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Briony Norton
Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby DE22 1GB, UK

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Review
Published: 04 April 2021 in Sustainability
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The benefits of nature for our health have been an increasing research focus in recent years. In the context of a global increase in mental health diagnoses, the potential health benefits of nature have attracted attention. One practical nature treatment is to walk in nature. However, evidence for this practice on mental health has not been comprehensively appraised to date. This systematic review synthesized the effects of nature walks for depression and anxiety, and evaluated the methodological rigor of studies. Academic databases including ProQuest, PsycINFO, Science Direct, and Google Scholar were utilized to identify eligible articles, which were examined using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Of 385 articles initially retrieved, 12 studies met all the eligibility criteria (nine pre-post within-subject studies, two quasi-experimental studies, and one experimental between-subjects study). These studies demonstrated that nature walks were effective for state anxiety but not generalized anxiety and the effects for depression were inconsistent. Findings indicate that nature walks may be effective for mental health, especially for reducing state anxiety. However, the quality of the included studies varied, and sample sizes were small, suggesting a need for more rigorous and large-scale research.

ACS Style

Yasuhiro Kotera; Melinda Lyons; Katia Vione; Briony Norton. Effect of Nature Walks on Depression and Anxiety: A Systematic Review. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4015 .

AMA Style

Yasuhiro Kotera, Melinda Lyons, Katia Vione, Briony Norton. Effect of Nature Walks on Depression and Anxiety: A Systematic Review. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (7):4015.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yasuhiro Kotera; Melinda Lyons; Katia Vione; Briony Norton. 2021. "Effect of Nature Walks on Depression and Anxiety: A Systematic Review." Sustainability 13, no. 7: 4015.

Journal article
Published: 22 January 2021 in Journal of Urban Ecology
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Living in urban environments can leave people disconnected from nature and less likely to engage with biodiversity conservation. Within urban areas, residential gardens can occupy large proportions of greenspace and provide important habitat for biodiversity. Understanding the views and knowledge of garden owners who have collective responsibility for managing these areas is therefore important. We aimed to understand how urban garden owners understand biodiversity. We surveyed garden owners in Derby, UK, across 20 census output areas spanning a socioeconomic spectrum. Residents were asked to explain their understanding of ‘biodiversity’ in a short definition format. Responses were classified using thematic and word frequency analyses. Of 255 respondents, approximately one-third were unable to provide a definition. Themes that emerged in frequency order were as follows: variety of species or environments, coexistence of organisms, conservation of nature, a synonym for habitat and uncommon answers not clearly related to biodiversity. Members of wildlife or gardening charities and people with higher levels of formal education were more likely to provide definitions in line with formal definitions. We detected no difference between keen and less keen gardeners and little association between definitions and gardening for wildlife behaviours. These short-form responses captured many themes longer and/or qualitative assessments have identified, illustrating a diversity and depth of understanding of the concepts of biodiversity, without necessarily adhering to the formal definition. Given the variety of understanding, at this critical period, technical terms, even common ones, should be used with an open mind about how people interpret and act on them.

ACS Style

Briony A Norton; Bowen Shang; Andrew D Ramsey; David Sheffield. Definitions of biodiversity from urban gardeners. Journal of Urban Ecology 2021, 7, 1 .

AMA Style

Briony A Norton, Bowen Shang, Andrew D Ramsey, David Sheffield. Definitions of biodiversity from urban gardeners. Journal of Urban Ecology. 2021; 7 (1):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Briony A Norton; Bowen Shang; Andrew D Ramsey; David Sheffield. 2021. "Definitions of biodiversity from urban gardeners." Journal of Urban Ecology 7, no. 1: 1.

