{"id":628272,"date":"2024-07-21T02:00:01","date_gmt":"2024-07-20T23:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-linking-up-isolated-habitats-can-help-nature-thrive-in-our-cities\/"},"modified":"2024-07-21T02:00:01","modified_gmt":"2024-07-20T23:00:01","slug":"how-linking-up-isolated-habitats-can-help-nature-thrive-in-our-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-linking-up-isolated-habitats-can-help-nature-thrive-in-our-cities\/","title":{"rendered":"#How linking up isolated habitats can help nature thrive in our cities"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26b6c4de5fc\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26b6c4de5fc\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-linking-up-isolated-habitats-can-help-nature-thrive-in-our-cities\/#Why_we_should_care_for_urban_species\" >Why we should care for urban species<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-linking-up-isolated-habitats-can-help-nature-thrive-in-our-cities\/#What_did_the_study_look_at\" >What did the study look at?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-linking-up-isolated-habitats-can-help-nature-thrive-in-our-cities\/#What_were_the_findings\" >What were the findings?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2024\/stepping-stones-for-wi-1.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2024\/stepping-stones-for-wi-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"A biodiverse green space with a street tree (1), habitat resources such as understorey plants (2) and stormwater infiltration using a sunken \u2018raingarden\u2019 design (3) effectively de-paves the area of the parking space (4). Credit: &lt;a class=&quot;source&quot; href=&quot;https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s42949-022-00073-x&quot;&gt;T. Croeser et al 2022&lt;\/a&gt;, &lt;a class=&quot;license&quot; href=&quot;http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/&quot;&gt;CC BY&lt;\/a&gt;\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2024\/stepping-stones-for-wi-1.jpg\" alt=\"Stepping stones for wildlife: how linking up isolated habitats can help nature thrive in our cities\" title=\"A biodiverse green space with a street tree (1), habitat resources such as understorey plants (2) and stormwater infiltration using a sunken \u2018raingarden\u2019 design (3) effectively de-paves the area of the parking space (4). Credit: T. Croeser et al 2022, CC BY\" width=\"800\" height=\"529\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                A biodiverse green space with a street tree (1), habitat resources such as understorey plants (2) and stormwater infiltration using a sunken \u2018raingarden\u2019 design (3) effectively de-paves the area of the parking space (4). Credit: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"source\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s42949-022-00073-x\">T. Croeser et al 2022<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"license\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY<\/a><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Imagine you&#8217;re a fairywren living in a patch of scrub behind a schoolyard in the suburbs. It&#8217;s been pretty nice so far, but a recent increase in neighborhood cats and the council&#8217;s insect control tactics mean it&#8217;s time to look for somewhere safer to live.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                                                    There&#8217;s a problem, though. You&#8217;re a small, bright blue bird that tends to make short flights from shrub to shrub, staying safe in the foliage. Beyond your little patch of habitat, there don&#8217;t seem to be any places you can easily access. On one side are wide-open sportsfields; on the other, a busy six-lane road. Where do you go?<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a bad situation for a fairywren, and for many other native species in cities. In ecology, we call this habitat fragmentation.<\/p>\n<p>The map of suitable habitat for city-dwelling wildlife often looks like a scattering of islands in an inhospitable sea of other land uses. These species face threats or barriers such as roads, buildings, fences and feral predators. This poses several issues, such as barring access to feeding areas, increasing competition for nesting spaces within habitat patches and even reducing gene flow by making it hard to find mates.<\/p>\n<p>Our <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0169204624001683\">research<\/a> published in <i>Landscape and Urban Planning<\/i> shows how native species in our cities can benefit if we focus on creating strategically located green spaces to connect isolated patches of habitat.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_we_should_care_for_urban_species\"><\/span>Why we should care for urban species<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"mb-4\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\">\n    <meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Stepping stones for wildlife: how linking up isolated habitats can help nature thrive in our cities\"\/><br \/>\n    <meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/941090209\"\/><br \/>\n    <meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"Thami Croeser explains the research findings on how best to create links between fragmented wildlife habitat.\"\/><br \/>\n    <meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2024-07-19T06:26:06-04:00\"\/><br \/>\n            <meta itemprop=\"embedUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/941090209\"\/><\/p>\n<p>             <iframe class=\"embed-responsive-item\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/941090209?color=ffffff\" loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute\"><\/iframe><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up mt-4\" itemprop=\"caption\">Thami Croeser explains the research findings on how best to create links between fragmented wildlife habitat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Despite the myriad challenges facing plants, animals and insects in urban areas, cities are important places to take care of our native species. Urban areas still offer valuable nesting and feeding resources, especially for tree-dwelling mammals, canopy-feeding birds and water-adapted species.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to their <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1002\/fee.2032\">value for conservation<\/a>, urban habitats are precious spaces for people to encounter nature in the places we live and work. Urban nature has been <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0264275120313378?casa_token=LtMq1DLS5HAAAAAA:mzZsjIopVlKifKkJ4CUmnqddg51Me-uiNgqbxRRjj8EWTVvBuA3STbCX0V5QG2YVzxUrkEAkFqE\">shown to be important<\/a> in balancing out the stresses of city life, particularly in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S135382921931158X\">disadvantaged communities<\/a>. It&#8217;s also good for our <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S1877343512000966?casa_token=PJjhMFFQSqIAAAAA:9S3RehS4lCwxUqMTlRFSoU83xpKZOGyN_tSSJuI8FR9xBQiYjknxG31hDxCPtr6rmRsREAjoYBw\">physical health and social connectedness<\/a>\u2014it even improves <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.1503402112\">cognitive development in children<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Unsurprisingly, studies have shown people want more nature in their cities.