Gentrification drives patterns of alpha and beta diversity in cities.

While there is increasing recognition that social processes in cities like gentrification have ecological consequences, we lack nuanced understanding of the ways gentrification affects urban biodiversity. We analyzed a large camera trap dataset of mammals (>500 g) to evaluate how gentrification impacts species richness and community composition across 23 US cities. After controlling for the negative effect of impervious cover, gentrified parts of cities had the highest mammal species richness. Change in community composition was associated with gentrification in a few cities, which were mostly located along the West Coast. At the species level, roughly half (11 of 21 mammals) had higher occupancy in gentrified parts of a city, especially when impervious cover was low. Our results indicate that the impacts of gentrification extend to nonhuman animals, which provides further evidence that some aspects of nature in cities, such as wildlife, are chronically inaccessible to marginalized human populations.

Wealth and urbanization shape medium and large terrestrial mammal communities.

Urban biodiversity provides critical ecosystem services and is a key component to environmentally and socially sustainable cities. However, biodiversity varies greatly within and among cities, leading to human communities with changing and unequal experiences with nature. The "luxury effect," a hypothesis that predicts a positive correlation between wealth, typically measured by per capita income, and species richness may be one indication of these inequities. While the luxury effect is well studied for some taxa, it has rarely been investigated for mammals, which provide unique ecosystem services (e.g., biological pest control) and exhibit significant potential for negative human-wildlife interactions (e.g., nuisances or conflicts). We analyzed a large dataset of mammal detections across 20 North American cities to test whether the luxury effect is consistent for medium- to large-sized terrestrial mammals across diverse urban contexts. Overall, support for the luxury effect, as indicated by per capita income, was inconsistent; we found evidence of a luxury effect in approximately half of our study cities. Species richness was, however, highly and negatively correlated with urban intensity in most cities. We thus suggest that economic factors play an important role in shaping urban mammal communities for some cities and species, but that the strongest driver of urban mammal diversity is urban intensity. To better understand the complexity of urban ecosystems, ecologists and social scientists must consider the social and political factors that drive inequitable human experiences with nature in cities.

Host food quality and quantity differentially affect Ascogregarina barretti parasite burden, development and within-host competition in the mosquito Aedes triseriatus.

Host condition depends in large part on the quality and quantity of available food and heavily influences the outcome of parasite infection. Although parasite fitness traits such as growth rate and size may depend on host condition, whether host food quality or quantity is more important to parasite fitness and within-host interactions is poorly understood. We provided individual mosquito hosts with a standard dose of a gregarine parasite and reared mosquitoes on two food types of different quality and two quantities. We measured host size, total parasite count and area, and average size of parasites within each treatment. Food quality significantly influenced the number of parasites in a host; hosts fed a low-quality diet were infected with more parasites than those provided a high-quality diet. In addition, we found evidence of within-host competition; there was a negative relationship between parasite size and count though this relationship was dependent on host food quality. Host food quantity significantly affected total parasite area and parasite size; lower food quantity resulted in smaller parasites and reduced overall parasite area inside the host. Thus both food quality and quantity have the potential to influence parasite fitness and population dynamics.

Serosurveillance and the first detection of Bourbon virus RNA in a wildlife host.

Bourbon virus (BRBV) is an emerging pathogen that can cause severe and fatal disease in humans. BRBV is vectored by Amblyomma americanum (lone star ticks), which are widely distributed across the central, southern, and eastern United States. Wildlife species are potentially important for the maintenance and transmission of BRBV, but little is known about which species are involved, and what other factors play a role in the exposure to BRBV. To assess the exposure risk to BRBV among wildlife in the St. Louis area, we collected sera from 98 individuals, representing 6 different mammalian species from two locations in St. Louis County: Tyson Research Center (TRC) and WildCare Park (WCP) from fall 2021 to spring 2023. The sera were used in a BRBV neutralization assay to detect neutralizing antibodies and RT-qPCR for viral RNA analysis. We also sampled and compared the abundance of A. americanum ticks at the two locations and modeled which factors influenced BRBV seropositivity across species. In TRC, we observed a high rate of seropositivity in raccoons (Procyon lotor, 23/25), and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus, 18/27), but a low rate in opossums (Didelphis virginiana, 1/18). Neutralizing antibodies were also detected in sampled TRC bobcats (Lynx rufus, 4/4), coyotes (Canis latrans, 3/3), and a red fox (Vulpes vulpes, 1/1). The virological analysis identified BRBV RNA in one of the coyote serum samples. In contrast to TRC, all sera screened from WCP were negative for BRBV-specific neutralizing antibodies, and significantly fewer ticks were collected at WCP (31) compared to TRC (2,316). Collectively, these findings suggest that BRBV circulates in multiple wildlife species in the St. Louis area and that tick density and host community composition may be important factors in BRBV ecology.

Prevalence of Bourbon and Heartland viruses in field collected ticks at an environmental field station in St. Louis County, Missouri, USA.

Heartland and Bourbon viruses are pathogenic tick-borne viruses putatively transmitted by Amblyomma americanum, an abundant tick species in Missouri. To assess the prevalence of these viruses in ticks, we collected 2778 ticks from eight sampling sites at Tyson Research Center, an environmental field station within St. Louis County and close to the City of St. Louis, from May - July in 2019 and 2021. Ticks were pooled according to life stage and sex, grouped by year and sampling site to create 355 pools and screened by RT-qPCR for Bourbon and Heartland viruses. Overall, 14 (3.9%) and 27 (7.6%) of the pools were positive for Bourbon virus and Heartland virus respectively. In 2019, 11 and 23 pools were positive for Bourbon and Heartland viruses respectively. These positives pools were of males, females and nymphs. In 2021, there were 4 virus positive pools out of which 3 were positive for both viruses and were comprised of females and nymphs. Five out of the 8 sampling sites were positive for at least one virus. This included a site that was positive for both viruses in both years. Detection of these viruses in an area close to a relatively large metropolis presents a greater public health threat than previously thought.

Urbanization, climate and species traits shape mammal communities from local to continental scales.

Human-driven environmental changes shape ecological communities from local to global scales. Within cities, landscape-scale patterns and processes and species characteristics generally drive local-scale wildlife diversity. However, cities differ in their structure, species pools, geographies and histories, calling into question the extent to which these drivers of wildlife diversity are predictive at continental scales. In partnership with the Urban Wildlife Information Network, we used occurrence data from 725 sites located across 20 North American cities and a multi-city, multi-species occupancy modelling approach to evaluate the effects of ecoregional characteristics and mammal species traits on the urbanization-diversity relationship. Among 37 native terrestrial mammal species, regional environmental characteristics and species traits influenced within-city effects of urbanization on species occupancy and community composition. Species occupancy and diversity were most negatively related to urbanization in the warmer, less vegetated cities. Additionally, larger-bodied species were most negatively impacted by urbanization across North America. Our results suggest that shifting climate conditions could worsen the effects of urbanization on native wildlife communities, such that conservation strategies should seek to mitigate the combined effects of a warming and urbanizing world.

Aedes albopictus Populations and Larval Habitat Characteristics across the Landscape: Significant Differences Exist between Urban and Rural Land Use Types.

One of the most profound recent global changes has been the proliferation of urban metropolitan areas. A consequence of urbanization is a reduction in abundance, or diversity, of wildlife. One exception, is the proliferation of vectors of disease; recent years have seen the emergence and resurgence of diseases vectored by species closely associated with humans. Aedes albopictus, a mosquito with a near global range and broad ecological niche, has been described as an urban, suburban, or rural vector, or a forest edge species depending on local conditions. We tested the hypothesis that abundance and phenological patterns of this species vary among different land use types in a temperate city because of the variation in the biotic and abiotic conditions characteristic of those habitat types. A. albopictus populations in urban and suburban areas were an order of magnitude larger than in rural areas and were detected several weeks earlier in the season. Additionally, we found fewer overall mosquito species, higher temperatures, lower nitrogen, higher pH, and faster water evaporation in larval habitats in urban vs. rural areas. By understanding the ecological differences that facilitate a species in one habitat and not another, we can potentially exploit those differences for targeted control.

Multiflora rose invasion amplifies prevalence of Lyme disease pathogen, but not necessarily Lyme disease risk.

BACKGROUND: Forests in urban landscapes differ from their rural counterparts in ways that may alter vector-borne disease dynamics. In urban forest fragments, tick-borne pathogen prevalence is not well characterized; mitigating disease risk in densely-populated urban landscapes requires understanding ecological factors that affect pathogen prevalence. We trapped blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) nymphs in urban forest fragments on the East Coast of the United States and used multiplex real-time PCR assays to quantify the prevalence of four zoonotic, tick-borne pathogens. We used Bayesian logistic regression and WAIC model selection to understand how vegetation, habitat, and landscape features of urban forests relate to the prevalence of B. burgdorferi (the causative agent of Lyme disease) among blacklegged ticks. RESULTS: In the 258 nymphs tested, we detected Borrelia burgdorferi (11.2% of ticks), Borrelia miyamotoi (0.8%) and Anaplasma phagocytophilum (1.9%), but we did not find Babesia microti (0%). Ticks collected from forests invaded by non-native multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) had greater B. burgdorferi infection rates (mean = 15.9%) than ticks collected from uninvaded forests (mean = 7.9%). Overall, B. burgdorferi prevalence among ticks was positively related to habitat features (e.g. coarse woody debris and total understory cover) favorable for competent reservoir host species. CONCLUSIONS: Understory structure provided by non-native, invasive shrubs appears to aggregate ticks and reservoir hosts, increasing opportunities for pathogen transmission. However, when we consider pathogen prevalence among nymphs in context with relative abundance of questing nymphs, invasive plants do not necessarily increase disease risk. Although pathogen prevalence is greater among ticks in invaded forests, the probability of encountering an infected tick remains greater in uninvaded forests characterized by thick litter layers, sparse understories, and relatively greater questing tick abundance in urban landscapes.