Journal article
Published: 20 March 2020 in Scientific Reports
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There is increasing interest in urban food production for reasons of food security, environmental sustainability, social and health benefits. In developed nations urban food growing is largely informal and localised, in gardens, allotments and public spaces, but we know little about the magnitude of this production. Here we couple own-grown crop yield data with garden and allotment areal surveys and urban fruit tree occurrence to provide one of the first estimates for current and potential food production in a UK urban setting. Current production is estimated to be sufficient to supply the urban population with fruit and vegetables for about 30 days per year, while the most optimistic model results suggest that existing land cultivated for food could supply over half of the annual demand. Our findings provide a baseline for current production whilst highlighting the potential for change under the scaling up of cultivation on existing land.

ACS Style

Darren R. Grafius; Jill L. Edmondson; Briony Norton; Rachel Clark; Meghann Mears; Jonathan R. Leake; Ron Corstanje; Jim Harris; Philip H. Warren. Estimating food production in an urban landscape. Scientific Reports 2020, 10, 1 -9.

AMA Style

Darren R. Grafius, Jill L. Edmondson, Briony Norton, Rachel Clark, Meghann Mears, Jonathan R. Leake, Ron Corstanje, Jim Harris, Philip H. Warren. Estimating food production in an urban landscape. Scientific Reports. 2020; 10 (1):1-9.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Darren R. Grafius; Jill L. Edmondson; Briony Norton; Rachel Clark; Meghann Mears; Jonathan R. Leake; Ron Corstanje; Jim Harris; Philip H. Warren. 2020. "Estimating food production in an urban landscape." Scientific Reports 10, no. 1: 1-9.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2020 in Journal of Urban Ecology
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Green roofs are increasingly promoted for urban biodiversity conservation, but the value of these novel habitats is uncertain. We aimed to test two hypotheses: (i) green roofs can support comparable invertebrate family and order richness, composition and abundances to ground-level habitats and (ii) green roofs planted with native species from local habitats will support a richer invertebrate community at family and order level than other green roofs. We sampled the invertebrate community on green roofs dominated by native grassland or introduced succulent species in Melbourne, Australia, and compared these to the invertebrate community in ground-level sites close by, and sites with similar vegetation types. The only significant differences between the invertebrate communities sampled on green roofs and ground-level habitats were total abundance and fly family richness, which were higher in ground-level habitats. Second hypothesis was not supported as invertebrate communities on green roofs supporting a local vegetation community and those planted with introduced Sedum and other succulents were not detectably different at family level. The per cent cover of green space surrounding each site was consistently important in predicting the richness and abundance of the invertebrate families we focussed on, while roof height, site age and size were influential for some taxa. Our results suggest that invertebrate communities of green roofs in Melbourne are driven largely by their surrounding environment and consequently the effectiveness of green roofs as invertebrate habitat is highly dependent on location and their horizontal and vertical connection to other habitats.

ACS Style

Jacinda R Dromgold; Caragh G Threlfall; Briony Norton; Nicholas S G Williams. Green roof and ground-level invertebrate communities are similar and are driven by building height and landscape context. Journal of Urban Ecology 2020, 6, 1 .

AMA Style

Jacinda R Dromgold, Caragh G Threlfall, Briony Norton, Nicholas S G Williams. Green roof and ground-level invertebrate communities are similar and are driven by building height and landscape context. Journal of Urban Ecology. 2020; 6 (1):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jacinda R Dromgold; Caragh G Threlfall; Briony Norton; Nicholas S G Williams. 2020. "Green roof and ground-level invertebrate communities are similar and are driven by building height and landscape context." Journal of Urban Ecology 6, no. 1: 1.

