The effects of urbanisation on ecological interactions
Panagiotis Theodorou
Abstract
Cities are expanding worldwide and urbanisation is considered a global threat to biodiversity. Urban ecology has provided important insights on how urban environmental changes might affect individuals, populations and species; however, we know little about how the ecological impacts of urbanisation alter species interactions. Species interactions are the backbone of ecological communities and play a crucial role in population and community dynamics and in the generation, maintenance and structure of biodiversity. Here, I review urban ecological studies to identify key mechanistic pathways through which urban environmental processes could alter antagonistic and mutualistic interactions among species. More specifically, I focus on insect predation, parasitoidism and herbivory, competition, insect host-pathogen interactions and pollination. I furthermore identify important knowledge gaps that require additional research attention and I suggest future research directions that may help to shed light on the mechanisms that affect species interactions and structure insect communities and will thus aid conservation management in cities.
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Featured Image: Figure 1 (Theodorou 2022)
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