Document: AMY-3-62-6

The status of urban ecology in Australian cities.

HAHS, A.K.* and M.J.MCDONNELL

Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology, Melbourne, VIC 3010 Australia ¹

Abstract:
Studying the ecology of urban areas is a relatively new concept in Australia. To understand the work that has already been done, and to point out directions for future research, we undertook a basic literature search for research conducted over the past 30 years. This search revealed 339 published references of work done in the Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane metropolitan areas. These references were indexed according to city, the focus of the research, and the type of question asked. The focus of the research was considered to fall into one of four categories: 1) The creation of new habitats, 2) use of resources and energy, 3) human and cultural policies, or 4) movement and dispersal. Questions were considered to be either an identification of critical components or basic ecological questions. Analysis of the data indicated that 166 papers (49%) focused on new habitats created by urbanization, and 77 references (23%) addressed the use of resources and energy. Only 52 studies (15%) addressed questions regarding the movement and dispersal of non-native species, and even fewer tackled the issue of the effects of human and cultural policies (44 papers, 13%). With regards to the type of questions that have been asked, only 15% of the papers addressed basic ecological questions. This indicates that there is a need for more research, which goes beyond the identification of various components, and addresses the effects of urbanization on ecological processes.

Keywords: Urban ecology, Australia

This abstract is being presented at: 3:30 PM in session:
Poster Session #3: Education.