Chasing Bats and Tracking Rats: Urban Ecology, Community Science, and How We Share Our Cities
Introduction Living in the Urban Jungle Talk Like an Urban Ecologist Key Terms Chapter 1 Chasing Down Big Browns How much do wildlife rely on city green spaces Chapter 2 Ratmobile to the Rescue How do animals in cities affect human health Chapter 3 Bees and a Bug Vacuum Why are cities a good place to study the impact of climate change on bees Chapter 4 Backyard Bear Buffet What happens when humans and wildlife in cities don’t get along Chapter 5 Bold Coyote Bashful Coyote How are humans changing animal behavior in cities Chapter 6 Microplastics Major Problems How does the pollution we create affect city animals Chapter 7 Birdwatching Bias What happens when citizen science doesn’t tell us the whole story Chapter 8 A Bike to Beat the Heat Why are greener cities better for people Conclusion But This Is Only the Beginning Acknowledgments Select Sources Index 1 3 7 17 27 37 47 59 69 81 90 92 93 97
To my parents who helped a Black city kid grow up with a deep love of nature I hope this book helps other melanated kids do the same C G
Introduction Living in the Urban Jungle There are more than seven billion people on earth Over half of these people around 55 percent live in cities That’s a lot And guess what That number keeps going up Cities may make life easier for many humans by bringing us closer to things like grocery stores jobs and hospitals but they make it much harder for most wildlife Think about it to build our cities we destroy the natural spaces that are homes for insects plants and animals We make roadways that split forests into smaller pieces We mow fields so we have parks to play in Sometimes we even get rid of everything when we pave over the ground to create parking lots These changes are too much for many plants and animals to handle Without the right type of habitat many species can’t survive in cities This means there is often less biodiversity or different types of plants and animals in cities compared to natural spaces But guess what Some creatures seem to do okay in cities In fact some species do better in cities than in their natural habitats There is still a lot we don’t know about urban wildlife but scientists are learning more every day As cities continue to grow and expand it’s important that we understand how city living may be changing the behavior of these species and how living so close to them may be affecting us The scientists who study how different species interact with each other and their environments are called ecologists When most people think of these wildlife scientists they think of people adventuring in far-off places Perhaps you’ve even seen ecologists like these on TV diving in the ocean or exploring in rainforests But there is a whole group of ecologists who study the animals and plants living in cities Ecologists like me Hi My name is Cylita and I’m one of the many urban ecologists around the world helping us understand nature in our cities introduction 1
