Speaker
Description
Urbanization is a major driver of biodiversity loss, with arthropods—critical to ecosystem functioning—facing significant declines in biomass and abundance as cities expand.
Previous studies showed that while all insect groups are declining in abundance not all species are declining in regards to biomass. A variety of biotic and abiotic factors have a different impact on different species based on their way of life. This explains why some species are able to gain in biomass and geographic occurrence while others disappear completely.
In this project we looked at urban arthropod communities and how urbanisation (measured as impervious surface), temperature and moisture impacted them while simultaneously developing new molecular methods for non-destructive DNA extraction from tapping liquid that can be easily integrated into citizen science projects. The citizen scientists (local schools and pupils) participated in sample collection, ecological data recording, and arthropod identification. Engaging local communities in conservation efforts is essential in creating urban habitats for arthropod communities. We found that that urbanization had a significant negative impact on arthropod biodiversity, while abundance showed a negative, if non-significant trend. The impact of temperature and moisture differed between the taxonomic groups suggesting different requirements of abiotic factors. Molecular analyses demonstrated successful DNA extraction from preservative liquid, though as expected, DNA concentrations were lower than destructive bulk methods.
Finally, this project provided ecological insights into how urbanization negatively affects arthropod communities and the benefit that unsealed areas would provide to local biodiversity, while also motivating children to be active participants in research, engaging them in biodiversity and teaching them about the scientific process.
| Status Group | Other |
|---|---|
| Poster Presentation Option | Undecided/No preference |
