Jules Petrenko MSc Student, Bonier Lab Do urban environments ameliorate range-limiting challenges for urban-tolerant species? Species’ distributions are constrained by challenges which usually increase in severity approaching the range edge. While urban environments might generally be expected to exacerbate such range-limiting challenges, some urban-tolerant species take advantage of the opportunities provided by cities, and persist in urban areas. For these urban-tolerant species, cities might ameliorate range-limiting challenges; however, no direct tests of this hypothesis exist. To test how urban environments affect urban-tolerant species’ distributions, I will compare the relative abundance of North American, urban-tolerant bird species across their distributions in both urban and nonurban habitats. I will use a large community science dataset (eBird Status & Trends Products) to quantify the relative abundance of each species in approaching climatic and geographic range edges of its distribution, in urban compared to nonurban habitats. If cities do ameliorate range-limiting challenges, then species abundance will decline less approaching the range edge in urban habitat, relative to nonurban habitat. Alternatively, if cities do not affect or exacerbate range-limiting challenges, then species abundance will decline at a similar rate or even more steeply approaching the range edge in urban habitat, relative to nonurban habitat. By examining whether relative abundance differs in urban compared to nonurban habitats at the range edge, I will identify whether urban environments provide enough advantages for urban-tolerant species to support persistence among range-limiting challenges. This insight into the effects of urban environments on range limits can increase our understanding of how anthropogenic environments influence species’ distributions.
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