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The effects of urbanization on species interactions

Nature Cities volume 2, pages 693–702 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Cities are renowned for catalyzing human interactions, but their distinctive environments also affect the interactions of other species. We discuss how urbanization affects species interactions and identify key knowledge gaps. With this context and using an eco-evolutionary lens, we frame urban environments as providing three consecutive filters: the presence of species, their co-occurrence and their relationships. Our framework offers a structured model for studying and managing urban species and environments to facilitate conservation and ecosystem services, benefiting urbanites of all stripes.

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Fig. 1: Theoretical framework.

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  • 22 August 2025

    In the version of this article initially published, references 56 and 19 were interchanged in the last two citations in the sentence now reading “Conversely, densely urbanized areas see reduced seed and fruit size55, fewer seeds (including exotics)55,56, lower germination rates56 and increased ant-mediated seed removal19,” while in the Table 1, Seed dispersion; Heavily urban; ↑ ant dispersal19 entry, ref. 19 now appears in place of the original ref. 56 citation. The citations are updated in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

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Acknowledgements

We thank R. Adams for her contributions, ideas and participation in early discussions. We would also like to thank the Urban Eco-evolutionary group across the LTER network for the comments and suggestions, which have greatly improved the final manuscript, and in particular, M. Phifer-Rixey, A. Popescu and E. Kanach. This study was partly supported by the start-up fund to D.L. provided by Louisiana State University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Pablo Moreno-García & Daijiang Li

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Pablo Moreno-García, Ana L. Salgado & Daijiang Li

  3. IDEES UMR 6266, Université de Caen-Normandie, Caen, France

    Pablo Moreno-García

  4. Department of Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Rutgers University, Camden, NJ, USA

    Amy Savage

  5. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Elena S. Tartaglia & Myla F. J. Aronson

  6. Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA

    Jennifer M. Cocciardi

  7. Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Marta A. Jarzyna

  8. Translational Data Analytics Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Marta A. Jarzyna

  9. Department of Urban Design and Planning, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Marina Alberti

  10. Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Daijiang Li

  11. Center for Computation and Technology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Daijiang Li

Authors
  1. Pablo Moreno-García
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  2. Amy Savage
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  3. Ana L. Salgado
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  4. Elena S. Tartaglia
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Contributions

Conceptualization: P.M.-G., A.S. and D.L. Methodology: P.M.-G., A.S., A.L.S., E.S.T., J.M.C., M.F.J.A., M.A.J, M.A. and D.L. Investigation: P.M.-G., A.S., A.L.S., E.S.T., J.M.C., M.F.J.A., M.A.J., M.A. and D.L. Visualization: P.M.-G., A.L.S. and J.M.C. Supervision: P.M.-G., A.S., A.L.S., E.S.T., J.M.C., M.F.J.A., M.A.J., M.A. and D.L. Writing—original draft: P.M.-G., A.S., A.L.S., E.S.T., J.M.C., M.F.J.A., M.A.J., M.A. and D.L. Writing—review and editing: P.M.-G., A.S., A.L.S., E.S.T., J.M.C., M.F.J.A., M.A.J., M.A. and D.L.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Pablo Moreno-García or Daijiang Li.

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Nature Cities thanks Chevonne Reynolds, and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Moreno-García, P., Savage, A., Salgado, A.L. et al. The effects of urbanization on species interactions. Nat Cities 2, 693–702 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-025-00288-w

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