by M Pećarević, J Danoff-Burg, RR Dunn
Resource Type: Journal article
Source: PLoS ONE 2010
Grades: Middle School and High School
Can a tiny patch of grass in the middle of a busy city street support an entire ecosystem? To find out, researchers sampled ants living in 44 street medians across Manhattan. They discovered 13 different ant species, including both native and introduced species, living in these narrow strips of green surrounded by traffic. Larger medians supported more species, but surprisingly many other features that seemed important—like the number of trees or plant species—had little effect on overall diversity. The study shows that even the smallest pieces of urban green space can support wildlife. It turns out that some of the most interesting ecosystems in a city may be hiding in plain sight.
Phenomena:
Biodiversity
Habitat
Human impacts on environment
Native species
DCIs:
LS2.A: Interdependent relationships in ecosystems
LS2.C: Ecosystems dynamics, functioning, and resilience
LS4.D: Biodiversity and humans
Notes:
- Excellent introduction to urban ecology using a familiar insect.
- Challenges the assumption that cities have little biodiversity.
- Figure 1 provides a great map of the study locations across Manhattan.
- Figure 2 is useful for discussing how habitat size can influence biodiversity.
- Good opportunity for students to survey insects in their own schoolyard or neighborhood and compare habitats.
Driving questions:
- Why would ants live in the middle of a busy city street?
- Do you think larger patches of habitat always support more species? Why or why not?
- How small can a habitat be and still support biodiversity?
- How might native and introduced species survive together in cities?
- If you were designing a city street, what features would you include to support wildlife?
Topics: ants, habitat, habitat fragmentation, introduced species, native species, street trees, and urban biodiversity
Features: field study, interactive map, line graph, and statistical tests