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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Urbanization—The Bad, The Good, And The Very Good, Rebecca Dolan Feb 2016

Urbanization—The Bad, The Good, And The Very Good, Rebecca Dolan

Rebecca W. Dolan

Great strides have been made in studying effects of urbanization on plant life in recent years. However, much remains to be learned about how the urban environment acts as a filter on flora. There is some evidence that environments in cities are so similar that they all select for the same plants or plants with the same suite of characteristics, resulting in biotic homogenization, but the jury is still out. We do know that some cities harbor a thriving and diverse native flora. Dolan will talk about what cities can do to increase the chances for long-term survival of native …


Beta Diversity Of Urban Floras Among European And Non-European Cities, Frank A. La Sorte, Myla F.J. Aronson, Nicholas S.G. Williams, Laura Celesti-Grapow, Sarel Cilliers, Bruce D. Clarkson, Rebecca W. Dolan, Andrew Hipp, Stefan Klotz, Ingolf Kühn, Pter Pyšek, Stefan Siebert, Marten Winter Mar 2015

Beta Diversity Of Urban Floras Among European And Non-European Cities, Frank A. La Sorte, Myla F.J. Aronson, Nicholas S.G. Williams, Laura Celesti-Grapow, Sarel Cilliers, Bruce D. Clarkson, Rebecca W. Dolan, Andrew Hipp, Stefan Klotz, Ingolf Kühn, Pter Pyšek, Stefan Siebert, Marten Winter

Rebecca W. Dolan

Aim- Cities represent an ideal study system for assessing how intensive land-use change and biotic interchange have altered beta diversity at broad geographic extents. Here we test the hypothesis that floras in cities located in disparate regions of the globe are being homogenized by species classified as invasive (naturalized species that have spread over a large area) or as a European archaeophyte (species introduced into Europe before ad 1500 from the Mediterranean Basin). We also test the prediction that the global influences of European activities (colonization, agriculture, commerce) have supported this outcome. Location- One hundred and ten cities world-wide. Methods- …


Urban Wildlife, John Hadidian, Sydney Smith Aug 2014

Urban Wildlife, John Hadidian, Sydney Smith

John Hadidian, PhD

Despite the potential for difficulty, there are several reasons why urban wildlife should be valued and better understood. First is its scientific and heuristic value. Urban wildlife populations are essentially parts of ongoing natural experiments in adaptation to anthropogenic stress. How urban animals are affected by human activities— and how they cope with them— can represent, on a highly accelerated scale, a model of what is happening to species in other biomes. No other wild animals live in such intimate contact and under such constant constraint from human activities as do synanthropes. Second, urban animals are exposed to many environmental …


Urban Wildlife Control: It Starts In Our Own Backyard, John Hadidian Aug 2014

Urban Wildlife Control: It Starts In Our Own Backyard, John Hadidian

John Hadidian, PhD

No abstract provided.


A Global Analysis Of The Impacts Of Urbanization On Bird And Plant Diversity Reveals Key Anthropogenic Drivers, Myla F.J. Aronson, Frank A. La Sorte, Charles H. Nilon, Madhusudan Katti, Mark A. Goddard, Christopher A. Lepczyk, Paige S. Warren, Nicholas S.G. Williams, Sarel Cilliers, Bruce Clarkson, Cynnamon Dobbs, Rebecca W. Dolan, Marcus Hedblom, Stefan Klotz, Jip Louwe Kooijmans, Ingolf Kühn, Ian Macgregor-Fors, Mark Mcdonnell, Ulla Mörtberg, Petr Pyšek, Stefan Siebert, Jessica Sushinsky, Peter Werner, Marten Winter Feb 2014

A Global Analysis Of The Impacts Of Urbanization On Bird And Plant Diversity Reveals Key Anthropogenic Drivers, Myla F.J. Aronson, Frank A. La Sorte, Charles H. Nilon, Madhusudan Katti, Mark A. Goddard, Christopher A. Lepczyk, Paige S. Warren, Nicholas S.G. Williams, Sarel Cilliers, Bruce Clarkson, Cynnamon Dobbs, Rebecca W. Dolan, Marcus Hedblom, Stefan Klotz, Jip Louwe Kooijmans, Ingolf Kühn, Ian Macgregor-Fors, Mark Mcdonnell, Ulla Mörtberg, Petr Pyšek, Stefan Siebert, Jessica Sushinsky, Peter Werner, Marten Winter

Rebecca W. Dolan

Urbanization contributes to the loss of the world's biodiversity and the homogenization of its biota. However, comparative studies of urban biodiversity leading to robust generalities of the status and drivers of biodiversity in cities at the global scale are lacking. Here, we compiled the largest global dataset to date of two diverse taxa in cities: birds (54 cities) and plants (110 cities). We found that the majority of urban bird and plant species are native in the world's cities. Few plants and birds are cosmopolitan, the most common beingColumba livia and Poa annua. The density of bird and plant species …


Urbanization And Pattern Of Urban Food Consumption In Ashanti Region, Ghana: Implications For Food Security, Stephen Frimpong Sep 2013

Urbanization And Pattern Of Urban Food Consumption In Ashanti Region, Ghana: Implications For Food Security, Stephen Frimpong

Stephen Frimpong

The study assesses the influence of rapid urbanization on urban consumption pattern and food security of the urban dweller using primary data collected from urban households in Ashanti region of Ghana. The food security index was estimated based on a minimum daily calorie requirement of 2900Kcal. The consumption pattern indicates that yam, cassava and rice are gaining importance in urban household diet in the region. The expenditure share also shows that food constitutes 74.6% of urban household budget. The estimated food security index of the region is 0.66, implying that on average urban households in the region are food insecure. …


Dynamics Of Land Use/Land Cover Changes And Its Implication On Food Security In Anyigba, North Central, Nigeria, Tokula E. Arome, Sunday P. Ejaro (Phd) May 2012

Dynamics Of Land Use/Land Cover Changes And Its Implication On Food Security In Anyigba, North Central, Nigeria, Tokula E. Arome, Sunday P. Ejaro (Phd)

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

This study assessed land use/land cover changes and its effect on Agricultural land in Anyigba. The objectives were to identify and delineate different land use / land cover categories, assess the rate of change that occurred and examine the impact of land use/land cover change on food security using satellite remote sensing data collected at three different years (1987 Land sat TM, 2001 Land Sat TM and 2011 Land Sat ETM). The study utilized GIS software such as Idrisi Andes academic and ArcGIS 9.3. The study area covers approximately 31.8km2, and four major land use/cover classes were utilized (built up, …


Movement And Habitat Use Of Two Aquatic Turtles (Graptemys Geographica And Trachemys Scripta) In An Urban Landscape, Travis J. Ryan, Christopher A. Conner, Brooke A. Douthitt, Sean C. Sterrett, Carmen M. Salsbury Feb 2010

Movement And Habitat Use Of Two Aquatic Turtles (Graptemys Geographica And Trachemys Scripta) In An Urban Landscape, Travis J. Ryan, Christopher A. Conner, Brooke A. Douthitt, Sean C. Sterrett, Carmen M. Salsbury

Carmen M. Salsbury

Our study focuses on the spatial ecology and seasonal habitat use of two aquatic turtles in order to understand the manner in which upland habitat use by humans shapes the aquatic activity, movement, and habitat selection of these species in an urban setting. We used radiotelemetry to follow 15 female Graptemys geographica (common map turtle) and each of ten male and female Trachemys scripta (red-eared slider) living in a man-made canal within a highly urbanized region of Indianapolis, IN, USA. During the active season (between May and September) of 2002, we located 33 of the 35 individuals a total of …