Urban Wildlife Habitats

Urban Wildlife Habitats was first published in 1994. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. In cities, towns, and villages, between buildings and parking lots, streets and sidewalks, and polluted streams and rivers, there is ever less space for the "natural," the plants and animals that once were at home across North America. In this first book-length study of the subject, Lowell W. Adams reviews the impact of urban and suburban growth on natural plant and animal communities and reveals how, with appropriate landscape planning and urban development, cities and towns can be made more accommodating for a wide diversity of species, including our own. Soils and ground surface, air, water, and noise pollution, space and demographics are among the urban characteristics Adams considers in relation to wildlife. He describes changes in the composition and structure of vegetation, as native species are replaced by exotic ones, and shows how, with spreading urbanization of natural habitats, the diversity of species of plants and animals almost always declines, although the density of a few species increases. Adams contends, however, that it is possible for a wide variety of species to coexist in the metropolitan environment, and he cites a growing interest in the practice of "natural landscaping," which emphasizes the use of native species and considers the structure, pattern, and species composition of vegetation as it relates to wildlife needs. Urban habitats vary from small city parks in densely built downtowns to suburbs with large yards and considerable open space. Adams discusses the opportunities these areas--along with school yards, hospital grounds, cemeteries, individual residences, and vacant lots--provide for judicious wildlife management and for the salutary interaction of people with nature. Lowell W. Adams is vice president of the National Institute for Urban Wildlife in Columbia, Maryland.

Describes the various species of wildlife that inhabit urban environments and how these wild animals have adapted to living in human cities all around the world.

When the first edition of Urban Wildlife Management was published two years ago, it provided conservationists, ecologists, and wildlife professionals with a welcome shift in the way that interactions between humans and wildlife were viewed and managed. Instead of focusing on ways to evict or eradicate wildlife encroached on by urban development, this unique work took a holistic, ecosystems approach. Gathering information from more than five hundred academic sources and the popular media, this book educated us on the complete nature of the problem. See what's new in the Second Edition: New information garnered from secondary data sets Added contributions from an extended list of leading wildlife specialists Original research conducted by the authors and their students New chapters on urban soils, urban waters, and zoonotic diseases More perspective essays and case studies Single species profiles in each chapter that focus on management issues Numerous tables examining trends by species and by region Through discussions of past and present approaches in the United States, the book explores the changing landscape of wildlife management and future approaches. Urban habitats and hazards are defined in terms of green and gray spaces. Sociopolitical issues are discussed in terms of wildlife management, stakeholder responsibilities, and legal considerations. And wildlife are viewed as adaptive inhabitants of an evolving ecosystem rather than as interlopers in a humans only world. The author maintains a blog exploring wildlife in our own backyard.

Describes the various species of wildlife that inhabit urban environments around the world, and examines the ways in which the human population deals with them.

In the past, wildlife living in urban areas were ignored by wildlife professionals and urban planners because cities were perceived as places for people and not for wild animals. Paradoxically, though, many species of wildlife thrive in these built environments. Interactions between humans and wildlife are more frequent in urban areas than any other place on earth and these interactions impact human health, safety and welfare in both positive and negative ways. Although urban wildlife control pest species, pollinate plants and are fun to watch, they also damage property, spread disease and even attack people and pets. In urban areas, the combination of dense human populations, buildings, impermeable surfaces, introduced vegetation, and high concentrations of food, water and pollution alter wildlife populations and communities in ways unseen in more natural environments. For these ecological and practical reasons, researchers and mangers have shown a growing interest in urban wildlife ecology and management. This growing interest in urban wildlife has inspired many studies on the subject that have yet to be synthesized in a cohesive narrative. Urban Wildlife: Theory and Practice fills this void by synthesizing the latest ecological and social knowledge in the subject area into an interdisciplinary and practical text. This volume provides a foundation for the future growth and understanding of urban wildlife ecology and management by: • Clearly defining th e concepts used to study and describe urban wildlife, • Offering a cohesive understanding of the coupled natural and social drivers that shape urban wildlife ecology, • Presenting the patterns and processes of wildlife response to an urbanizing world and explaining the mechanisms behind them and • Proposing means to create physical and social environments that are mutually beneficial for both humans and wildlife.

This book is about the plants and animals of urban areas, not the urban fringe, not encapsulated countryside but those parts of towns where man's impact is greatest. The powerful anthropogenic influences that operate in cities have, until recently, rendered them unattractive to ecologists who find the high proportion of exotics and mixtures of planted and spontaneous vegetation bewildering. They are also unused to considering fashion, taste, mowing machines and the behaviour of dog owners as habitat factors. I have always maintained, however, and I hope this book demonstrates, that there are as many interrelationships to be uncovered in a flower bed as in a field, in a cemetery as on a sand dune; and due to the well documented history of urban sites, together with the strong effects of management, they are frequently easier to interpret than those operating in more natural areas. The potential of these communities as rewarding areas for study is revealed in the literature on the pests of stored products, urban foxes and birds. The journals oflocal natural history societies have also provided a rich source of material as amateurs have never been averse to following the fortunes of their favourite groups into the heart of our cities. It is predictable that among the few professionals to specialize in this discipline have been those enclosed in West Berlin, who must be regarded as among the leading exponents of urban ecology.

As urbanization sprawls into natural areas, the traditional space for wildlife is diminishing. At the same time, in very unique ways the urban is accommodating certain species of plant and animals. Can it be that in future the urban and natural will be one integrated unit?The book explores briefly a few critical aspects towards this vision. The novel and often incidental urban‐wild arrangements, natural capacity to adapt and human‐animal politics are discussed along with design measures, conservation policies and socioeconomic impacts. One of the significant features of the book has been to appreciate the characteristics of 'wildlife' soas to inject it within urban spaces through a range of methods.

We tend to forget that the city is home to both nature and people. We move quickly from one building to another, often in a card, and notice little of the world around us, especially plant and animal life. But the city is a rich environment teeming with life, not just the people kind. While it's certainly not an old-growth forest or pristine ecosystem, it is filled with a surprising amount of activity. Every bush, nook and cranny, every vacant lot, every abandoned field or blackberry thicket has a story to tell, waiting to be discovered. This book includes descriptions of 38 different urban habitats; food webs for each of these habitats; questions to stimulate the imagination about urban biodiversity; a bibliography of related materials.