Understanding Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services Across our Urban Landscapes

Speaker: Dr. Carly Ziter, Concordia University; Concordia University Research Chair in Urban Ecology and Sustainability

The current era of unprecedented urban growth has markedly changed ecosystem structure, function, and biodiversity, and consequently the ecosystem services that our health and wellbeing depend on. To work towards more sustainable, liveable cities, it is important to understand where there are opportunities to manage cities for increased biodiversity and ecosystem service provision – requiring an understanding of urban areas as spatially heterogeneous and temporally dynamic ecosystems. Drawing on synthesis, observational, and community science approaches, Dr. Ziter will discuss recent and ongoing research assessing the biodiversity of, and benefits provided by, urban greenspaces. Specific examples are drawn from empirical work in the mid-size city of Madison, Wisconsin, and the large city of Montreal, Quebec.