Do urban environments favour certain plant reproductive strategies?

Urbanization can have a strong impact on biodiversity. In particular, the changes in temperature, habitat fragmentation and pollution are expected to affect the species that are present in cities, both directly and indirectly via their effects on other species. In this proposal, we aim to test if certain plant reproductive strategies are favoured by urbanization. Because urbanization affects pollinators in abundance and in composition, it has the potential to select for plants with specific reproductive strategies. To test this, plant community surveys performed across urbanization gradients in many North American cities will be obtained and plant reproductive traits will be gathered from the literature to test for correlations between plant reproductive strategies and urbanization. The project will help to understand how cities affect plant biodiversity and eventually propose solution to develop more resilient and diversified cities.

Faculty Supervisor:

Étienne Léveillé-Bourret

Student:

Partner:

Ville de Montréal;Institut de recherche en biologie végétale

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Life Sciences (not health); Sustainability & the Environment

University:

Université de Montréal

Program: