Urban Ecology EST/EFB 220 An interdisciplinary study of the urban ecosystem

Origin of Cities Through most of history, the human population has lived a rural lifestyle. Settled communities of people became possible with the advent of agriculture (10,000 to 4,000 BC).

City Year Became #1 Population Information Memphis, Egypt3100 BCEWell over 30,000 Akkad, Babylonia (Iraq) 2240 Lagash, Babylonia (Iraq) 2075 Ur, Babylonia (Iraq)203065,000 Thebes, Egypt1980 Babylon, Babylonia (Iraq) 1770 Avaris, Egypt1670 Memphis, Egypt1557 Thebes, Egypt1400 Nineveh, Assyria (Iraq)668 Babylon, Babylonia (Iraq) 612First above 200,000

Origin of Cities

WHY should we study Urban Ecology ???

Understanding how urban ecosystems function is integral to mitigating their negative effects on ecosystem services, assessing their impact on neighboring environments, and considering them in decision-making dialogue. Institute for Ecosystem Studies Engaging urban dwellers is critical; their activities directly impact the way urban ecosystems function and they have a vested interest in maintaining the environmental integrity of the area they live in.

What is “Urbanization?” Often related to industrialization Up until very recently -- about 200 years ago -- the proportion of the world’s urban population was limited to about 5%

Speed of Urbanization In 1800  3% By 1900  14 % In 1950  30% In 2000  47 % (about 2.8 billion)

Human Numbers Through Time

NamePopulation 1London, United Kingdom6,480,000 2New York, United States4,242,000 3Paris, France3,330,000 4Berlin, Germany2,707,000 5Chicago, United States1,717,000 6Vienna, Austria1,698,000 7Tokyo, Japan1,497,000 8St. Petersburg, Russia1,439,000 9Manchester, United Kingdom1,435,000 10Philadelphia, United States1,418,000 Ten Largest Cities of 1900

NamePopulation 1Shanghai, China13,278,500 2Mumbai (Bombay), India12,622,500 3Buenos Aires, Argentina11,928,400 4 Moscow, Russia11,273,400 5Karachi, Pakistan10,889,100 6Delhi, India10,400,900 7Manila, Phillipines10,330,100 8São Paolo, Brazil10,260,100 9Seoul, South Korea10,165,400 10Istanbul, Turkey9,631,700 Source: © Stefan Helders, World Gazetteer, Reprinted with permission. Web: Ten Largest Cities of 2004

Global Urbanization Trends (cont’d) Size of Urban Population in the World (Source: United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects, The 1999 Revision)

Earth at Night 2000 November 27 Credit: C. Mayhew & R. Simmon (NASA/GSFC), NOAA/ NGDC, DMSP Digital ArchiveR. SimmonNASAGSFCNOAANGDC DMSP

Global Urbanization Trends (cont’d) (Source: United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects, The 1999 Revision) Comparison of Urban Population in Developed Countries and Developing Countries

What is Urban ???

1990 and before Census Definition of Urban 1. Places of 2,500 or more persons incorporated as cities, villages, boroughs (except in Alaska and New York), and towns (except in the six New England States, New York, and Wisconsin), but excluding the rural portions of "extended cities.” 2. Census designated places of 2,500 or more persons. 3. Other territory, incorporated or unincorporated, included in urbanized areas.

2000 Census Definition of Urban For Census 2000, the Census Bureau classifies as "urban" all territory, population, and housing units located within an urbanized area (UA) or an urban cluster (UC). It delineates UA and UC boundaries to encompass densely settled territory, which consists of: core census block groups or blocks that have a population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile and surrounding census blocks that have an overall density of at least 500 people per square mile

Impacts of Urbanization By concentrating humans and the resources they consume, metropolitan areas alter soil drainage, water flow, and light availability. Furthermore they concentrate: waste energy demand

Progression of Urban Growth 1975, 1985,1995 Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia

Consequences of Urbanization: Food Import Trends in Puerto Rico

Eugene P. Odum “I prefer to define ecology as: The study of the structure and function of ecosystems or ….. What is Ecology ??? The study of the structure and function of nature.”

bioticabiotic bioticabiotic "Living organisms ( biotic) and their nonliving ( abiotic) environment are inseparably interrelated and interact upon each other.bioticabiotic trophic structurebiotic diversity material cycles ecosystem trophic structurebiotic diversity material cycles ecosystem Any unit that includes all of the organisms (i.e., the "community") in a given area interacting with the physical environment so that a flow of energy leads to clearly defined trophic structure, biotic diversity, and material cycles (i.e., exchange of materials between living and nonliving parts) within the system is an ecological system or ecosystem."trophic structurebiotic diversity material cyclesecosystem Ecosystem ???

Urban Ecology ??? What makes “urban ecology” unique or different from just “ecology?”

1)The composition of the biological community including species, numbers, biomass, life history and distribution in space of populations. 2)The quantity and distribution of the abiotic (non-living) materials such as nutrients, water, etc. 3)The range, or gradient, of conditions of existence such as temperature, light, etc. Structure ???

1.The rate of biological energy flow through the ecosystem, that is, the rates of production and the rates of respiration of the populations and the community. 2.The rate of material or nutrient cycling, that is, the biogeochemical cycles. 3.The biological or ecological regulation including both regulation of organisms by environment and regulation of environment by organisms. Function ???

One way to assess impacts of urbanization is through: Biomonitoring of Water Quality along a Rural to Urban Gradient Gradient Analysis

BIOMONITORING Key This page was constructed by Allyson Via-Norton, Amy Maher, and Diane HoffmanAllyson Via-NortonAmy Maher All images are copyrighted - Jones & Bartlett Publishers Comments?

3 minutes of kicking

100 bugs per sample

Water Chemistry

Dissolved Oxygen Turbidity Conductivity Temperature

The Effects of Urbanization on Stream Water Quality Along an Urban-Rural Gradient Alexis Schoppe, Dickinson College