Incorporating human behaviors into theories of urban community assembly and species coexistence

Abstract

In cities, humans directly and indirectly affect plant and wildlife communities. These human–species interactions are not included in traditional ecological approaches used to understand why and how organisms are distributed. Here, we incorporate human behaviors into urban community assembly theories and detail all the complex ways humans affect the dispersal, selection and persistence of species in cities. To do this, we integrate human behaviors and actions into traditional filter frameworks used to study community assembly. We use our framework to develop testable hypotheses to predict patterns of urban diversity as well as pose key considerations for future research. In order to have a predictive understanding of how urban biodiversity responds to environmental, social and land use change, it is necessary to better understand interactions between humans and other organisms.