Articles
Published: 07 June 2019 in Ecological Applications
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There are increasing calls to provide greenspace in urban areas, yet the ecological quality, as well as quantity, of greenspace is important. Short mown grassland designed for recreational use is the dominant form of urban greenspace in temperate regions but requires considerable maintenance and typically provides limited habitat value for most taxa. Alternatives are increasingly proposed, but the biodiversity potential of these is not well understood. In a replicated experiment across six public urban greenspaces we used nine different perennial meadow plantings to quantify the relative roles of floristic diversity and height of sown meadows on the richness and composition of three taxonomic groups – plants, invertebrates and soil microbes. We found that all meadow treatments were colonised by plant species not sown in the plots, suggesting that establishing sown meadows does not preclude further locally determined grassland development if management is appropriate. Colonising species were rarer in taller and more diverse plots, indicating competition may limit invasion rates. Urban meadow treatments contained invertebrate and microbial communities that differed from mown grassland. Invertebrate taxa responded to changes in both height and richness of meadow vegetation, but most orders were more abundant where vegetation height was longer than mown grassland. Order richness also increased in longer vegetation and Coleoptera family richness increased with plant diversity in summer. Microbial community composition seems sensitive to plant species composition at the soil surface (0–10 cm), but in deeper soils (11–20 cm) community variation was most responsive to plant height, with bacteria and fungi responding differently. In addition to improving local residents’ satisfaction, native perennial meadow plantings can produce biologically diverse grasslands that support richer and more abundant invertebrate communities, and restructured plant, invertebrate and soil microbial communities compared with short mown grassland. Our results suggest that diversification of urban greenspace by planting urban meadows in place of some mown amenity grassland is likely to generate substantial biodiversity benefits, with a mosaic of meadow types likely to maximise such benefits. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

ACS Style

Briony A. Norton; Gary Bending; Rachel Clark; Ron Corstanje; Nigel Dunnett; Karl L. Evans; Darren Grafius; Emily Gravestock; Samuel M. Grice; Jim Harris; Sally Hilton; Helen Hoyle; Edward Lim; Theresa G. Mercer; Mark Pawlett; Oliver L. Pescott; J. Paul Richards; Georgina E. Southon; Philip H. Warren. Urban meadows as an alternative to short mown grassland: effects of composition and height on biodiversity. Ecological Applications 2019, 29, e01946 .

AMA Style

Briony A. Norton, Gary Bending, Rachel Clark, Ron Corstanje, Nigel Dunnett, Karl L. Evans, Darren Grafius, Emily Gravestock, Samuel M. Grice, Jim Harris, Sally Hilton, Helen Hoyle, Edward Lim, Theresa G. Mercer, Mark Pawlett, Oliver L. Pescott, J. Paul Richards, Georgina E. Southon, Philip H. Warren. Urban meadows as an alternative to short mown grassland: effects of composition and height on biodiversity. Ecological Applications. 2019; 29 (6):e01946.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Briony A. Norton; Gary Bending; Rachel Clark; Ron Corstanje; Nigel Dunnett; Karl L. Evans; Darren Grafius; Emily Gravestock; Samuel M. Grice; Jim Harris; Sally Hilton; Helen Hoyle; Edward Lim; Theresa G. Mercer; Mark Pawlett; Oliver L. Pescott; J. Paul Richards; Georgina E. Southon; Philip H. Warren. 2019. "Urban meadows as an alternative to short mown grassland: effects of composition and height on biodiversity." Ecological Applications 29, no. 6: e01946.

Journal article
Published: 30 May 2019 in Landscape and Urban Planning
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The ability to predict spatial variation in biodiversity is a long-standing but elusive objective of landscape ecology. It depends on a detailed understanding of relationships between landscape and patch structure and taxonomic richness, and accurate spatial modelling. Complex heterogeneous environments such as cities pose particular challenges, as well as heightened relevance, given the increasing rate of urbanisation globally. Here we use a GIS-linked Bayesian Belief Network approach to test whether landscape and patch structural characteristics (including vegetation height, green-space patch size and their connectivity) drive measured taxonomic richness of numerous invertebrate, plant, and avian groups. We find that modelled richness is typically higher in larger and better-connected green-spaces with taller vegetation, indicative of more complex vegetation structure and consistent with the principle of ‘bigger, better, and more joined up’. Assessing the relative importance of these variables indicates that vegetation height is the most influential in determining richness for a majority of taxa. There is variation, however, between taxonomic groups in the relationships between richness and landscape structural characteristics, and the sensitivity of these relationships to particular predictors. Consequently, despite some broad commonalities, there will be trade-offs between different taxonomic groups when designing urban landscapes to maximise biodiversity. This research demonstrates the feasibility of using a GIS-coupled Bayesian Belief Network approach to model biodiversity at fine spatial scales in complex landscapes where current data and appropriate modelling approaches are lacking, and our findings have important implications for ecologists, conservationists and planners.

