Environmental and Urban Studies Program Presents

Conservation of Urban Biodiversity –
We Can Do Better

Urban environments contain greenspaces that support many wild species, including uncommon and rare plants and animals. Many cities have overtaken biologically important coastal and other areas, and city greenspaces are the only places where many people experience nature and wildlife. Environmental decisions in urban areas have substantial impacts on biodiversity. Hudsonia’s Biodiversity Assessment Handbook for New York City (2013) described important habitats and species, and proposed methods for assessing and protecting them. We are now completing synthesis for the nearby New Jersey Meadowlands that indicates the importance of landscape permeability and habitat quality for colonizing species. Results facilitate protection of extant biodiversity in cities, conservation of rural biodiversity during urbanization, and planning for preservation, management, and restoration of urban habitats.

Erik Kiviat is a cofounder and executive director of Hudsonia, and formerly taught natural history and environmental studies at Bard College. He holds a B.S. in natural sciences from Bard College, an M.A. in biology from the State University of New York at New Paltz, and a Ph.D. in ecology from the Union Institute. Erik has been interested in the urban biota since living in Manhattan as a high school student in the 1960s. He has studied biodiversity in New York City, northeastern New Jersey, and other urban and industrial landscapes intensively since 2000. With Elizabeth Johnson, he created the Biodiversity Assessment Handbook for New York City in 2013. Erik also conducts research on wetland habitats, biota associated with nonnative weeds, turtles and other herpetofauna, and human ecology, within and outside cities.

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For more information, call 845-758-6822, or e-mail [email protected].

Time: 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

Location: RKC 111

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