Landscape Physiognomy Influences Abundance of the Lone Star Tick, Amblyomma americanum (Ixodida: Ixodidae), in Ozark Forests.

The lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum Linnaeus (Ixodida: Ixodidae), is emerging as an important human disease vector in the United States. While some recent studies have modeled broad-scale (regional or county-level) distribution patterns of A. americanum, less is known about how local-scale habitat characteristics drive A. americanum abundance. Such local-scale information is vital to identify targets for tick population control measures within land management units. We investigated how habitat features predict host-seeking A. americanum adult and nymph abundance within a 12-ha oak-hickory forest plot in the Missouri Ozarks. We trapped ticks using CO2-baited traps at 40 evenly spaced locations for three 24-h periods during the summer of 2015, and we measured biotic and abiotic variables surrounding each location. Of 2,008 A. americanum captured, 1,009 were nymphs, and 999 were adults. We observed spatial heterogeneity in local tick abundance (min = 0 ticks, max = 112 ticks, mean = 16.7 ticks per trap night). Using generalized linear mixed models, we found that both nymphs and adults had greater abundance in valleys as well as on northern-facing aspects. Moreover, nymph abundance was negatively related to temperature variance, while adult abundance had a negative relationship with elevation. These results demonstrate that managers in this region may be able to predict local tick abundance through simple physiognomic factors and use these parameters for targeted management action.

Differential post-fledging habitat use of Nearctic-Neotropical migratory birds within an urbanized landscape.

BACKGROUND: Persistent declines in migratory songbird populations continue to motivate research exploring contributing factors to inform conservation efforts. Nearctic-Neotropical migratory species' population declines have been linked to habitat loss and reductions in habitat quality due to increasing urbanization in areas used throughout the annual cycle. Despite an increase in the number of studies on post-fledging ecology, generally characterized by the period between fledging and dispersal from natal areas or migration, contextual research linking post-fledging survival and habitat use to anthropogenic factors remains limited. METHODS: Here, we examined habitat use of post-fledging habitat-generalist gray catbirds (Dumetella caroliniensis), and habitat-specialist wood thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina), up to 88 days after fledging within an urbanized landscape. These Neotropical migratory species share many life-history traits, exhibit differential degrees of habitat specialization, and co-occur in urbanized landscapes. Starting from daily movement data, we used time-integrated Brownian bridges to generate probability density functions of each species' probability of occurrence, and home range among 16 land cover classes including roads from the US Geological Survey National Land Cover Database for each species. RESULTS: Habitat use differed between pre- and post-independence periods. After controlling for factors that influence habitat use (i.e., pre- or post-independence period, fate (whether individuals survived or not), and land cover class), we found that wood thrushes occupied home ranges containing six times more forest land cover than catbirds. In contrast, catbirds occupied home ranges containing twice the area of roads compared to wood thrushes. Wood thrushes had greater variance for area used (km2) among land cover classes within home ranges compared to catbirds. However, once fledglings achieved independence from parents, wood thrushes had lower variance associated with area used compared to catbirds. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support predictions that habitat-generalist gray catbirds spend more time in developed areas, less time in forest habitat, and use areas with more roads than the forest-specialist wood thrush. We found strong effects of pre- and post-independence periods on all of the response variables we tested. Species-specific habitat use patterns will likely be affected by projected increases in urbanization over the next several decades leading to further reductions in available forest habitat and increased road density, and will have important implications for the ecology and conservation of these birds.

Scale-dependent effects of nonnative plant invasion on host-seeking tick abundance.

Nonnative, invasive shrubs can affect human disease risk through direct and indirect effects on vector populations. Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) is a common invader within eastern deciduous forests where tick-borne disease (e.g. Lyme disease) rates are high. We tested whether R. multiflora invasion affects blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) abundance, and at what scale. We sampled host-seeking ticks at two spatial scales: fine-scale, within R. multiflora-invaded forest fragments; and patch scale, among R. multiflora-invaded and R. multiflora-free forest fragments. At a fine scale, we trapped 2.3 times more ticks under R. multiflora compared to paired traps 25 m away from R. multiflora. At the patch scale, we trapped 3.2 times as many ticks in R. multiflora-free forests compared to R. multiflora-invaded forests. Thus, ticks are concentrated beneath R. multiflora within invaded forests, but uninvaded forests support significantly more ticks. Among all covariates tested, leaf litter volume was the best predictor of tick abundance; at the patch scale, R. multiflora-invaded forests had less leaf litter than uninvaded forests. We suggest that leaf litter availability at the patch-scale plays a greater role in constraining tick abundance than the fine-scale, positive effect of invasive shrubs.