Betula pendula is a short-lived tree that is often planted in urban environments due to its rapid growth and low ecological requirements. However, the Bet v 1 protein contained in its pollen is one of the main allergens in such environments, with a high variation in allergen content among individual trees. We investigated the factors driving variation in allergen content in individual birch trees in Bratislava and its surroundings. Bet v 1 levels in the pollen samples collected from 98 trees were determined by ELISA and statistically correlated with site- and tree-specific variables. We found that distance to the nearest water body and building shade were the strongest environmental predictors of pollen allergen content: greater distance from water bodies was associated with lower allergen content, while building shade was associated with higher allergen content. Other important parameters included building coverage in the area around the trunk, distance from the nearest road and building, and fungal infection. Significant variation in Bet v 1 concentrations was observed between urban and peri-urban/rural areas, with some differences among urban districts. The identified environmental parameters provide information about stress factors that cannot be directly measured for each tree, the most important being drought and heat/radiation stress. The findings are significant for the management of urban green spaces, highlighting the need for an individualised approach to reducing the allergenic potential of urban green zones.

Biodiversity conservation in cities is complicated by the many anthropogenic stressors and by climate change amplification in urban environments. Low-mobility taxa sensitive to soil sealing, pollution and drought, such as soil microarthropods, are especially vulnerable to the impacts of urbanization, and urban green areas are pivotal for their preservation. When planning management actions for urban soil fauna, however, it should be considered that local, landscape and climate variables may interact in complex ways. In this study, we sampled soil microarthropods in 15 urban green areas of Bologna, Northern Italy, testing how their communities were affected by local habitat (urban parks v. urban farms), soil clay content, percentage of green areas in the landscape and seasonality (dry v. wet season). In terms of abundance and diversity, soil fauna was more sensitive to the dry season in farms than in parks. Both the percentage of green areas and soil clay content, however, were able to partially buffer the impact of the dry season, likely because of temperature mitigation and improved soil moisture, respectively. Additionally, clay reduced soil biological quality in highly urbanized landscapes, possibly due to a higher level of contaminants, whose toxicity is amplified by clay. Finally, the morphological and molecular approaches used to characterize microarthropod taxonomic richness gave markedly different results, suggesting that these methods are complementary. Overall, our results underline the importance of a widespread network of green areas for the conservation of urban soil microarthropods in a climate change context, especially when considering urban farms and clay-rich soils.

Abstract Human-wildlife conflict is a major conservation concern worldwide that is projected to increase in frequency and intensity as urban centers expand. Urban residents can employ a number of nonlethal strategies to deter wildlife from their property and reduce conflict; however, some strategies may be more effective than others. We distributed an online questionnaire to residents in Tucson, Arizona, USA via neighborhood associations to (1) assess attitudes toward and conflict with three focal species: coyote ( Canis latrans ), bobcat ( Lynx rufus ), and collared peccary ( Pecari tajacu ), (2) identify which nonlethal deterrent strategies are most effective for each species, and (3) determine whether habitat fragmentation and degradation influence reported deterrence attempts. Despite the relatively high proportion of general complaints about these three species, we found that respondent attitudes toward each were largely positive. Likewise, a relatively small percentage of respondents reported attempts to deter each species from their property. We found that deterrent techniques used by residents varied in success depending on species, however, low sample sizes prevent a rigorous assessment of each technique’s efficacy. We did not find any relationship between proportion of deterrence attempts in respondent locations and percentage impervious surface cover, distance to nearest riparian corridor, or percentage impervious surface within the riparian corridor. Our results add to previous evidence that nonlethal strategies can be used to reduce human-wildlife conflict and show that such strategies may be successfully employed by urban residents. Our findings further highlight the importance of developing species-specific strategies that conform to the unique ecologies of each species.

Abstract Urbanization is one of the main drivers of forest fragmentation and habitat loss on a global scale. This process jeopardizes biodiversity by interrupting gene flow, decreasing genetic diversity and causing local extinction. In addition, it facilitates the occurrence of synanthropic species in urban ecosystems. The Nasutitermes corniger (Blattodea: Isoptera: Termitidae) is a native neotropical termite species with a large geographical distribution in both natural and urbanized ecosystems across the Neotropical Region, and is an important pest in many South American cities. This study aimed to evaluate the genetic diversity of 30 N. corniger colonies in remnant natural forest patches inside João Pessoa’s metropolitan urban matrix region (Northeast Brazil). Thus, four individuals (soldiers) from three colonies in 10 remnant habitat patches ( N = 120) were sampled, and subsequently, all the individuals were genotyped for four microsatellite loci. No reduction in genetic diversity was found due to the absence of population genetic structure and isolation by distance. However, moderate endogamy and heterozygous deficit in most subpopulations were observed, suggesting inbreeding. It is proposed that the maintenance of N. corniger genetic diversity in urbanized ecosystems is facilitated by its generalist diet, polydomous nesting behavior (polycalism), and facultative polygyny/polyandry during the colony maturation process. Thus, the high resilience of N. corniger and its permeability within the urban matrix present significant challenges to the effective planning of control and management strategies for its infestations in the medium and long term.

Noisy environments tend to mask sounds and disrupt animal behaviour. One of the most common responses from many animal species to noise is leaving or avoiding the noisiest parts of their ranges. Individuals may alter their movement patterns, either rapidly moving away or changing routes in response to increased noise levels. Here, we tested whether urban-dwelling pied tamarins (Saguinus bicolor): (1) preferentially used quieter areas within their home range, (2) increase travel speed, and (3) alter routes to avoid noise levels. To achieve this, we followed nine pied tamarin groups in five forest fragments within the city of Manaus, Brazil, recording their locations and levels of associated ambient noise levels. We also estimated fruit availability at random points within the group’s home ranges. We found that pied tamarins use the quieter areas of their ranges more intensively, but only if the fruit availability is high. Furthermore, groups did not increase their travel speed or change turning angles in response to noise alone, but travel speed increase in noisier areas closer to the border of their home ranges. Thus, pied tamarins do seem to use the quieter areas of their home ranges, but do not hurry to reach them unless their location lies closer to their home range borders. This may occur because higher noise levels at home-range borders could diminish intergroup communication effectiveness. In general, we found that pied tamarin’s use of space and movement patterns are soundscape-related but mediated by resource availability and social aspects.