Variation in species-specific responses to habitat fragmentation and land cover structure in urban small mammal communities.

ABSTRACT: Urbanization is a key driver of habitat loss and fragmentation worldwide, yet many urban ecosystems contain vegetated habitat patches that support diverse wildlife communities. Managing urban systems to support robust wildlife communities requires us to understand the mechanisms that drive the response of species to the urban environment. Small mammals are key components of terrestrial ecosystems (e.g., seed predators, prey) and likely also carry out these roles in urban ecosystems; however, the effects of urbanization on small mammal communities are understudied. To identify how species-specific responses to urban environments shape community composition, we quantified both overall community and species-specific changes in small mammal abundance across an urbanization gradient in a Midwes

SUBMITTER: Larson RN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11933276 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature