Determining species specific nightly bat activity in sites with varying urban intensity

Time of peak bat activity during the night differs among bat species due to temperature, prey availability, habitat availability, and/or interactions between species. Habitat availability is altered in urban areas, which may affect insect prey availability and interspecies interactions. Our objectives were to use mobile acoustic monitoring to determine when bat species were active in a single night in urban and nonurban sites and if nightly bat activity patterns differed in urban versus nonurban sites. Bat echolocation call sequences were recorded using Anabat acoustic detectors while driving transects through the night at five sites (three “urban” and two “nonurban”) located in the Piedmont region of north-central North Carolina from May through August 2016. Transects were driven three times per night starting 45 min, 180 min, and 300 min after sunset. Recorded echolocation call sequences were analyzed manually using AnalookW and automatically using Bat Call Identification and Echoclass software. Total bat activity was not different between urban and nonurban sites. However, total bat activity was lower later in the night in urban sites, but stayed the same in nonurban sites. Species specifically, there were more Eptesicus fuscus, Lasionycteris noctivagans, and Tadarida brasiliensis call sequences and fewer Lasiurus borealis, Nycticeius humeralis, and Perimyotis subflavus call sequences in urban sites than nonurban sites. There were also fewer E. fuscus, L. noctivagans, and N. humeralis call sequences later in the night in both urban and nonurban sites. Only Lasiurus borealis activity in urban sites later in the night reduced and L. borealis activity in nonurban sites remained at the same. These results suggest that bats in urban areas partition time differently, which is important to consider for urban conservation efforts and planning.     

Assessing effect of dominant land-cover types and pattern on urban forest biomass estimated using LiDAR metrics

Accurate estimates of biomass in urban forests can help improve strategies for enhancing ecosystem services. Landscape heterogeneity, such as land-cover types and their spatial arrangements, greatly affects biomass growth, and it complicates the estimation of biomass. Application of LiDAR data is a typical approach for mapping forest biomass and carbon stocks across heterogeneous landscapes. However, little is known about how urban land uses and pattern impact biomass and estimates derived from LiDAR analysis. In this study, we examined the relationship between LiDAR-derived biomass and dominant land-cover types using field-measured estimates of aboveground forest biomass in an urbanized region of North Carolina, USA. Three objectives drove this research: 1) we examined the local effects of dominant land cover types on urban forest biomass; 2) we identified the spatial scale at which dominant land cover influences biomass estimates; 3) we investigated whether the fine-scale, spatial heterogeneity of the urban landscape contributed to forest biomass. We used multiple linear regression to relate field-measured biomass to LiDAR metrics and land cover densities derived from Landsat and LiDAR data. The biomass model developed from variables derived from LiDAR first returns produced biomass estimates similar to using all LiDAR returns. Although three land-cover types (impervious surface, managed clearings, and farmland) exhibited a negative relationship with biomass, only impervious surface was statistically significant. The biomass model that used impervious surface densities between 100 m and 175 m radial buffers produced the highest adjusted R ² with lower RMSE values. Our study suggests that impervious surface impacted forest biomass estimates considerably in urbanizing landscapes with the greatest effect between 100 and 175 m from a forest stand. Managed clearing and farmland types negatively impacted biomass estimation albeit not as strongly as impervious surface. Overall, we found that accounting for impervious surface density and its proximity to forest in biomass models may improve urban forest biomass estimates.     

Influence of urbanization on the occurrence and activity of aerial insectivorous bats

Activity and species-specific responses of insectivorous bats in different urban-forest conditions provides a general perspective on the adaptability and vulnerability of bat species towards urbanization intensity. Here we evaluated species richness and activity patterns of aerial insectivorous bats across an urbanized landscape in the highlands of Chiapas, in Mexico. Acoustic monitoring of echolocation calls was conducted for 27 nights over a period of four months. Species richness and relative activity of insectivorous bats were estimated in a landscape with different conditions of urbanization intensity: urban areas, non-urban and forest areas. We identified a total of 14 bat species and three phonotypes. Bat species richness and relative activity was similar (X² = 0.568, gl = 2, p > 0.05), but species composition differed among conditions. We observed a significant higher occurrence of Bauerus dubiaquercus, Eptesicus brasiliensis and Myotis californicus in forest sites. Urban sites presented higher occurrence of Molossus rufus and phonotype Molossidae 2, while non-urban sites presented a higher occurrence of Eptesicus furinalis and phonotype Molossidae 2. We were able to identify bat species according to their relative activity in relation todifferent landscape conditions. Species of the Molossidae family presented the highest activity in urban sites, which was positively affected by the number of streetlights, while species of the Vespertilionidae presented the highest activity in forest sites, which was positively related totree density. While urbanization tends to diminish native biodiversity and alter faunal communities, our results show a similar richness and relative activity of aerial insectivorous bats along the urban ecosystem. The effect of urbanization intensity becomes more apparent in species-specific bat activity; the response of species towards particular habitat conditions depends on local habitat quality and characteristics (i.e., presence of streetlights, vegetation cover and tree density).     

Assessing the effects of land use and land cover patterns on thermal conditions using landscape metrics in city of Indianapolis,United States

Direct applications of remote sensing thermal infrared (TIR) data in landscape ecological research are rare due to limitations in the sensors, calibration, and difficulty in interpretation. Currently there is a general lack of methodology for examining the relationship between land surface temperatures (LST) derived from TIR data and landscape patterns extracted from optical sensors. A separation of landscapes into values directly related to their scale and signature is a key step. In this study, a Landsat ETM+ image of Indianapolis, Unites States, acquired on June 22, 2000, was spectrally unmixed (using spectral mixture analysis, SMA) into fraction endmembers of green vegetation, soil, high albedo, and low albedo. Impervious surface was then computed from the high and low albedo images. A hybrid classification procedure was developed to classify the fraction images into seven land use and land cover (LULC) classes. Using the fractional images, the landscape composition and pattern were examined. Next, pixel-based LST measurements were correlated with the landscape fractional components to investigate LULC based relationships between LST and impervious surface and green vegetation fractions. An examination of the relationship between the LULC and LST maps with landscape metrics was finally conducted to deepen understanding of their interactions. Results indicate that SMA-derived fraction images were effective for quantifying the urban morphology and for providing reliable measurements of biophysical variables. LST was found to be positively correlated with impervious surface fraction but negatively correlated with green vegetation fraction. Each temperature zone was associated with a dominant LULC category. Further research should be directed to the theoretical and applied implications of describing such relationships between LULC patterns and urban thermal conditions.

Stream salamander responses to varying degrees of urbanization within Maryland’s piedmont physiographic province

The main objective of this study was to determine how stream salamander assemblages and species respond to varying levels of impervious surface cover within Maryland’s Piedmont physiographic province. We sampled stream salamanders in 21 first-order streams located in watersheds representing a range of impervious surface cover (0–24 %) across the northeastern part of Maryland’s Piedmont region. Habitat data, including stream substrate and riparian characteristics, were measured at each site. Eurycea bislineata was the predominant species of stream salamander encountered during this study (> 99 % of individuals) and most of these individuals were larvae (> 92 %). Consequently, statistical analysis was limited to E. bislineata larvae. We were unable to detect a difference in E. bislineata abundances or body mass index’s among varying levels of impervious surface cover % or any individual site habitat variables alone. These results suggest that in smaller watersheds within the Piedmont of Maryland, local habitat variables, in conjunction with land use variables, are necessary in determining the abundance and body mass index of E. bislineata larvae populations. This study makes a strong case for halting the over-simplification of the relationship between urbanization and the presence/abundance of stream salamanders.

     

Wild bee abundance declines with urban warming,regardless of floral density

As cities expand, conservation of beneficial insects is essential to maintaining robust urban ecosystem services such as pollination. Urban warming alters insect physiology, fitness, and abundance, but the effect of urban warming on pollinator communities has not been investigated. We sampled bees at 18 sites encompassing an urban warming mosaic within Raleigh, NC, USA. We quantified habitat variables at all sites by measuring air temperature, percent impervious surface (on local and landscape scales), floral density, and floral diversity. We tested the hypothesis that urban bee community structure depends on temperature. We also conducted model selection to determine whether temperature was among the most important predictors of urban bee community structure. Finally, we asked whether bee responses to temperature or impervious surface depended on bee functional traits. Bee abundance declined by about 41% per °C urban warming, and temperature was among the best predictors of bee abundance and community composition. Local impervious surface and floral density were also important predictors of bee abundance, although only large bees appeared to benefit from high floral density. Bee species richness increased with floral density regardless of bee size, and bee responses to urban habitat variables were independent of other life-history traits. Although we document benefits of high floral density, simply adding flowers to otherwise hot, impervious sites is unlikely to restore the entire urban pollinator community since floral resources benefit large bees more than small bees.     

Persistence and survival of the spider <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nephila plumipes</Emphasis> in cities: do increased prey resources drive the success of an urban exploiter?

Species that successfully inhabit urban ecosystems are rare, and urbanisation often drives localised extinctions of native species. Nonetheless, some species take advantage of the novel conditions available in cities and increase in abundance. Trends in the abundance and distribution of species in urban areas have received much attention, but the precise elements of urban ecosystems that affect the survival of urban-dwelling species are largely unknown. Animals that successfully exploit urban environments may do so because of increases in the availability of resources or habitats. Here we assess the effects of anthropogenic landscapes and prey abundance on the persistence of an orb-weaving spider, Nephila plumipes. We assessed spider persistence for six months in situ along an urban gradient in Sydney. We then transplanted spiders from a common garden into sites along the gradient, monitored their persistence in the new environment and measured a suite of environmental variables at local and landscape scales. The abundance of prey was closely linked with spider persistence, in both the survey and the transplant experiment, and was positively associated with anthropogenic habitats. The surveyed spiders survived longer when located closer to the coast and transplanted spiders persisted longer in smaller sites with more impervious surfaces and reduced vegetation cover. Our study shows that urbanisation has a strong effect on potential prey abundance and can lead to increased persistence of N. plumipes, demonstrating the broad impacts that habitat disturbance can have on the life history and trophic interactions of city-dwelling animals.     

Woody plant communities along urban,suburban, and rural streams in Louisville,Kentucky, USA

Anthropogenic changes in land use and cover (LULC) in stream catchments can alter the composition of riparian plant communities, which can affect ecosystem functions of riparian areas and streams from local to landscape scales. We conducted a study to determine if woody plant species composition and abundance along headwater streams were correlated with categorical and continuous LULC and environmental variables along an urban-to-rural gradient. These variables were calculated at different spatial scales (subcatchment level and within 0.5 and 1 km radii of plots) and used % impervious surface cover (ISC) and finer scale LULC classification levels to determine their ability to explain species composition, diversity, abundance, non-native provenance and wetland indicator status of four plant strata—canopy tree, tree sapling, tree seedling and shrub. At all scales, we found distinct riparian woody communities within land-use categories, with significant differences among shrub species. Fine-scale land-cover variables correlated with species composition of shrub, tree sapling and tree seedling strata, but not the canopy tree stratum. Celtis occidentalis and Acer negundo were ubiquitous but dominated riparian areas surrounded by development, while Asimina triloba was associated with forested rural riparian banks. Non-native shrubs, Lonicera maackii and Euonymus alatus, were indicative of areas surrounded by development, while the native shrub, Lindera benzoin, was associated with deciduous forest. Negative factor-ceiling relationships between canopy tree, sapling and tree seedling densities and % ISC were found, with abrupt declines above approximately 30 % ISC. Facultative wetland shrubs were not found above 30 % ISC. Streambank height, which was strongly negatively correlated with depth to the water table and positively correlated with cumulative catchment area, was negatively correlated with facultative wetland tree and shrub species. In addition, riparian tree sapling and seedling densities declined as the abundance of Lonicera maackii increased.     

