A study conducted in the urban desert environment of Phoenix, Arizona, examined the impact of climate change on bird biodiversity. Researchers found that there was a connection between impervious surfaces and rising land temperatures and declines in bird abundance and species richness, specifically during the winter. This study uses extensive long term data from 2001-2016 to gain information on the topic and while a lot was gain from extensive data there does not seem to be concrete solutions yet, for urban planning. The study shows a functional group analysis that shows different bird roles like pollinators, insectivores and other responds differently to environment changes with different ecosystem services. Although, temperature and urban development cause a decline in bird diversity, impacts can be very different. This means there cant be one strategy, but multiple for each specific group, in order to conserve. One key solution suggested was “enhancing vegetation”, a model showed that increased vegetation were associated with higher bird numbers. Planting native trees or shrubs may help reduce the negative effects of impervious surfaces and rising temperatures in urban location. Enhancing and managing urban vegetation are just a few strategies that can help to support wildlife and maintain essential ecosystem services.

https://esajournals-onlinelibrary-wiley-com.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/doi/epdf/10.1002/eap.70063

The article I have selected is called “A Review of Urban Wildlife Management from the Animal Personality Perspective: The Case of Urban Deer.” This article focuses on reviewing human-urban wildlife conflicts in Japan and North America, as well as approaches to take animals’ personalities into account to help improve urban-wildlife conflicts. In North America, the most common issues with wildlife in urbanized areas are zoonosis and wildlife-vehicle collisions. Deer are the most problem-causing. The article focuses on understanding the behavior of species and what could be a possible cause of wildlife entering urban areas and causing human-wildlife conflict. Boldness was found to be heritable, which means their ability to not be so shy is a bit genetic. According to studies cited in the article, bolder deer are more likely to enter urban areas, where they can exploit food sources and interact more frequently with humans, increasing the risk of conflict. In Japan, data showed that deer in high-conflict areas were consistently bolder than those in rural regions, suggesting a behavioral link to urban presence. The author suggests considering the genetic components of boldness when searching for control measures. In Japan, bolder deer were found to inhabit urban areas and heavily rely on humans for food, which has led to human-wildlife conflicts. Although there are benefits to continuing to build urban areas while allowing deer to coexist with humans, the idea of selecting for bolder deer, in my opinion, sounds potentially dangerous, as bolder deer could lead to serious problems. By incorporating the concept of animal personality, it opens the door to more targeted, possibly more humane strategies for managing urban wildlife.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969718324112