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Gentrification drives patterns of alpha and beta diversity in cities
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Gentrification drives patterns of alpha and beta diversity in cities

Mason Fidino, Heather A Sander, Jesse S Lewis, Elizabeth W Lehrer, Kimberly Rivera, Maureen H Murray, Henry C Adams, Anna Kase, Andrea Flores, Theodore Stankowich, …
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.121(17), e2318596121
04/23/2024
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2318596121
PMCID: PMC11047091
PMID: 38621142

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Abstract

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.
Animals Animals, Wild Biodiversity Cities Ecosystem Humans Mammals Residential Segregation

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