ACS Style

Darren R. Grafius; Ron Corstanje; Philip H. Warren; Karl L. Evans; Briony Norton; Gavin M. Siriwardena; Oliver L. Pescott; Kate E. Plummer; Meghann Mears; Joanna Zawadzka; J. Paul Richards; Jim Harris. Using GIS-linked Bayesian Belief Networks as a tool for modelling urban biodiversity. Landscape and Urban Planning 2019, 189, 382 -395.

AMA Style

Darren R. Grafius, Ron Corstanje, Philip H. Warren, Karl L. Evans, Briony Norton, Gavin M. Siriwardena, Oliver L. Pescott, Kate E. Plummer, Meghann Mears, Joanna Zawadzka, J. Paul Richards, Jim Harris. Using GIS-linked Bayesian Belief Networks as a tool for modelling urban biodiversity. Landscape and Urban Planning. 2019; 189 ():382-395.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Darren R. Grafius; Ron Corstanje; Philip H. Warren; Karl L. Evans; Briony Norton; Gavin M. Siriwardena; Oliver L. Pescott; Kate E. Plummer; Meghann Mears; Joanna Zawadzka; J. Paul Richards; Jim Harris. 2019. "Using GIS-linked Bayesian Belief Networks as a tool for modelling urban biodiversity." Landscape and Urban Planning 189, no. : 382-395.

Journal article
Published: 01 September 2018 in Landscape and Urban Planning
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There is increasing evidence of the benefits of introducing urban meadows as an alternative to amenity mown grass in public greenspaces, both for biodiversity, and human wellbeing. Developing a better understanding of the meadow characteristics driving human and wildlife response is therefore critical. We addressed this by assessing public and invertebrate response to eight different annual meadow mixes defined by two levels of plant species diversity and two levels of colour diversity, sown in an urban park in Luton, UK, in April 2015. On-site questionnaires with the visiting public were conducted in July, August and September 2015. Invertebrate responses were assessed via contemporaneous visual surveys and one sweep net survey (August 2015). Flower colour diversity had effects on human aesthetic response and the response of pollinators such as bumblebees and hoverflies. Plant species diversity, however, was not a driver of human response with evidence that people used colour diversity as a cue to assessing species diversity. Plant species diversity did affect some invertebrates, with higher abundances of certain taxa in low species diversity meadows. Our findings indicate that if the priority for sown meadows is to maximise human aesthetic enjoyment and the abundance and diversity of observable invertebrates, particularly pollinators, managers of urban green infrastructure should prioritise high flower colour diversity mixes over those of high plant species diversity. Incorporating late-flowering non-native species such as Coreopsis tinctoria (plains coreopsis) can prolong the attractiveness of the meadows for people and availability of resources for pollinators and would therefore be beneficial.

ACS Style

Helen Hoyle; Briony Norton; Nigel Dunnett; J. Paul Richards; Jean M. Russell; Philip Warren. Plant species or flower colour diversity? Identifying the drivers of public and invertebrate response to designed annual meadows. Landscape and Urban Planning 2018, 180, 103 -113.

AMA Style

Helen Hoyle, Briony Norton, Nigel Dunnett, J. Paul Richards, Jean M. Russell, Philip Warren. Plant species or flower colour diversity? Identifying the drivers of public and invertebrate response to designed annual meadows. Landscape and Urban Planning. 2018; 180 ():103-113.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Helen Hoyle; Briony Norton; Nigel Dunnett; J. Paul Richards; Jean M. Russell; Philip Warren. 2018. "Plant species or flower colour diversity? Identifying the drivers of public and invertebrate response to designed annual meadows." Landscape and Urban Planning 180, no. : 103-113.

Journal article
Published: 21 November 2016 in Current Landscape Ecology Reports
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Effective planning for biodiversity in cities and towns is increasingly important as urban areas and their human populations grow, both to achieve conservation goals and because ecological communities support services on which humans depend. Landscape ecology provides important frameworks for understanding and conserving urban biodiversity both within cities and considering whole cities in their regional context, and has played an important role in the development of a substantial and expanding body of knowledge about urban landscapes and communities. Characteristics of the whole city including size, overall amount of green space, age and regional context are important considerations for understanding and planning for biotic assemblages at the scale of entire cities, but have received relatively little research attention. Studies of biodiversity within cities are more abundant and show that longstanding principles regarding how patch size, configuration and composition influence biodiversity apply to urban areas as they do in other habitats. However, the fine spatial scales at which urban areas are fragmented and the altered temporal dynamics compared to non-urban areas indicate a need to apply hierarchical multi-scalar landscape ecology models to urban environments. Transferring results from landscape-scale urban biodiversity research into planning remains challenging, not least because of the requirements for urban green space to provide multiple functions. An increasing array of tools is available to meet this challenge and increasingly requires ecologists to work with planners to address biodiversity challenges. Biodiversity conservation and enhancement is just one strand in urban planning, but is increasingly important in a rapidly urbanising world.

ACS Style

Briony A. Norton; Karl L. Evans; Philip H. Warren. Urban Biodiversity and Landscape Ecology: Patterns, Processes and Planning. Current Landscape Ecology Reports 2016, 1, 178 -192.

AMA Style

Briony A. Norton, Karl L. Evans, Philip H. Warren. Urban Biodiversity and Landscape Ecology: Patterns, Processes and Planning. Current Landscape Ecology Reports. 2016; 1 (4):178-192.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Briony A. Norton; Karl L. Evans; Philip H. Warren. 2016. "Urban Biodiversity and Landscape Ecology: Patterns, Processes and Planning." Current Landscape Ecology Reports 1, no. 4: 178-192.

Original research
Published: 09 September 2016 in Ecology and Evolution
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Recent research has demonstrated how scavenging, the act of consuming dead animals, plays a key role in ecosystem structure, functioning, and stability. A growing number of studies suggest that vertebrate scavengers also provide key ecosystem services, the benefits humans gain from the natural world, particularly in the removal of carcasses from the environment. An increasing proportion of the human population is now residing in cities and towns, many of which, despite being highly altered environments, contain significant wildlife populations, and so animal carcasses. Indeed, non‐predation fatalities may be higher within urban than natural environments. Despite this, the fate of carcasses in urban environments and the role vertebrate scavengers play in their removal have not been determined. In this study, we quantify the role of vertebrate scavengers in urban environments in three towns in the UK. Using experimentally deployed rat carcasses and rapid fire motion‐triggered cameras, we determined which species were scavenging and how removal of carcass biomass was partitioned between them. Of the 63 experimental carcasses deployed, vertebrate scavenger activity was detected at 67%. There was a significantly greater depletion in carcass biomass in the presence (mean loss of 194 g) than absence (mean loss of 14 g) of scavengers. Scavenger activity was restricted to three species, Carrion crows Corvus corone, Eurasian magpies Pica pica, and European red foxes Vulpes vulpes. From behavioral analysis, we estimated that a maximum of 73% of the carcass biomass was removed by vertebrate scavengers. Despite having low species richness, the urban scavenger community in our urban study system removed a similar proportion of carcasses to those reported in more pristine environments. Vertebrate scavengers are providing a key urban ecosystem service in terms of carcass removal. This service is, however, often overlooked, and the species that provide it are among some of the most disliked and persecuted.

ACS Style

Richard Inger; Daniel T. C. Cox; Esra Per; Briony Norton; Kevin J. Gaston. Ecological role of vertebrate scavengers in urban ecosystems in the UK. Ecology and Evolution 2016, 6, 7015 -7023.

AMA Style

Richard Inger, Daniel T. C. Cox, Esra Per, Briony Norton, Kevin J. Gaston. Ecological role of vertebrate scavengers in urban ecosystems in the UK. Ecology and Evolution. 2016; 6 (19):7015-7023.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Richard Inger; Daniel T. C. Cox; Esra Per; Briony Norton; Kevin J. Gaston. 2016. "Ecological role of vertebrate scavengers in urban ecosystems in the UK." Ecology and Evolution 6, no. 19: 7015-7023.

Journal article
Published: 01 February 2015 in Landscape and Urban Planning
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ACS Style

Briony A. Norton; Andrew M. Coutts; Stephen Livesley; Richard J. Harris; Annie M. Hunter; Nicholas Williams. Planning for cooler cities: A framework to prioritise green infrastructure to mitigate high temperatures in urban landscapes. Landscape and Urban Planning 2015, 134, 127 -138.

AMA Style

Briony A. Norton, Andrew M. Coutts, Stephen Livesley, Richard J. Harris, Annie M. Hunter, Nicholas Williams. Planning for cooler cities: A framework to prioritise green infrastructure to mitigate high temperatures in urban landscapes. Landscape and Urban Planning. 2015; 134 ():127-138.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Briony A. Norton; Andrew M. Coutts; Stephen Livesley; Richard J. Harris; Annie M. Hunter; Nicholas Williams. 2015. "Planning for cooler cities: A framework to prioritise green infrastructure to mitigate high temperatures in urban landscapes." Landscape and Urban Planning 134, no. : 127-138.

Conference paper
Published: 01 January 2015 in Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria
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The composition and ecology of the millipede fauna of Victoria remain poorly understood. We collected millipedes as part of a series of ecological arthropod surveys across south-eastern Australia, focusing mainly on Victoria. These samples almost exclusively contained millipedes from the introduced order Julida. We pursued species identification of the julids when it became apparent there were species other than the well-recorded Ommatoiulus moreleti (Lucas, 1860) (Portuguese millipede) in the samples. The majority of specimens were O. moreleti, but we also detected at least one species of Cylindroiulus Verhoeff, 1894, as well as an Ophyiulus Berlese, 1884, species, specimens of which have been identified as Ophyiulus cf. targionii. These are the first Ophyiulus records for Victoria to our knowledge. We present preliminary data on the abundance through the year of Ophyiulus. This is the first study to examine this species in Victoria and little is currently known about its likely impact on agriculture or on native species. Monitoring and research of the species in the future is therefore warranted.

ACS Style

Briony A. Norton; Linda J. Thomson; Michael A. Nash. Ophyiulus in Victoria: results of millipede surveys from south-eastern Australia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 2015, 127, 69 -80.

AMA Style

Briony A. Norton, Linda J. Thomson, Michael A. Nash. Ophyiulus in Victoria: results of millipede surveys from south-eastern Australia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria. 2015; 127 (2):69-80.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Briony A. Norton; Linda J. Thomson; Michael A. Nash. 2015. "Ophyiulus in Victoria: results of millipede surveys from south-eastern Australia." Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 127, no. 2: 69-80.

Journal article
Published: 14 February 2013 in Urban Ecosystems
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Changes to the ground layer in urban areas are extensive, but the effects on arthropod fauna are poorly understood. We undertook a manipulative experiment to examine the response of arthropods to small-scale variation in ground covers commonly found in urban parks and gardens in Australia. The ground covers tested were bare ground, leaf litter, woodchips and grass, with plot sizes of 3.6 m2. Epigeic arthropods were sampled with pitfall traps and Tullgren funnels over 12 months following establishment of the treatments. All epigeic arthropods were sorted to order and the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), beetles (Coleoptera), millipedes (Diplopoda) and slaters (Isopoda: Oniscidea) were examined at lower taxonomic levels. Diverse arthropods rapidly colonised previously cleared plots in all four treatments and were most abundant in grass plots. The diversity of ants and beetles was significantly different in different ground covers and tended to be most diverse in grass plots. Despite the treatments providing very different microclimates, the fauna studied did not show strong selection for a particular cover type overall. The abundance of grass cover in the surrounding area may have led to the grass plots having the greatest abundance of arthropods. These results have important implications for developing effective small-scale conservation efforts for arthropods in anthropogenically modified landscapes, especially for species with poor dispersal abilities.

