School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemRats and the city: Implications of urbanization on zoonotic disease risk in Southeast Asia(NATL ACAD SCIENCES, 2022-09-27)Urbanization is rapidly transforming much of Southeast Asia, altering the structure and function of the landscape, as well as the frequency and intensity of the interactions between people, animals, and the environment. In this study, we explored the impact of urbanization on zoonotic disease risk by simultaneously characterizing changes in the ecology of animal reservoirs (rodents), ectoparasite vectors (ticks), and pathogens across a gradient of urbanization in Kuching, a city in Malaysian Borneo. We sampled 863 rodents across rural, developing, and urban locations and found that rodent species diversity decreased with increasing urbanization-from 10 species in the rural location to 4 in the rural location. Notably, two species appeared to thrive in urban areas, as follows: the invasive urban exploiter Rattus rattus (n = 375) and the native urban adapter Sundamys muelleri (n = 331). R. rattus was strongly associated with built infrastructure across the gradient and carried a high diversity of pathogens, including multihost zoonoses capable of environmental transmission (e.g., Leptospira spp.). In contrast, S. muelleri was restricted to green patches where it was found at high densities and was strongly associated with the presence of ticks, including the medically important genera Amblyomma, Haemaphysalis, and Ixodes. Our analyses reveal that zoonotic disease risk is elevated and heterogeneously distributed in urban environments and highlight the potential for targeted risk reduction through pest management and public health messaging.
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ItemConnecting Biodiversity With Mental Health and Wellbeing - A Review of Methods and Disciplinary Perspectives(FRONTIERS MEDIA SA, 2022-05-24)Biodiversity conservation and mental health and wellbeing are of increasing global concern, with growing relevance to planning and policy. A growing body of literature exploring the relationships between biodiversity and mental health and wellbeing—based on early research conducted largely from social science perspectives—suggests that particular qualities within natural environments confer particular benefits. Results so far have been inconclusive and inconsistent, contributing to an incohesive body of evidence. While past reviews have focused on reporting variations in results, the present study builds on early reviews by exploring variations from the perspective of author disciplines and the use of different guiding theories, and variables used to measure biodiversity, mental health and wellbeing. This aims to address a research gap in understanding whether research in this topic has become more interdisciplinary or has employed more consistent study designs, which were highlighted as priorities in past reviews, but the progress of which has not yet been explored in depth. We found that research connecting biodiversity and mental health and wellbeing has become only marginally more interdisciplinary in recent years, and there is still a large inconsistency in the use of guiding theories, variables and overall study designs. The variation in disciplinary perspectives and methods reflects a growing interest in this field and the variety of ways researchers are trying to understand and test the complex relationships between biodiversity and mental health and wellbeing. Our study shows that there are unique perspectives that different disciplines can contribute to this body of research and continuing to increase collaboration between disciplines with the use of consistent mixed methods approaches in future may contribute to a more cohesive body of evidence. We provide a framework to conceptualize recommendations for future research, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration at multiple scales, and importantly focusing on more specific, mechanistic studies to inform decision-making that provides co-benefits for biodiversity and mental health and wellbeing.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableA global horizon scan of the future impacts of robotics and autonomous systems on urban ecosystems(NATURE PORTFOLIO, 2021-02)Technology is transforming societies worldwide. A major innovation is the emergence of robotics and autonomous systems (RAS), which have the potential to revolutionize cities for both people and nature. Nonetheless, the opportunities and challenges associated with RAS for urban ecosystems have yet to be considered systematically. Here, we report the findings of an online horizon scan involving 170 expert participants from 35 countries. We conclude that RAS are likely to transform land use, transport systems and human-nature interactions. The prioritized opportunities were primarily centred on the deployment of RAS for the monitoring and management of biodiversity and ecosystems. Fewer challenges were prioritized. Those that were emphasized concerns surrounding waste from unrecovered RAS, and the quality and interpretation of RAS-collected data. Although the future impacts of RAS for urban ecosystems are difficult to predict, examining potentially important developments early is essential if we are to avoid detrimental consequences but fully realize the benefits.
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ItemUrban forest invertebrates: how they shape and respond to the urban environment(SPRINGER, 2022-12)Abstract Invertebrates comprise the most diversified animal group on Earth. Due to their long evolutionary history and small size, invertebrates occupy a remarkable range of ecological niches, and play an important role as “ecosystem engineers” by structuring networks of mutualistic and antagonistic ecological interactions in almost all terrestrial ecosystems. Urban forests provide critical ecosystem services to humans, and, as in other systems, invertebrates are central to structuring and maintaining the functioning of urban forests. Identifying the role of invertebrates in urban forests can help elucidate their importance to practitioners and the public, not only to preserve biodiversity in urban environments, but also to make the public aware of their functional importance in maintaining healthy greenspaces. In this review, we examine the multiple functional roles that invertebrates play in urban forests that contribute to ecosystem service provisioning, including pollination, predation, herbivory, seed and microorganism dispersal and organic matter decomposition, but also those that lead to disservices, primarily from a public health perspective, e.g., transmission of invertebrate-borne diseases. We then identify a number of ecological filters that structure urban forest invertebrate communities, such as changes in habitat structure, increased landscape imperviousness, microclimatic changes and pollution. We also discuss the complexity of ways that forest invertebrates respond to urbanisation, including acclimation, local extinction and evolution. Finally, we present management recommendations to support and conserve viable and diverse urban forest invertebrate populations into the future.
