Speaker: Dr. Aaron Sexton, Cornell University
The Urban Biotic Homogenization (UBH) hypothesis predicts that urban areas are ecologically homogenous at both intra- and inter-city scales. This hypothesis has played a central role in the field of urban ecology over the past two decades, however the body of literature testing this hypothesis is mixed, with only roughly half of studies finding support for it. In this seminar Aaron makes the argument that the UBH hypothesis has been overstated in both its magnitude and scope. He will present three core tenets of urban ecosystems which explain why the field should abandon the UBH hypothesis, including metacommunity dynamics, management practices, and variability in urban typologies. His argument will be backed by examples from the literature, and followed with a series of research questions that can re-invigorate investigations into the relationships between urbanization and biological homogenization, and what applications can come from such research.