Rapid urbanisation is leading to
devastating decreases in global
biodiversity. While cities expand
economic opportunities and foster
diversity and inclusion for humans, the
conversion of land into urban space is
one of the primary drivers of biodiversity
loss around the world. To develop cities
that can provide habitats for all living
species, we must better understand the
influence of urbanisation on biodiversity.
This study has two focuses: global insect
biodiversity and London butterfly
biodiversity, each in relation to the
challenges presented to them by different
urbanisation variables: impervious
surface area, artificial light at night and
land cover. These relationships were
studied with regression analysis and
modelled with generalised linear mixed
effects models. At the global level, only
certain land uses exerted a significant
influence over changes in insect
biodiversity, with signals from the
urbanisation variables being too weak to
draw any conclusions regarding their
impact. In the London case study,
butterfly species richness fluctuated
significantly with changes in the value of
each urbanisation variable, as well as
changes in land cover. This study calls
attention to the importance of context
when studying urbanisation’s impact on
2
insect biodiversity. Though drawing
patterns at the global scale was largely
precluded due to external variables, at
the single-city level butterfly species
richness was determined by both
landscape and local conditions. This
study contributes to building our
understanding of how changes in the
built and natural environment can
impact biodiversity, a crucial piece of
knowledge in our increasingly urban
world.
Lists
Lists
Loading previews...
