The Role of Urban Landscapes in Conservation Ecology

Abstract

Whether a plant is native or non-native has dramatic effects on the animals and microbes that can survive in a particular area. Native plants refer to those that originated in the place where found (not introduced by humans) and non-native plants refer to those that have been introduced by humans to an area outside of its original range. The specificity of these species interactions is largely due to the unique chemistry of each plant species and the evolution of the species involved in the interaction. I will share several research projects that we have done with undergraduates exploring plant-insect and plant-fungal interactions. I will connect this research to ongoing campus projects including the campus wetland restoration and the roles that urban landscapes have in supporting biodiversity, and improving air and water quality.