu J, Wunderle JM Jr, Yamaura Y, Yoshikura S, Yu DW, Zaitsev AS, Zeidler J, Zou F, Collen B, Ewers RM, Mace GM, Purves DW, Scharlemann JP, and Purvis A

Abstract

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.

Published
2016
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26. Soil Carbon and Carbon/Nitrogen Ratio Change under Tree Canopy, Tall Grass, and Turf Grass Areas of Urban Green Space.

Author

Livesley SJ, Ossola A, Threlfall CG, Hahs AK, and Williams NS

Subjects
Poaceae, Trees, Carbon analysis, Nitrogen analysis, Soil chemistry
Abstract

Soils in urban green spaces are an important carbon (C) store, but urban soils with a high carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio can also buffer N eutrophication from fertilizer use or atmospheric deposition. The influence of vegetation management practices on soil C cycling and C/N ratios in urban green spaces is largely unknown. In 2013, we collected replicate ( = 3) soil samples from tree canopy, tall grass, and short turf grass areas ( = 3) at four random plot locations ( = 4) established in 13 golf courses ( = 13). At each sample point, soil was separated into 0- to 0.1-, 0.1- to 0.2-, and 0.2- to 0.3-m depths (total = 1404). Linear mixed models investigated the relationships between soil properties, vegetation attributes, and green space age. Tree canopy soil was less compacted (1.07 g cm) than grassy areas (1.32 g cm). Similarly, tree canopy soil had mean C/N ratios of 17.2, as compared with between 14.2 and 15.3 in grassy areas. Soil properties in tree canopy areas were best explained by tree basal area and understory vegetation volume. Soil C/N increased with increasing understory vegetation, and the difference in soil C/N between tree canopy and short turf grass areas increased over time. The soil properties in tree canopy areas of urban green space mean they can increasingly buffer the localized use of N fertilizers and atmospheric N deposition. Managers of urban green spaces concerned about N pollution of groundwater and waterways could consider planting trees in suitable topographic locations and promoting understory vegetation and surface litter accumulation., (Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.)

Published
2016
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27. The PREDICTS database: a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts.

Author

Hudson LN, Newbold T, Contu S, Hill SL, Lysenko I, De Palma A, Phillips HR, Senior RA, Bennett DJ, Booth H, Choimes A, Correia DL, Day J, Echeverría-Londoño S, Garon M, Harrison ML, Ingram DJ, Jung M, Kemp V, Kirkpatrick L, Martin CD, Pan Y, White HJ, Aben J, Abrahamczyk S, Adum GB, Aguilar-Barquero V, Aizen MA, Ancrenaz M, Arbeláez-Cortés E, Armbrecht I, Azhar B, Azpiroz AB, Baeten L, Báldi A, Banks JE, Barlow J, Batáry P, Bates AJ, Bayne EM, Beja P, Berg Å, Berry NJ, Bicknell JE, Bihn JH, Böhning-Gaese K, Boekhout T, Boutin C, Bouyer J, Brearley FQ, Brito I, Brunet J, Buczkowski G, Buscardo E, Cabra-García J, Calviño-Cancela M, Cameron SA, Cancello EM, Carrijo TF, Carvalho AL, Castro H, Castro-Luna AA, Cerda R, Cerezo A, Chauvat M, Clarke FM, Cleary DF, Connop SP, D'Aniello B, da Silva PG, Darvill B, Dauber J, Dejean A, Diekötter T, Dominguez-Haydar Y, Dormann CF, Dumont B, Dures SG, Dynesius M, Edenius L, Elek Z, Entling MH, Farwig N, Fayle TM, Felicioli A, Felton AM, Ficetola GF, Filgueiras BK, Fonte SJ, Fraser LH, Fukuda D, Furlani D, Ganzhorn JU, Garden JG, Gheler-Costa C, Giordani P, Giordano S, Gottschalk MS, Goulson D, Gove AD, Grogan J, Hanley ME, Hanson T, Hashim NR, Hawes JE, Hébert C, Helden AJ, Henden JA, Hernández L, Herzog F, Higuera-Diaz D, Hilje B, Horgan FG, Horváth R, Hylander K, Isaacs-Cubides P, Ishitani M, Jacobs CT, Jaramillo VJ, Jauker B, Jonsell M, Jung TS, Kapoor V, Kati V, Katovai E, Kessler M, Knop E, Kolb A, Kőrösi Á, Lachat T, Lantschner V, Le Féon V, LeBuhn G, Légaré JP, Letcher SG, Littlewood NA, López-Quintero CA, Louhaichi M, Lövei GL, Lucas-Borja ME, Luja VH, Maeto K, Magura T, Mallari NA, Marin-Spiotta E, Marshall EJ, Martínez E, Mayfield MM, Mikusinski G, Milder JC, Miller JR, Morales CL, Muchane MN, Muchane M, Naidoo R, Nakamura A, Naoe S, Nates-Parra G, Navarrete Gutierrez DA, Neuschulz EL, Noreika N, Norfolk O, Noriega JA, Nöske NM, O'Dea N, Oduro W, Ofori-Boateng C, Oke CO, Osgathorpe LM, Paritsis J, Parra-H A, Pelegrin N, Peres CA, Persson AS, Petanidou T, Phalan B, Philips TK, Poveda K, Power EF, Presley SJ, Proença V, Quaranta M, Quintero C, Redpath-Downing NA, Reid JL, Reis YT, Ribeiro DB, Richardson BA, Richardson MJ, Robles CA, Römbke J, Romero-Duque LP, Rosselli L, Rossiter SJ, Roulston TH, Rousseau L, Sadler JP, Sáfián S, Saldaña-Vázquez RA, Samnegård U, Schüepp C, Schweiger O, Sedlock JL, Shahabuddin G, Sheil D, Silva FA, Slade EM, Smith-Pardo AH, Sodhi NS, Somarriba EJ, Sosa RA, Stout JC, Struebig MJ, Sung YH, Threlfall CG, Tonietto R, Tóthmérész B, Tscharntke T, Turner EC, Tylianakis JM, Vanbergen AJ, Vassilev K, Verboven HA, Vergara CH, Vergara PM, Verhulst J, Walker TR, Wang Y, Watling JI, Wells K, Williams CD, Willig MR, Woinarski JC, Wolf JH, Woodcock BA, Yu DW, Zaitsev AS, Collen B, Ewers RM, Mace GM, Purves DW, Scharlemann JP, and Purvis A