ACS Style

Briony A. Norton; Linda J. Thomson; Nicholas Williams; Mark J. McDonnell. The effect of urban ground covers on arthropods: An experiment. Urban Ecosystems 2013, 17, 77 -99.

AMA Style

Briony A. Norton, Linda J. Thomson, Nicholas Williams, Mark J. McDonnell. The effect of urban ground covers on arthropods: An experiment. Urban Ecosystems. 2013; 17 (1):77-99.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Briony A. Norton; Linda J. Thomson; Nicholas Williams; Mark J. McDonnell. 2013. "The effect of urban ground covers on arthropods: An experiment." Urban Ecosystems 17, no. 1: 77-99.

Journal article
Published: 01 November 2009 in Ecology Letters
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Plant extinctions from urban areas are a growing threat to biodiversity worldwide. To minimize this threat, it is critical to understand what factors are influencing plant extinction rates. We compiled plant extinction rate data for 22 cities around the world. Two‐thirds of the variation in plant extinction rates was explained by a combination of the city’s historical development and the current proportion of native vegetation, with the former explaining the greatest variability. As a single variable, the amount of native vegetation remaining also influenced extinction rates, particularly in cities > 200 years old. Our study demonstrates that the legacies of landscape transformations by agrarian and urban development last for hundreds of years, and modern cities potentially carry a large extinction debt. This finding highlights the importance of preserving native vegetation in urban areas and the need for mitigation to minimize potential plant extinctions in the future.

ACS Style

Amy K. Hahs; Mark J. McDonnell; Michael McCarthy; Peter A. Vesk; Richard Corlett; Briony Norton; Steven E. Clemants; Richard Duncan; Ken Thompson; Mark Schwartz; Nicholas Williams. A global synthesis of plant extinction rates in urban areas. Ecology Letters 2009, 12, 1165 -1173.

AMA Style

Amy K. Hahs, Mark J. McDonnell, Michael McCarthy, Peter A. Vesk, Richard Corlett, Briony Norton, Steven E. Clemants, Richard Duncan, Ken Thompson, Mark Schwartz, Nicholas Williams. A global synthesis of plant extinction rates in urban areas. Ecology Letters. 2009; 12 (11):1165-1173.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Amy K. Hahs; Mark J. McDonnell; Michael McCarthy; Peter A. Vesk; Richard Corlett; Briony Norton; Steven E. Clemants; Richard Duncan; Ken Thompson; Mark Schwartz; Nicholas Williams. 2009. "A global synthesis of plant extinction rates in urban areas." Ecology Letters 12, no. 11: 1165-1173.

Journal article
Published: 19 October 2009 in Austral Ecology
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ACS Style

Bruce L. Webber; Briony Norton; Ian E. Woodrow. Disturbance affects spatial patterning and stand structure of a tropical rainforest tree. Austral Ecology 2009, 35, 423 -434.

