Urban habitats and landscapes are considerably different from their rural and natural counterparts. Rural and natural habitats experience diluted human effects (e.g., disturbance, low pollution), while urban areas and urban wildlife endure more significant impacts from humans. When we think about the influence of cities and urbanization, we typically think of more “direct” impacts such as mortalities via vehicles or habitat loss/fragmentation. We often fail to include the influences of the human experience (e.g., education) on the urban landscape and habitat. This leads to studies in urban areas including more “direct” variables such as temperature, human density, pollution, resource availability, building density, and impervious surfaces. However, these urban ecosystems, defined as “an ecosystem whose biological and physical characteristics are primarily engineered, modified and constructed byhumans.” (Des-Roches et al., 2020), are directly influenced by the structure of human society. The culture and politics of the human society occupying the urban landscape directly affect the relationship they have with urban wildlife, green spaces, resource availability, and invasive species management, which feedback to influence human health and well-being.
In Des-Roches et al. (2020), the authors focus on the importance of including the role of human social patterns and processes into the eco-evolutionary processes investigated across taxa. This new perspective is coined “socio-eco-evolutionary dynamics” and is fundamentally important in urban research because cities are fundamentally human-driven in every aspect. Thus, the politics and culture that govern cities directly impact the wildlife there.
When we begin to integrate a society’s history and actions into research thoroughly, we can fully understand the processes we observe in these spaces. These include, but are not limited to, wealth disparities, land use/management, transportation, and economy. It is essential to fully integrate the history and age of a city to understand and explain phenomena observed within urban centers. For example, historical practices of redlining, segregation, and other racist policies within cities have led to the uneven distribution of pollutants, infrastructure, social services, and green spaces (Schell et al., 2020). Moreover, because the histories of cities can differ drastically within and between countries, it is important to remember that urbanization is not uniform and that not all cities reflect the same factors.
To state it simply, human decisions within cities (e.g., land management, investment in public transport, use of technology) can directly modify the habitats fauna and flora experience. These social drivers, which can lead to changes in resource availability and interactions between organisms, become a part of the inherent knot between the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that naturally exist. This leads to a “new” knot that ties social patterns and processes to ecological and evolutionary processes (Figure 2).
The authors use several case studies to elaborate on how researchers can incorporate sociology into studies investigating the eco-evolutionary processes and feedback loops within urban spaces. One case study examined the social determinants of rat ecology, evolution, disease transmission, and pest management. Brown (or “Norway” rats) are notorious for carrying various zoonotic pathogens and have shown adaptive resistance to rodenticide (see our post on the Distribution of Urban Rat-Associated Pathogens for more about the disease dynamics of brown rats within urban centers). This adaptability has allowed brown rat populations to persist/grow and capitalize on areas with poor waste management. Here, we see how human decisions on rodenticide use and public services (i.e., waste management) (socio-) directly influence population levels (eco-), and can lead to adaptive resistance (evo-).
Urbanization undoubtedly has a negative effect on the area urbanized and the surrounding habit. As the human population continues to increase exponentially and areas undergo rapid urbanization, it is becoming more and more crucial for urban ecologists to integrate sociology and related fields (e.g., urban studies) into their studies to understand the observed processes fully. By investigating the connections between humans, the environment they create, and the consequences of urbanization, we will expand our knowledge of processes within urban centers and provide a framework for creating conservation policies. Further, by addressing questions within a socio-eco-evolutionary framework, we can provide research that advocates for those marginalized within cities (e.g., low-income areas that receive insufficient public services).
Read the full paper here: Des Roches et al. (2020) Additionally, check out Miles et al. (2020) to read about emerging themes and future directions in urban ecology.
Featured image: Lu from Seattle, USA, Feeding birds – busy street in Delhi, India-14Nov2010, CC BY 2.0
Literature referenced:
- Des Roches, S., Brans, K. I., Lambert, M. R., Rivkin, L. R., Savage, A. M., Schell, C. J., Correa, C., De Meester, L., Diamond, S. E., Grimm, N. B., Harris, N. C., Govaert, L., Hendry, A. P., Johnson, M. T. J., Munshi- South, J., Palkovacs, E. P., Szulkin, M., Urban, M. C., Verrelli, B. C., & Alberti, M. (2020). Socio-eco-evolutionary dynamics in cities. Evolutionary Applications. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13065
- , , , , , , & (2020). The ecological and evolutionary consequences of systemic racism in urban environments. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aay4497
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