Southern two-lined salamanders in urbanizing watersheds

Forested riparian buffers are an increasingly common method of mitigating the negative effects of impervious surface cover on water quality and wildlife habitat. We sampled larval southern two-lined salamanders (Eurycea cirrigera) in 43 streams, representing the range of impervious surface cover and forested riparian buffer width across Wake County, NC, USA. Larval abundance decreased with increasing impervious surface cover in the upstream catchment, but was not affected by buffer width. This is likely a result of an incomplete buffer system and culverts or other breaches along streams. Larval abundance increased with detritus cover in the stream to a threshold and then decreased as detritus continued to increase. As percent pebble substrate in the stream increased, especially in perennial streams, larval salamander abundance also increased. We suspect salamanders were unable to migrate with the water column during dry periods in intermittent streams with sedimented interstices below the surface, resulting in low abundances. A combination of increased peak flows and sedimentation, reduced base flow, and chemical changes likely reduces the abundance of salamanders in urban and suburban streams. We suggest creation of catchment-wide, unbreached buffers to maintain the integrity of stream habitats in urbanizing watersheds.     

Green remnants are hotspots for bat activity in a large Brazilian urban area

Urbanization tends to remove or isolate green areas into fragments or restrict them to narrow corridors inserted in a matrix of buildings. Nevertheless, urban green areas may act as refuges for fauna and bats are among the animals able to use such habitats. Using bioacoustics we investigated the influence of green areas on the activity of insectivorous bats in the metropolitan area of Recife, a conurbation of 4 million people in the Atlantic forest of Northeastern Brazil. Bat activity was statistically higher in green areas, based on calls (t?=?2.5298, p?=?0.0165), but not on feeding buzzes (t?=?1.8132, p?=?0.0817) or social calls (t?=??1.5551, p?=?0.1329). Several species were able to persist in an urban matrix and calls were classified into 16 sonotypes, belonging to five families (Emballonuridae, Molossidae, Noctilionidae, Phyllostomidae and Vespertilionidae). However, activity was significantly more associated with areas with vegetation, indicating that green remnants are hotspots for bat activity. Our results indicate that most insectivorous bats have a biased use of the urban landscape and the maintenance of urban green areas is essential to preserve them and the environmental services they provide.     

Environmental and social predictors of phosphorus in urban streams on the Island of Montréal,Québec

Researchers have identified the importance of social characteristics for understanding ecological patterns in cities but the use of these characteristics in urban stream research has yet to be fully explored. Urban development is currently the second-largest cause of stream impairment in North America due in part to nutrient loading. However, research into factors that influence nutrient concentrations in urban streams is lacking. We sampled seven streams on the island of Montréal daily to measure phosphorus (P) concentration and P flux in each stream. We then compared stream P concentration and flux to several watershed characteristics commonly used to predict stream nutrients (e.g., watershed imperviousness, land use, existence of a riparian buffer) as well as several socio-economic characteristics of the watersheds (e.g., average home value, median household income). Overall, impervious surface cover and measures of land use were most effective at explaining the variation in P concentration and P flux in streams on the island of Montréal, while the riparian buffer and socio-economic variables were less effective. However, dollars spent on fertilizer per hectare of residential land and percent residential land use became important predictors of stream P concentration when impervious surface cover was removed from the regression model. This suggests that after accounting for the impact of physical watershed characteristics, social factors may be important predictors of urban stream P concentration. The results of our study suggest that more research is needed to determine the role that socio-economic variables play with respect to urban stream P.     

