ABSTRACT
Conceptual models and frameworks of community assembly present series of abiotic and biotic filters through which organisms must pass, leading to the composition of local ecological communities. A rich body of literature exists on community assembly theory, but our understanding of the way in which humans influence community assembly at multiple spatiotemporal scales has only recently begun to be addressed in urban ecosystems. Much of the urban community assembly research has focused on filtering processes that drive biodiversity in urban areas. Here we introduce community assembly of urban ecosystems, briefly discuss the principal filters acting on species, traits that enable success in urban environments, and missing aspects of these frameworks. We recommend testing filters and refining existing conceptual frameworks as well as focusing on mechanistic studies to determine relative importance of different abiotic and biotic filters and how these change over time and space.
