(University of Massachusetts at Amherst) A persistent question among urban ecology researchers has been the long-term impact of urbanization on bird species biodiversity. Specifically, they wonder whether the portions of cities with higher diversity are simply exhibiting an ‘extinction debt’ — populations doomed to extinction but not yet disappeared — or if other factors such as range shifts or local environmental changes play a role in changes in diversity.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-03/uoma-dpp031219.php