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Hill et al 2016 GCB_Accepted.pdf (1.52 MB)

Urban ponds as an aquatic biodiversity resource in modified landscapes

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posted on 2016-08-16, 13:21 authored by Matthew J. Hill, Jeremy Biggs, Ian Thornhill, Robert A. Briers, David G. Gledhill, James C. White, Paul WoodPaul Wood, Christopher Hassall
Urbanization is a global process contributing to the loss and fragmentation of natural habitats. Many studies have focused on the biological response of terrestrial taxa and habitats to urbanization. However, little is known regarding the consequences of urbanization on freshwater habitats, especially small lentic systems. In this study, we examined aquatic macro-invertebrate diversity (family and species level) and variation in community composition between 240 urban and 782 nonurban ponds distributed across the United Kingdom. Contrary to predictions, urban ponds supported similar numbers of invertebrate species and families compared to nonurban ponds. Similar gamma diversity was found between the two groups at both family and species taxonomic levels. The biological communities of urban ponds were markedly different to those of nonurban ponds, and the variability in urban pond community composition was greater than that in nonurban ponds, contrary to previous work showing homogenization of communities in urban areas. Positive spatial autocorrelation was recorded for urban and nonurban ponds at 0–50 km (distance between pond study sites) and negative spatial autocorrelation was observed at 100–150 km and was stronger in urban ponds in both cases. Ponds do not follow the same ecological patterns as terrestrial and lotic habitats (reduced taxonomic richness) in urban environments; in contrast, they support high taxonomic richness and contribute significantly to regional faunal diversity. Individual cities are complex structural mosaics which evolve over long periods of time and are managed in diverse ways. This facilitates the development of a wide range of environmental conditions and habitat niches in urban ponds which can promote greater heterogeneity between pond communities at larger scales. Ponds provide an opportunity for managers and environmental regulators to conserve and enhance freshwater biodiversity in urbanized landscapes whilst also facilitating key ecosystem services including storm water storage and water treatment.

History

Department

  • Geography and Environment

Published in

Global Change Biology

Volume

23

Issue

3

Pages

986-999

Citation

HILL, M.J. ...et al., 2016. Urban ponds as an aquatic biodiversity resource in modified landscapes. Global Change Biology, 23 (3), pp. 986-999.

Publisher

© Wiley

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Publisher statement

This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Acceptance date

2016-06-06

Publication date

2016-08-01

Copyright date

2017

Notes

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: HILL, M.J. ...et al., 2016. Urban ponds as an aquatic biodiversity resource in modified landscapes. Global Change Biology, 23 (3), pp. 986-999., which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13401. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.

ISSN

1365-2486

Language

  • en

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