A review of the opportunities to support pollinator populations in South African cities.

Globally insects are declining, but some guilds of pollinators are finding refuge in urban landscapes. The body of knowledge on urban pollinators is relatively mature, which means it is now possible to begin to make generalization. Unfortunately, studies do not represent climatic regions evenly and there is a gap in research from the African continent. This study aimed to address some of the gaps on urban pollination knowledge in South Africa and to identify opportunities to improve urban habitats for pollinators. We reviewed the international literature on urban pollinators and the South African literature on pollinators with a landscape ecology focus, drawing on literature with an emphasis on agricultural and ecosystem services. The findings show that some taxa (e.g. large-bodied, cavity nesting bees) will exploit urban environments increasing in abundance with urban intensity. Moderately sensitive taxa (such as small-bodied, ground-nesting bees) take advantage of urban environments only if local habitats are supportive of their needs for resource provision and habitat connectivity. The South African urban poor rely on pollination services for subsistence agriculture and the reproduction of wild-foraged medicines and food. Potential interventions to improve habitat quality include strategic mowing practices, conversion of turf-grass to floral rich habitats, scientific confirmation of lists of highly attractive flowers, and inclusion of small-scale flower patches throughout the urban matrix. Further research is needed to fill the Africa gap for both specialized and generalized pollinators (Diptera, Halictids, Lepidoptera and Hopliini) in urban areas where ornamental and indigenous flowering plants are valued.

Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover.

Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale.

The role of cultural norms in shaping attitudes towards amphibians in Cape Town, South Africa.

Urban ecosystems are increasingly viewed as an important component within strategies for wildlife conservation but are shaped as much by natural systems as they are by social and political processes. At the garden scale, attitudes and preferences govern design and maintenance choices including the decision to encourage or discourage specific faunal presence. At the global scale, charismatic taxa that are well-liked attract more conservation funding and volunteer stewardship. Amphibians are a class of animals that are both loved and loathed making them a suitable subject for comparing and unpacking the drivers of preference and attitudes towards animals. We conducted a mixed methods survey of 192 participants in three adjacent neighbourhoods in Cape Town, South Africa. The survey included both quantitative and qualitative questions which were analysed thematically and used to explain the quantitative results. The results revealed that attitudes formed during childhood tended to be retained into adulthood, were shaped by cultural norms, childhood experiences and the attitudes of primary care-givers. The findings are significant for environmental education programmes aimed at building connectedness to nature and biophilic values.