Conservation of habitat fragments, including those embedded in an urban matrix which typically support fewer species than those in other landscape contexts, is important for combatting the global extinction crisis. Because urban avoiding species are often absent from habitat fragments within an urban matrix, studies of their distributions in these habitats are rare, and therefore the mechanisms by which species are excluded from habitat fragments within an urban matrix are poorly understood. We investigated the impacts of urbanization in the matrix (e.g., noise pollution, light pollution, invasive species) on the distribution of an urban avoiding species, the swamp rabbit ( Sylvilagus aquaticus ) in the largest urban forest fragment in the United States. We used the location of swamp rabbit latrines and presence‐background species distribution modeling to reveal the impacts of urbanization in the matrix on swamp rabbit distribution while accounting for spatial heterogeneity in naturally occurring environmental variables. Swamp rabbits used mature forest, heterogeneously structured forest, and moderately inundated forest, and they avoided areas of high (Sus scrofa) hog activity at our study site. Our findings provide novel information to conservation practitioners and urban planners attempting to conserve high priority species in habitat fragments as urbanization continues to spread.

There is a general expectation that urban populations will be fragmented and the movement of individuals will be restricted leading to low effective population sizes, low genetic diversity, higher inbreeding, and higher differentiation than populations living in more continuous habitat. In this study, we compare the genetic diversity and differentiation of Texas horned lizards that are found in four small towns (Kenedy, Karnes City, Rockdale, and Smithville) in Texas and at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma to populations that occur in 16 natural areas and to an introduced population in South Carolina. We also present more detailed spatial genetic data and home range data for several of the towns. Texas horned lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) living in small towns have lower genetic diversity, higher differentiation, and smaller effective population sizes than populations located in more natural areas. There was evidence for human‐mediated movement of lizards into town; however, it has not been enough to counteract the effects of drift. Home range size is smaller in town than in more natural areas. Genetic patterns suggest dispersal occurs over short distances and is inhibited across areas with a high percent of impervious surface and major roads. These data suggest that effective planning to maintain suitable habitat and corridors to facilitate movement is critical to maintaining small terrestrial species like the Texas horned lizard and must be integrated into the early stages of urban development.

Urbanization dramatically modifies landscapes, fragments habitats, and is spreading rapidly. Urbanization can inhibit gene flow in a variety of species, but identifying the impact of specific landscape features on gene flow is difficult without prior knowledge of which landscape features may represent barriers to dispersal. We employed a landscape genetics approach to investigate the effects of urbanization on dispersal and gene flow in the swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus), a forest‐obligate species, within the largest urban forest fragment in the United States, the Great Trinity Forest (GTF) in Dallas, TX. We employed a range of spatially explicit genetic analyses to investigate how landscape features, such as roads and the urban matrix, influence dispersal. We used noninvasive techniques to obtain 367 swamp rabbit fecal DNA samples representing 80 individuals from 2019 to 2021. We used traditional population genetics approaches, including STRUCTURE, F_ST, and genetic spatial autocorrelation, to quantify genetic differentiation within our study population. We then employed a resistance to dispersal mapping landscape genetics approach to link observed genetic differentiation in swamp rabbits to specific landscape features. Global F'_ST (0.182) showed significant subdivision within the population, and spatial autocorrelation analysis showed that individuals were genetically more similar than expected at distances under 3000 m and less similar than expected at distances over 7000 m. An examination of the spatial relationships between isolation by distance (IBD) residuals and urban landscape features revealed that the urban matrix inhibited gene flow, and groups of individuals separated by large highways were less related than expected based on the population's IBD trend. Swamp rabbits in the GTF, a single large and continuous forest fragment, showed equivalent genetic differentiation to other small mammals in widely disparate habitat fragments, revealing that even the largest urban habitat fragments may be unable to conserve urban‐avoiding species when they are bisected by highways and surrounded by a dense urban matrix.

Predator-prey dynamics are fundamental in shaping and regulating wildlife communities; however, these relationships are often altered by urbanization. An urban predation paradox, where predation rates are lower in urban areas despite an increase in predator abundance, has been observed in some predator communities. We looked for evidence of an urban predation paradox in a raptor community in a large urban forest fragment in north Texas, USA. From May–August 2019, we conducted weekly raptor surveys and deployed prey mimics along an urban-to-rural gradient within the forest fragment. We examined relationships between predation rates on mimics, predator abundance, and urbanization intensity using a variety of statistical tests. We detected 161 raptors representing eight species and found that raptor activity was significantly higher in our low urbanization sites. Of the 732 prey mimics deployed, 61 were attacked, and we found no relationship between predation rates and urbanization. Furthermore, we found no relationship between raptor activity and depredation events. Although we failed to find evidence for an urban predation paradox, our results showed a decoupling of the relationship between the abundance of predators and prey in this urban setting. The use of prey mimics is a useful tool for assessing predator-prey dynamics, and more research is necessary to fully understand the impacts of urbanization on this important ecological process.