Comparing community garden typologies of Baltimore,Chicago, and New York City (USA) to understand potential implications for socio-ecological services

Urban community gardens offer unique social and ecological benefits in cities. However, given the dynamic nature of cities and the profound effects of variable land uses on green space provisioning for people and wildlife, investigating community gardens from a landscape perspective offers valuable insight into the functions of these spaces in terms of ecosystem services and sustainable development. In this study, we use garden locations provided by stakeholder groups and fine-scale spatial data to compare community gardens across three cities: New York City, NY, Chicago, IL, and Baltimore, MD (USA). In each city, we assess the spatial distribution of gardens and compare the natural vegetation and impervious surface cover within these gardens to the surrounding neighborhood and landscape. We then compared these cities to clarify the role of community gardens in metropolitan development. Our findings demonstrate that gardens cluster in neighborhoods in New York City and Chicago, but they are more spatially distributed across the landscape in Baltimore. The distribution of Baltimore’s community gardens is more likely to be contributing to a greater network of ecosystem services across a broader urban landscape. Moreover, at the garden scale, gardens in NYC and Chicago have more canopy cover and built infrastructure than the more herbaceous gardens in Baltimore. This suggests that our case study cities exhibit different garden typologies, histories, and potential for ecosystem services. This work provides critical insight into the typology in and around community gardens in different cities, which is useful in understanding the potential ecosystem services and planning trajectories of these cities.

     

Conservation-priority grassland bird response to urban landcover and habitat fragmentation

As urbanization in the landscape increases, some urban centers are setting aside habitat for wildlife. This habitat may be particularly valuable to declining or conservation-priority species. One group in particular need of conservation actions that may benefit from habitat located in urban areas is grassland birds. Declines of grassland bird species have been particularly severe in the Midwestern U.S., where most grassland cover has been lost, fragmented, and surrounded by unsuitable habitat. Conservation efforts have focused on protecting large grasslands surrounded by minimal amounts of trees and development. Although urban development is considered hostile to grassland birds, this assumption has received little attention. In heavily fragmented landscapes where habitat is limited, urban grasslands may be of significant value to grassland birds. We examined grassland bird response to development and additional landscape and habitat variables in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. In 2012 and 2013, we surveyed bird communities in grassland patches along a gradient of urbanization and patch sizes. Density of Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) increased with amount of development, while density of Sedge Wrens (Cistothorus platensis) decreased. Development did not appreciably impact Bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), Dickcissels (Spiza americana), Eastern Meadowlarks (Sturnella magna), Grasshopper Sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum), or Henslow’s Sparrows (Ammodramus henslowii). Patch size had a positive effect on species densities. These results indicate that for many conservation-priority grassland birds, urban landcover surrounding grasslands generally has neutral rather than negative effects on habitat use. Therefore, grasslands in developed landscapes may provide valuable contributions to regional conservation efforts.     

Bat boxes in urban non-native forests: a popular practice that should be reconsidered

Impact mitigation practices are currently one of the hottest topics in conservation and regarded as priorities worldwide. Forest bat populations are known to provide important ecosystem services such as pest control and bat boxes have become one of the most popular management options for counteracting the loss of roosts. However, bat boxes tend to be employed in non-native forests near highly humanized areas where human disturbance is higher. The aim of this study was to evaluate how the surrounding landscape composition affects bat box occupancy in urban non-native forests along the Mediterranean corridor in the Northeastern Iberian Peninsula. Two hundred wooden bat boxes were monitored in young non-native forests in the period 2004–2012. The influence of land cover on occupancy rate of bat boxes was analysed at the landscape level in a 5 km buffer around bat-box stations. In total, 1659 inspections were carried out, in which a 15 % occupancy rate was detected. Bat boxes hosted three different species (Pipistrellus pygmaeus, Pipistrellus kuhlii and Nyctalus leisleri). More than 70 % of the occupancy can be explained by habitat and spatial composition. The presence of urban areas around bat boxes tends to have a negative impact on bat occupation rates; by contrast, forest coverage has a positive effect, especially for the tree-dwelling bats. These patterns could be associated with the large number of available roosts in buildings, microhabitat or phylopatry. Thus, to increase success, we suggest that landscape composition should be considered when using bat boxes for conservation.     

