By Christine Rega (BES)
Greetings from one of the two urban LTER’s in Baltimore,
Maryland! This summer we are hosting a
variety of projects in “Charm City” across disciplines and institutions to
understand how urban ecosystems function and change over time. I thought I’d talk a bit about my
dissertation research, which falls within Baltimore
Ecosystem Study’s Biodiversity project, the goal of which to determine the
relationship between “forest patch origin, size class, and adjacent land use
type on species composition and abundance”.
The overarching goal of my research is to understand the
role of vacant lots within the network of urban greenspaces, specifically if
they are sustainable habitat sources for bird communities, within a
metacommunity framework. Baltimore has
been experiencing a 4.6% population decline over the past ten years, resulting
in over 17,000 parcels of vacant land.
This summer is my first field season out to these very interesting lots,
which range greatly in their composition and structure (below). My goals this season are to assess bird
communities in these lots, in addition to monitoring nests, determining body
condition values for American robins, and resighting color bands to determine
any movement between these sites.
Three vacant lots
across Baltimore City, varying in size,
vegetation composition, and degree of
urbanization.
Going into this study, I was expecting to see a ton of
European starlings and house sparrows, making for a relatively bland bird
community, but I’ve been amazed what I’ve been finding so far. Even though the season is half completed, I
have observed 42 species in these greenspaces, with surprises like great
crested flycatchers, great horned owl, and downy woodpeckers – all within small
lots (x̄
= 1.3 ha) surrounded by a sea of urbanization!
It’s a true testament to how important it is to provide greenspaces
throughout the city, even if they are vacant lots that have minimal management,
apart from the occasional mowing from the city.
Residents surrounding some sites even make it a priority to clean up
these lots, or establish a community garden, which may create even more
resources for urban birds.
Gray catbird (Dumetella
carolinensis) eggs and 1-day old
nestling;
European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) juvenile.
One of the greatest, and unexpected, joys of working within
an urban LTER is the interactions that I get to have on a daily basis with
inner-city Baltimore residents. Now, you
might think, “Huh, I wouldn’t particularly like to have a chat with people
portrayed in The Wire,” but the
experiences I’ve had couldn’t be further from HBO’s “truth”. It’s hopeful, from an urban wildlife
conservation standpoint, to see how people light up when they talk about the time
they saw a fox in their backyard, how they think it’s interesting how birds keep
territories, and how a group of residents are fighting to keep the greenspace the
next block over green. The extensive education
efforts of BES, and our partners with non-profit organization like Parks and People, will hopefully continue
to perpetuate these positive views of urban greenspaces and sustainability
while also bringing communities together.
Because BES projects are so tightly linked with the community, this
positive support from Baltimoreans will truly make this LTER successful.
Overall, the future of this research seems promising in the
city of the Ravens and Orioles. The City
of Baltimore just announced plans to demolish 1,500 vacant houses in the next
three years to create more vacant lands and community gardens. I hope that this will not only provide more
habitat for urban wildlife, but will also beautify the city and create greater
awareness for urban sustainability.
Contributed by:
Christine Rega
Baltimore Ecosystem Study
University of Missouri, Columbia
christinerega@mail.missouri.edu
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