As the world becomes more urbanized, habitats are becoming more fragmented. This makes it all the more important to maintain connectivity, especially for rare species that might be most at risk for becoming isolated and disappearing.
Protecting and connecting green spaces in urban areas is one way to take advantage of limited natural areas in human-dominated landscapes. This can be a challenge, though, given the fast rate that natural areas are disappearing in urban areas, the limited space to expand natural areas that do exist, and the need for quick decision-making on the part of stakeholders.
McCluskey, E.M., Kuzma, F.C., Enander, H.D., Cole‐Wick, A., Coury, M., Cuthrell, D.L., Johnson, C., Kelso, M., Lee, Y.M., Methner, D. and Rowe, L. 2024. Assessing habitat connectivity of rare species to inform urban conservation planning. Ecology and Evolution, 14(3), p.e11105.
So how do you go about protecting and connecting rare species in urban areas – or even finding suitable habitat in the first place? While there’s no single guide for planning and management, a recent study provides a template for taking steps to find suitable habitat for rare species in urban areas and to keep them connected through urban to rural areas.
The study accomplishes two goals, through a focus on habitat suitability and connectivity for nine rare species (three turtles, two snakes, two insects, one bird, and one bat) within four urban regions across Michigan.
First, it provides a blueprint for taking a multi-species, multi-site approach to connectivity in urban areas. The approach, which combines species distribution models with four types of connectivity tools (Fragstats, Grahpab, Linkage Mapper, and Cicuistcape), makes it possible to determine the extent of habitat fragmentation for rare species that remain in urban areas, and to map movement corridors along an urban-rural gradient. It also quantifies the importance of urban protected areas, with a focus on how well the Natural Features Protection Plan in the city of Kalamzaoo presents opportunities for immediate habitat protection of rare species and identifies potential future expansions of the protected area network.
Second, it provides a broad spectrum of information specific to Michigan that also can be directly applied to municipalities interested in conservation planning. For example, across the four study regions, there were moderate to high percentages (~40% – 75%) of suitable habitat within urban areas for most species. However, most major movement corridors fell outside the urban boundaries, highlighting how protecting connectivity between urban and rural landscapes is one key component of conservation.
Species-specific results emphasize taxonomic differences: turtle species consistently had more suitable habitat at each site than other species, while grassland and prairie-associated species had the least amount of suitable habitat at each site. Riparian habitats were key corridors throughout the urban landscapes, at times acting as the only linkages between fragmented habitats in highly disturbed areas.
Managing for wildlife in urban areas is challenging, even more so when population numbers are low and/or declining. Understanding how to protect and connect urban areas for rare species, as well as understanding the expected outcomes of implemented plans, can be a big step toward preserving biodiversity.
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