ABSTRACT
Urban biodiversity research and practice builds on a tradition of natural history studies of cities and fundamental and applied research on species composition, abundance, and distribution. Interest in the natural history of cities has incorporated recognition of the cultural, spiritual, and scientific value of species that occur across a range of built and natural spaces in urban areas. Formal research on urban biodiversity developed from the work of natural history societies and from ecological studies conducted during the first part of the 20th century. The development of urban biodiversity as a sub-discipline of urban ecology was connected to ecologists of the 1950s and 1960s, recognizing the value of studying the novel habitats that occurred in cities and how research in these settings could address broader questions about plant and animal communities. Applied research on urban biodiversity emerged in the 1970s in response to interest by conservation, planning, and design professionals to incorporate data on plant and animal species into the management of cities. The literature from these earlier studies addressed questions about the mechanisms shaping patterns of biodiversity in cities, the role of species life history in urban plant and animal communities, the importance of novel habitats and non-native species, and the role of socioeconomic factors in community assembly are relevant today and will be explored in other chapters in this book.