<\/p>\n<p>But actively supporting native species hasn&#8217;t <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly been the norm in many cities. The practice of planning and design to deliberately bring nature back into urban areas is still developing. Our <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0169204624001683\">open-access research paper<\/a> in Landscape and Urban Planning offers insights into how we can tackle one aspect of the problem: habitat fragmentation.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_did_the_study_look_at\"><\/span>What did the study look at?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We examined how greening projects could best connect up habitat for New Holland honeyeaters (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae), blue-banded bees (Amegilla spp) and mole crickets (Gryllotalpa spp) in Melbourne, Victoria. These are all species that occur locally but experience some degree of habitat fragmentation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2013\/fairywren.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2013\/fairywren.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Superb Fairywren (&lt;i&gt;Malurus cyaneus&lt;\/i&gt;), Male, Peter Murrell Reserve, Tasmania, Australia. Credit: Wikipedia.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2013\/fairywren.jpg\" alt=\"fairywren\" title=\"Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus), Male, Peter Murrell Reserve, Tasmania, Australia. Credit: Wikipedia.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                Superb Fairywren (<i>Malurus cyaneus<\/i>), Male, Peter Murrell Reserve, Tasmania, Australia. Credit: Wikipedia.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>We have a lot of greening to do for <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.1817561116\">climate adaptation<\/a> and to create open space for new residents in our growing cities. What if we could also do this greening in a way that boosts habitat for non-human residents too?<\/p>\n<p>We compared a scenario where a large number of small green spaces (formerly parking spaces) were created mainly for climate adaptation purposes, to a pair of scenarios where a smaller number of green spaces were created exclusively in areas that had been identified as key links between habitat fragments.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_were_the_findings\"><\/span>What were the findings?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In total, the benefit of each space in the targeted scenario was more than double that of the scenario where we placed green spaces for climate adaptation purposes, even with the same design of individual green spaces.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s an image of the kind of green spaces we modeled in this study.<\/p>\n<p>We found significant benefits for two of our three species when green spaces were located in a way that specifically targeted habitat connections.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                                                            Blue-banded bees and mole crickets did especially well. It is trickier for these small creatures to navigate the space between habitat patches. When these small green spaces provided &#8220;stepping stones&#8221; between bigger patches, they greatly increased the area of habitat a bee or cricket could reach.<\/p>\n<p>Linking up habitats when we create new green spaces is one way to give native species a chance in our cities. It also gives us (and our kids) a better chance of having everyday nature experiences.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, adding this &#8220;ecosystem connectivity&#8221; lens to our green space planning isn&#8217;t a biodiversity panacea. We&#8217;ll still need to deliver a lot of new greenery.<\/p>\n<p>And we&#8217;ll have to design it carefully to support native animals while also providing cooling, reduced flood risk and recreational spaces. We also need to make sure we&#8217;re picking the right species to model our maps on, and then design our spaces for.<\/p>\n<p>Still, if we get this right, that fairywren might just one day have small, green &#8220;stepping stones&#8221; to find their way around the city to a h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>y new home.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-main__more p-4\">\n                                                                                        <strong>More information:<\/strong><br \/>\n                                                Thami Croeser et al, Nature-based solutions for urban biodiversity: Spatial targeting of retrofits can multiply ecological connectivity benefits, <i>Landscape and Urban Planning<\/i> (2024). <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-doi=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.landurbplan.2024.105169\">DOI: 10.1016\/j.landurbplan.2024.105169<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"d-inline-block text-medium mt-4\">\n<p>                                                    Provided by<br \/>\n                                                                                                            The Conversation<br \/>\n                                                                                                                <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"icon_open\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\"><br \/>\n                                                            <svg>\n                                                                <use href=\"https:\/\/phys.b-cdn.net\/tmpl\/v6\/img\/svg\/sprite.svg#icon_open\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\"\/>\n                                                            <\/svg><br \/>\n                                                        <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n                                                  This article is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/stepping-stones-for-wildlife-how-linking-up-isolated-habitats-can-help-nature-thrive-in-our-cities-234923\">original article<\/a>.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/234923\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>                                                <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                Stepping stones for wildlife: How linking up isolated habitats can help nature thrive in our cities (2024, July 20)<br \/>\n                                                retrieved 20 July 2024<br \/>\n                                                from https:\/\/phys.org\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2024-07-stones-wildlife-linking-isolated-habitats.html<\/p>\n<p>                                             This document is subject to copyright. 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Credit: T. Croeser et al 2022, CC BY Imagine you&#8217;re a fairywren living in a patch of scrub behind a schoolyard&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":628273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2024\/stepping-stones-for-wi-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-628272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=628272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/628273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=628272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=628272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=628272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}