Hypotheses in urban ecology: building a common knowledge base

Area of Science:

• Urban Ecology
• Sustainability Science
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Urban ecology is a rapidly expanding field crucial for addressing the sustainability crisis.
• Effective knowledge transfer between multi-disciplinary researchers, practitioners, and administrators is vital.
• Knowledge maps, such as hypothesis networks, can facilitate this transfer and provide orientation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create a structured knowledge map of urban ecology research.
• To identify and network existing research hypotheses in urban ecology.
• To foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among diverse stakeholders.

Main Methods:

• Combined expert knowledge with literature review to identify hypotheses.
• Developed a hypothesis network to cluster and link 62 identified hypotheses.
• Organized hypotheses into four distinct themes: species traits & evolution, biotic communities, habitats, and ecosystems.

Main Results:

• Identified and networked 62 research hypotheses in urban ecology.
• Clustered hypotheses into four key themes: Urban species traits & evolution, Urban biotic communities, Urban habitats, and Urban ecosystems.
• Established an openly accessible Wikidata project for ongoing contributions.

Conclusions:

• Hypothesis networks offer a promising approach for knowledge synthesis in urban ecology.
• The developed network and Wikidata project serve as a foundational knowledge base.
• Encourages continued community input to expand and refine the urban ecology knowledge base.