Urban Ecology

Urban environments are the fastest expanding environment on the globe. Most ecological research has focused on natural environments, often in remote areas of the globe. What little research has occurred in urban areas tends to take place in the periphery focusing on what is lost or has changed. We know very little about what occurs in the center of the concrete jungle. In some ways, the ecosystems in which most humans spend most of their time are among the least understood on Earth. Recent findings suggest that urban environments are not all doom and gloom but rather the home of thriving communities, and often the place most people now encounter wildlife. My research is currently focusing on what occurs in our "backyard" and where these species and communities come from.