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ItemAusTraits, a curated plant trait database for the Australian flora(NATURE PORTFOLIO, 2021-09-30)We introduce the AusTraits database - a compilation of values of plant traits for taxa in the Australian flora (hereafter AusTraits). AusTraits synthesises data on 448 traits across 28,640 taxa from field campaigns, published literature, taxonomic monographs, and individual taxon descriptions. Traits vary in scope from physiological measures of performance (e.g. photosynthetic gas exchange, water-use efficiency) to morphological attributes (e.g. leaf area, seed mass, plant height) which link to aspects of ecological variation. AusTraits contains curated and harmonised individual- and species-level measurements coupled to, where available, contextual information on site properties and experimental conditions. This article provides information on version 3.0.2 of AusTraits which contains data for 997,808 trait-by-taxon combinations. We envision AusTraits as an ongoing collaborative initiative for easily archiving and sharing trait data, which also provides a template for other national or regional initiatives globally to fill persistent gaps in trait knowledge.
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ItemDynamic Changes in Melbourne's Urban Vegetation Cover-2001 to 2016(MDPI, 2021-08)Understanding changes in urban vegetation is essential for ensuring sustainable and healthy cities, mitigating disturbances due to climate change, sustaining urban biodiversity, and supporting human health and wellbeing. This study investigates and describes the distribution and dynamic changes in urban vegetation over a 15-year period in Greater Melbourne, Australia. The study investigates how vegetation cover across Melbourne has changed at five-yearly intervals from 2001 to 2016 using the newly proposed dynamic change approach that extends the net change approach to quantify the amount of vegetation gain as well as loss. We examine this question at two spatial resolutions: (1) at the municipal landscape scale to capture broadscale change regardless of land tenure; and (2) at the scale of designated public open spaces within the municipalities to investigate the extent to which the loss of vegetation has occurred on lands that are intended to provide public access to vegetated areas in the city. Vegetation was quantified at four different times (2001, 2006, 2011, 2016), using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Dynamic changes of gain and loss in urban vegetation between the three periods were quantified for six local government areas (LGAs) and their associated public open spaces using a change matrix. The results showed an overall net loss of 64.5 square kilometres of urban vegetation from 2001 to 2016 in six LGAs. When extrapolated to the Greater Melbourne Area, this is approximately equivalent to 109 times the size of Central Park in New York City.
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ItemIndigenous plants promote insect biodiversity in urban greenspaces(WILEY, 2021-06)The contribution of urban greenspaces to support biodiversity and provide benefits for people is increasingly recognized. However, ongoing management practices favor vegetation oversimplification, often limiting greenspaces to lawns and tree canopy rather than multi-layered vegetation that includes under- and midstorey, and the use of nonnative species. These practices hinder the potential of greenspaces to sustain indigenous biodiversity, particularly for taxa like insects that rely on plants for food and habitat. Yet, little is known about which plant species may maximize positive outcomes for taxonomically and functionally diverse insect communities in greenspaces. Additionally, while cities are expected to experience high rates of introductions, quantitative assessments of the relative occupancy of indigenous vs. introduced insect species in greenspace are rare, hindering understanding of how management may promote indigenous biodiversity while limiting the establishment of introduced insects. Using a hierarchically replicated study design across 15 public parks, we recorded occurrence data from 552 insect species on 133 plant species, differing in planting design element (lawn, midstorey, and tree canopy), midstorey growth form (forbs, lilioids, graminoids, and shrubs) and origin (nonnative, native, and indigenous), to assess (1) the relative contributions of indigenous and introduced insect species and (2) which plant species sustained the highest number of indigenous insects. We found that the insect community was overwhelmingly composed of indigenous rather than introduced species. Our findings further highlight the core role of multi-layered vegetation in sustaining high insect biodiversity in urban areas, with indigenous midstorey and canopy representing key elements to maintain rich and functionally diverse indigenous insect communities. Intriguingly, graminoids supported the highest indigenous insect richness across all studied growth forms by plant origin groups. Our work highlights the opportunity presented by indigenous understory and midstorey plants, particularly indigenous graminoids, in our study area to promote indigenous insect biodiversity in urban greenspaces. Our study provides a blueprint and stimulus for architects, engineers, developers, designers, and planners to incorporate into their practice plant species palettes that foster a larger presence of indigenous over regionally native or nonnative plant species, while incorporating a broader mixture of midstorey growth forms.
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ItemUrban Green Space Distribution Related to Land Values in Fast-Growing Megacities, Mumbai and Jakarta-Unexploited Opportunities to Increase Access to Greenery for the Poor(MDPI, 2020-06)Many studies on disparities in the distribution of urban green space (UGS) focus on the quantity and accessibility of designated open spaces. However, when all types of UGS, including unmanaged green areas, are accounted for, claims of green space distributive injustice become more complicated. We conducted a preliminary investigation questioning the common Global North assumption that the poor have less access to the benefits of green space, using the cities of Mumbai and Jakarta as case studies as, in their respective countries, wealth inequality has grown at a higher rate than in other Asian countries. We employed four sets of geospatial data to analyze green space distribution patterns and probe the relationship with UGS inequity in different land value districts. We found that the lower land value districts had more vegetation coverage with a higher vegetation density, mainly due to a large quantity of unmanaged greenery. The relationship between the status of urban development and the land values in a district is not necessarily reflective of the UGS distribution once unmanaged vegetation is considered. We conclude by discussing ways to optimize the use of unmanaged UGS as a socioecological asset for poorer districts, and we point to the practical consequences of incorporating the study’s findings into policy and planning towards the creation of ecologically inclusive cities.