Floral morphology as the main driver of flower-feeding insect occurrences in the Paris region

Through the rapid expansion worldwide of impervious areas and habitat fragmentation, urbanization has strong consequences that must be understood to efficiently manage biodiversity. We studied the effects of urbanization on flower-feeding insects by using data from a citizen science program in the Parisian region. We analysed the occurrence of insects from 46 different families on flowers of different morphologies, using landscape indices in buffer areas from a 100-m to a 4000-m radius around 1194 sampled sites. Our aims were to determine (i) how the proportion of impervious area around sampled sites affected the occurrence of flower-feeding insect families and at which landscape scales impervious area calculations best predicted these occurrences; (ii) the effect of corolla shape variables on insect family occurrences. Twenty-one families were negatively impacted by increasing proportion of impervious areas (urbanophobic) and 3 were positively impacted (urbanophilic). Urbanophobic families were most affected by the proportion of impervious areas when it was estimated within buffers of 200-m to 1400-m radii, depending on the family. Notable losses of urbanophobic families were detected at less than 50% of impervious areas, which highlights the threat to the diversity of flower-feeding insects posed by urban sprawl. Corolla shape variables were the variables most often significantly implicated in the occurrence of insect families. Urbanophobic families were negatively affected by the tubular shape of flowers, and tubular corollas were found more often in urbanized areas. These results suggest that flora management might be a key component for the conservation of insect diversity in cities.     

Bird and mammal use of vernal pools along an urban development gradient

Vernal pools in the northeastern US are of conservation concern primarily because of their role as habitat for specialized pool-breeding amphibians, but their use by birds and mammals may also be of interest, especially from the perspective of the impact of urbanization. We describe camera-trapped wildlife (CTW) at 38 vernal pools along an urban development gradient in greater Bangor, Maine, USA. We detected 20 mammal and 39 bird taxa (29 contacted pool water; 39 detected at >1 site). Land cover type within 1000 m (%), within-pool vegetation (%), and amphibian egg mass numbers explained a substantial portion of the variance (40.8%) in CTW assemblage composition. Submerged vegetation within pools and cover by water and impervious surfaces within 1000 m of pools were key site characteristics defining assemblages. We scored the urban-affiliation of taxa and modeled the relationship between weighted assemblage scores for each site and impervious cover. Impervious cover within 1000 m of pools was positively (p?<?0.01) related to site urban-affiliation scores. Use probability for red fox increased and snowshoe hare decreased with impervious cover at 1000 m. These results indicate that within-pool vegetation and land cover types at 1000 m influenced bird and mammal assemblages that used study pools and greater impervious cover at 100 and 1000 m was correlated with a shift in assemblages from being dominated by urban-avoider to urban-adapted species. We encourage land use planners and managers to consider the influence of land use practices within 1000 m of vernal pools on birds and mammals, especially near amphibian breeding pools.     

Urbanization and the abundance and diversity of Prairie bats

The effects of urbanization on biodiversity are generally considered to be negative, but the potential for landscape context to modulate these effects has not been adequately examined because most urban ecology research has been conducted in one biome: the temperate forest. This bias also applies to studies of the urban ecology of bats, whose diversity is correlated with habitat heterogeneity. We investigated the hypothesis that in the fairly flat, homogeneous Prairies, urbanization, by creating structurally complex islands, benefits bats by increasing access to the vertical landscape elements (buildings and trees) in which they roost. From 2006 to 2008, we surveyed bat assemblages in and around Calgary, Alberta, using mist nets to capture them and bat detectors to record their echolocation activity. Our data supported the prediction that urbanization increases the abundance of Prairie bats, but not the prediction that it increases their diversity. Instead, the urban bat assemblage was less diverse, and exhibited decreased species evenness compared to non-urban assemblages. Although Myotis lucifugus dominated bat assemblages throughout our study area, this was most evident in the city, and this species drove the increased urban abundance of bats. Ultimately, we reject our hypothesis and conclude that urbanization in the Prairies may create attractive habitat for one synanthropic bat, but is detrimental to others.     