AMA Style

Bruce L. Webber, Briony Norton, Ian E. Woodrow. Disturbance affects spatial patterning and stand structure of a tropical rainforest tree. Austral Ecology. 2009; 35 (4):423-434.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Bruce L. Webber; Briony Norton; Ian E. Woodrow. 2009. "Disturbance affects spatial patterning and stand structure of a tropical rainforest tree." Austral Ecology 35, no. 4: 423-434.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2009 in Journal of Ecology
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Summary 1. With the majority of people now living in urban environments, urbanization is arguably the most intensive and irreversible ecosystem change on the planet. 2. Urbanization transforms floras through a series of filters that change: (i) habitat availability; (ii) the spatial arrangement of habitats; (iii) the pool of plant species; and (iv) evolutionary selection pressures on populations persisting in the urban environment. 3. Using a framework based on mechanisms of change leads to specific predictions of floristic change in urban environments. Explicitly linking drivers of floristic change to predicted outcomes in urban areas can facilitate sustainable management of urban vegetation as well as the conservation of biodiversity. 4. Synthesis . We outline how the use of our proposed framework, based on environmental filtering, can be used to predict responses of floras to urbanization. These floristic responses can be assessed using metrics of taxonomic composition, phylogenetic relatedness among species, plant trait distributions or plant community structure. We outline how this framework can be applied to studies that compare floras within cities or among cities to better understand the various floristic responses

ACS Style

Nicholas Williams; Mark Schwartz; Peter A. Vesk; Michael McCarthy; Amy Hahs; Steven E. Clemants; Richard Corlett; Richard Duncan; Briony Norton; Ken Thompson; Mark J. McDonnell. A conceptual framework for predicting the effects of urban environments on floras. Journal of Ecology 2009, 97, 4 -9.

AMA Style

Nicholas Williams, Mark Schwartz, Peter A. Vesk, Michael McCarthy, Amy Hahs, Steven E. Clemants, Richard Corlett, Richard Duncan, Briony Norton, Ken Thompson, Mark J. McDonnell. A conceptual framework for predicting the effects of urban environments on floras. Journal of Ecology. 2009; 97 (1):4-9.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Nicholas Williams; Mark Schwartz; Peter A. Vesk; Michael McCarthy; Amy Hahs; Steven E. Clemants; Richard Corlett; Richard Duncan; Briony Norton; Ken Thompson; Mark J. McDonnell. 2009. "A conceptual framework for predicting the effects of urban environments on floras." Journal of Ecology 97, no. 1: 4-9.

Journal article
Published: 01 May 2004 in Die Naturwissenschaften
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The orb-weaving spider Nephila edulis incorporates into its web a band of decaying animal and plant matter. While earlier studies demonstrate that larger spiders utilise these debris bands as caches of food, the presence of plant matter suggests additional functions. When organic and plastic items were placed in the webs of N. edulis, some of the former but none of the latter were incorporated into the debris band. Using an Y-maze olfactometer, we show that sheep blowflies Lucilia cuprina are attracted to recently collected debris bands, but that this attraction does not persist over time. These data reveal an entirely novel foraging strategy, in which a sit-and-wait predator attracts insect prey by utilising the odours of decaying organic material. The spider's habit of replenishing the debris band may be necessary to maintain its efficacy for attracting prey.

ACS Style

Bojun T. Bjorkman-Chiswell; Robert L. Muscat; Kim A. Nguyen; Matthew R. E. Symonds; Gina E. Westhorpe; Mark A. Elgar; Melissa M. Kulinski; Briony Norton. Web-building spiders attract prey by storing decaying matter. Die Naturwissenschaften 2004, 91, 245 -248.

AMA Style

Bojun T. Bjorkman-Chiswell, Robert L. Muscat, Kim A. Nguyen, Matthew R. E. Symonds, Gina E. Westhorpe, Mark A. Elgar, Melissa M. Kulinski, Briony Norton. Web-building spiders attract prey by storing decaying matter. Die Naturwissenschaften. 2004; 91 (5):245-248.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Bojun T. Bjorkman-Chiswell; Robert L. Muscat; Kim A. Nguyen; Matthew R. E. Symonds; Gina E. Westhorpe; Mark A. Elgar; Melissa M. Kulinski; Briony Norton. 2004. "Web-building spiders attract prey by storing decaying matter." Die Naturwissenschaften 91, no. 5: 245-248.