Shochat Eyal, Warren Paige S, Faeth Stanley H, McIntyre Nancy E, Hope Diane
Sutton Avian Research Center, University of Oklahoma, POB 2007, Bartlesville, OK 74005, USA.
Trends Ecol Evol. 2006 Apr;21(4):186-91. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2005.11.019. Epub 2005 Dec 19.
Rapid urbanization has become an area of crucial concern in conservation owing to the radical changes in habitat structure and loss of species engendered by urban and suburban development. Here, we draw on recent mechanistic ecological studies to argue that, in addition to altered habitat structure, three major processes contribute to the patterns of reduced species diversity and elevated abundance of many species in urban environments. These activities, in turn, lead to changes in animal behavior, morphology and genetics, as well as in selection pressures on animals and plants. Thus, the key to understanding urban patterns is to balance studying processes at the individual level with an integrated examination of environmental forces at the ecosystem scale.
由于城市和郊区发展导致栖息地结构的剧烈变化和物种丧失，快速城市化已成为保护领域至关重要的关注点。在此，我们借鉴近期的生态机制研究，认为除了栖息地结构改变外，还有三个主要过程导致了城市环境中物种多样性降低和许多物种数量增加的模式。反过来，这些活动会导致动物行为、形态和遗传学的变化，以及动植物选择压力的变化。因此，理解城市模式的关键在于平衡个体层面的过程研究与生态系统尺度上环境力量的综合考察。