Abstract

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species' threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project - and avert - future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups - including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems - http://www.predicts.org.uk). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015.

Published
2014
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28. Influence of landscape structure and human modifications on insect biomass and bat foraging activity in an urban landscape.

Author

Threlfall CG, Law B, and Banks PB

Subjects
Animals, Cities, Conservation of Natural Resources, Feeding Behavior physiology, Geography, Humans, New South Wales, Predatory Behavior physiology, Regression Analysis, Urbanization, Biomass, Chiroptera physiology, Ecosystem, Insecta physiology
Abstract

Urban landscapes are often located in biologically diverse, productive regions. As such, urbanization may have dramatic consequences for this diversity, largely due to changes in the structure and function of urban communities. We examined the influence of landscape productivity (indexed by geology), housing density and vegetation clearing on the spatial distribution of nocturnal insect biomass and the foraging activity of insectivorous bats in the urban landscape of Sydney, Australia. Nocturnal insect biomass (g) and bat foraging activity were sampled from 113 sites representing backyard, open space, bushland and riparian landscape elements, across urban, suburban and vegetated landscapes within 60 km of Sydney's Central Business District. We found that insect biomass was at least an order of magnitude greater within suburban landscapes in bushland and backyard elements located on the most fertile shale influenced geologies (both p<0.001) compared to nutrient poor sandstone landscapes. Similarly, the feeding activity of bats was greatest in bushland, and riparian elements within suburbs on fertile geologies (p = 0.039). Regression tree analysis indicated that the same three variables explained the major proportion of the variation in insect biomass and bat foraging activity. These were ambient temperature (positive), housing density (negative) and the percent of fertile shale geologies (positive) in the landscape; however variation in insect biomass did not directly explain bat foraging activity. We suggest that prey may be unavailable to bats in highly urbanized areas if these areas are avoided by many species, suggesting that reduced feeding activity may reflect under-use of urban habitats by bats. Restoration activities to improve ecological function and maintain the activity of a diversity of bat species should focus on maintaining and restoring bushland and riparian habitat, particularly in areas with fertile geology as these were key bat foraging habitats.

Published
2012
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