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Urban Wildlife Science in Coupled Human–Natural Systems

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Urban Wildlife conservation

Abstract

Coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) are defined as systems in which human and natural components interact. Nowhere is this coupling as intense as in cities, and therefore, urban wildlife is distinguished from other wildlife by the increased level of interaction with people and human modified environments. Efforts to understand urban wildlife ecology therefore require explicit consideration of interactions and feedback between social and natural systems. In this chapter, we describe the dominant models developed for conceptualizing CHANS, and explain key principles for urban wildlife science that emerge from a perspective rooted in CHANS.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This is closely linked to the ecosystem engineer concept introduced by Jones et al. (1994).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts—Amherst, Amherst, USA

    Michael W. Strohbach & Paige S. Warren

  2. Humboldt University, Department of Geography, Unter den Linden 6, 10099, Berlin, Germany

    Michael W. Strohbach

  3. Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Program, North Carolina State University, 27695-7646, Raleigh, NC, USA

    M. Nils Peterson

Authors
  1. Michael W. Strohbach
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  2. Paige S. Warren
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  3. M. Nils Peterson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael W. Strohbach .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA

    Robert A. McCleery

  2. Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

    Christopher E. Moorman

  3. Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

    M. Nils Peterson

Appendices

Conclusion

The complexity of human societies, of urban forms, and of the dynamic relationships between humans and their surrounding biota make cities particularly challenging to study. Any attempt to understand the spatial and temporal dynamics of urban wildlife populations and communities is incomplete without recognition that they are embedded in these complex coupled systems. Conceptual models of CHANS (e.g., Fig. 3.1) provide valuable heuristic tools for understanding the components of urban ecosystems and the interconnections within these ecosystems and with surrounding environments. The lessons of history tell us that managing urban ecosystems without recognition of their complexity is a perilous endeavor. The principles of CHANS provide a starting place for pursuing an understanding of how the coupled nature of urban systems influences wildlife. Our brief summary of these principles has revealed many avenues where additional research is needed to illuminate the dynamics of wildlife in urban systems.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. Eric Strauss and Courtney McCammon from the LMU Center for Urban Resilience for the discussion on coyotes and the coyote photo. Support for M.W.S. came from the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station and the Department of Environmental Conservation under Project No. MAS009584, paper number 3468 and the National Science Foundation under Grant No. BCS-0948984. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendation expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF).

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Strohbach, M., Warren, P., Peterson, M. (2014). Urban Wildlife Science in Coupled Human–Natural Systems. In: McCleery, R., Moorman, C., Peterson, M. (eds) Urban Wildlife conservation. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7500-3_3

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