Body-size shifts in aquatic and terrestrial urban communities

Thomas Merckx (), Caroline Souffreau, Aurélien Kaiser, Lisa F. Baardsen, Thierry Backeljau, Dries Bonte, Kristien I. Brans, Marie Cours, Maxime Dahirel, Nicolas Debortoli, Katrien Wolf, Jessie M. T. Engelen, Diego Fontaneto, Andros T. Gianuca, Lynn Govaert, Frederik Hendrickx, Janet Higuti, Luc Lens, Koen Martens, Hans Matheve, Erik Matthysen, Elena Piano, Rose Sablon, Isa Schön, Karine Doninck, Luc Meester and Hans Dyck
Additional contact information
Thomas Merckx: Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain
Caroline Souffreau: Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven
Aurélien Kaiser: Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain
Lisa F. Baardsen: University of Antwerp
Thierry Backeljau: University of Antwerp
Dries Bonte: Ghent University
Kristien I. Brans: Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven
Marie Cours: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Maxime Dahirel: Ghent University
Nicolas Debortoli: URBE, NAXYS, University of Namur
Katrien Wolf: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Jessie M. T. Engelen: Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven
Diego Fontaneto: National Research Council, Institute of Ecosystem Study
Andros T. Gianuca: Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven
Lynn Govaert: Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven
Frederik Hendrickx: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Janet Higuti: State University of Maringá
Luc Lens: Ghent University
Koen Martens: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Hans Matheve: Ghent University
Erik Matthysen: University of Antwerp
Elena Piano: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Rose Sablon: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Isa Schön: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Karine Doninck: URBE, NAXYS, University of Namur
Luc Meester: Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven
Hans Dyck: Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain

Nature, 2018, vol. 558, issue 7708, 113-116

Abstract: Abstract Body size is intrinsically linked to metabolic rate and life-history traits, and is a crucial determinant of food webs and community dynamics1,2. The increased temperatures associated with the urban-heat-island effect result in increased metabolic costs and are expected to drive shifts to smaller body sizes 3 . Urban environments are, however, also characterized by substantial habitat fragmentation 4 , which favours mobile species. Here, using a replicated, spatially nested sampling design across ten animal taxonomic groups, we show that urban communities generally consist of smaller species. In addition, although we show urban warming for three habitat types and associated reduced community-weighted mean body sizes for four taxa, three taxa display a shift to larger species along the urbanization gradients. Our results show that the general trend towards smaller-sized species is overruled by filtering for larger species when there is positive covariation between size and dispersal, a process that can mitigate the low connectivity of ecological resources in urban settings 5 . We thus demonstrate that the urban-heat-island effect and urban habitat fragmentation are associated with contrasting community-level shifts in body size that critically depend on the association between body size and dispersal. Because body size determines the structure and dynamics of ecological networks 1 , such shifts may affect urban ecosystem function.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0140-0

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