File S1_Mammals_Rome_Habitat_assignments.xlsx from No city for wetland species: habitat associations affect mammal persistence in urban areas

The fast rate of replacement of natural areas by expanding cities is a key threat to wildlife worldwide. Many wild species occur in cities, yet little is known on the dynamics of urban wildlife assemblages due to species' extinction and colonization that may occur in response to the rapidly evolving conditions within urban areas. Namely, species’ ability to spread within urban areas, besides habitat preferences, is likely to shape the fate of species once they occur in a city. Here we use a long-term dataset on mammals occurring in one of the largest and most ancient cities in Europe to assess whether and how spatial spread and association with specific habitats drive the probability of local extinction within cities. Our analysis included mammalian records dating between years 1832 and 2023, and revealed that local extinctions in urban areas are biased towards species associated with wetlands and that were naturally rare within the city. Besides highlighting the role of wetlands within urban areas for conserving wildlife, our work also highlights the importance of long-term biodiversity monitoring in highly dynamic habitats such as cities, as a key asset to better understand wildlife trends and thus foster more sustainable and biodiversity-friendly cities.

扩张中的城市快速取代自然生境，是全球野生动物面临的核心威胁之一。尽管诸多野生物种类群栖息于城市之中，但由于城市内部环境快速演变引发的物种灭绝与定居事件，学界对城市野生动物群落（urban wildlife assemblages）的动态变化仍知之甚少。具体而言，除了生境偏好之外，物种在城市内部的扩散能力，很可能决定其在城市中的存续命运。本研究依托欧洲规模最大且历史最悠久的城市之一的哺乳动物长期监测数据集（long-term dataset），旨在探究空间扩散能力与特定生境的关联是否、以及如何影响城市内的局域灭绝（local extinction）概率。本次分析涵盖了1832年至2023年间的哺乳动物观测记录，结果显示城市中的局域灭绝事件更倾向于发生在依赖湿地生境、且原本在该城市中自然种群较为稀少的物种身上。本研究不仅凸显了城市湿地生境在野生动物保护中的关键作用，同时也强调了对城市这类高度动态的生境开展长期生物多样性监测的重要性——这是深入掌握野生动物种群动态、进而助力建设更具可持续性且生物多样性友好型城市的核心支撑。