Seasonal activity patterns of sympatric eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) and fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) in a Midwestern metropolitan region

Niche partitioning reduces interspecific competition, facilitating coexistence. In urban ecosystems, however, habitat loss reduces species’ ability to spatially partition activity. Temporal partitioning may thus increase in urban areas as species, unable to avoid each other spatially, partition time to avoid competition. In Midwestern US cities, eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) and fox squirrels (S. niger) co-occur and compete for resources. We identified urban gray and fox squirrel activity patterns and how they vary with season, land cover, and among sites where they do and do not co-occur using camera-trap data. Both species’ activity patterns varied with season and canopy and impervious surface cover. Gray squirrel activity patterns varied in the presence of fox squirrels only in the fall, providing limited support for our temporal partitioning hypothesis. Temporal niche partitioning may thus play a role in supporting these species co-existence when competition is seasonally-elevated (e.g., fall hording), but appears less important in other seasons.

     

Components of landscape pattern and urban biodiversity in an era of climate change: a global survey of expert knowledge

There is sufficient evidence to show that both humans and fauna are profoundly affected by landscape pattern composition and configuration in relation to adaptation to climate change impacts in urban landscapes. Despite this, global-scale research that ranks which components of landscape pattern play the most pivotal roles in this process is absent. Also lacking is in-depth examination of the potential areas of conflict between biodiversity conservation targets and those that pertain to human dimensions of climate change adaptation goals in relation to landscape patterns. The research aim was to determine how to identify, rank, and weight the most important components of landscape pattern affecting urban biodiversity in the changing climate and how to address areas of conflict between biodiversity conservation and human dimensions of climate change adaptation goals in terms of the spatial patterning of land cover classes distributed across urban landscapes. To do this, a global survey of 87 participants from 69 academic centres involved in at least 325 research projects between 2000 and 2017 was conducted. Of the eight components of landscape pattern identified and ranked by participants worldwide, the three most important components are respectively patch size, connectivity and proximity, and land cover heterogeneity. This research reveals that opinions of participants with experience in conducting research in the Southern Hemisphere in general and Oceania in particular influence this ranking. While a range of recommendations from specialists have been gathered and weighted, there is still much more research required to address areas of conflict between what fauna and humans need in the face of climate change.     

Urban land cover decreases the occurrence of a wetland endemic mammal and its associated vegetation

Urbanization and other land cover changes have been particularly detrimental to wetlands throughout the planet. One wetland specialist that may be sensitive to land cover changes surrounding wetlands is the round-tailed muskrat (Neofiber alleni; hereafter RTM). The RTM is a wetland obligate rodent that appears to have declined over the last half century and is a species of concern in Florida, where it is a near endemic. To determine if urbanization or other land cover influenced the distribution of RTMs we took a multi-scaled approach to examine the occurrence of RTMs and their associated vegetation in North-Central Florida. We detected RTMs on 19 of 72 sample plots and used a Classification And Regression Tree (CART) to determine that dogfennel (Eupatorium capillifolium) was negatively associated with RTMs and maidencane (Panicum hemitomon) was positively associated with their occurrence on sampling plots. Examining the influence of landscape composition for 2 km surrounding our plots we found that RTM occurrence was negatively related to urban land cover. Further, we found that dogfennel increased and maidencane decreased as urbanization increased in the surrounding landscape. Our research suggests that conservation of RTMs and their associated vegetation should focus on limiting urban sprawl at least within 2 km of wetlands.