bridge over water during daytime

Urban Biodiversity at the Core: Exploring NYC's Ecology Through Research, Education & Community Science

Biodiversity Hub NYC studies the organisms, habitats, and ecological processes of New York City. Our work combines natural history and biodiversity research with urban ecology to investigate how species and communties are shaped by habitat heterogeneity, environmental conditions, ecological interactions, spatial structure , and human activity.

CURRENT PROJECTS

bee perched on sunflower
bee perched on sunflower

Flower -Associated Arthropods of NYC

Sampling arthropods directly from fall-blooming flowers to better understand the structure of plant–arthropod associations and how these relationships vary across habitats and environmental conditions during the fall flowering season.

a spider on a web
a spider on a web

Rapid Spider Biodiversity Survey

Conducting a rapid survey of spider biodiversity using standardized sweep netting, beat sheeting, leaf litter sampling, while applying Chao diversity and sample-coverage frameworks to estimate species richness, sampling completeness, and the diversity potentially remaining undetected.

Using field surveys to examine how trees are spatially distributed across forest habitats and how these patterns change across spatial scales. By applying spatial point-pattern analysis, this study explores how tree clustering, spacing, and species associations can reveal processes shaping forest communities.

A log laying on the ground in a forest
A log laying on the ground in a forest

Spatial Patterns of Trees

COMPLETED PROJECTS

brown and black fly on white flower
brown and black fly on white flower

Banana fermentation-based sampling and habitat comparisons for drosophilid flies.

Late-Summer/Fall Drosophilid Survey

Surveying Hymenoptera across contrasting habitats during the late-summer and fall season, with a particular focus on documenting bees and parasitoid wasps using standardized pan-trap sampling.

NYC Pollinator Communities

a butterfly sitting on top of a flower
a butterfly sitting on top of a flower
macro photography of green leaf
macro photography of green leaf

Using field surveys across diverse habitats to examine associations between plant communities and their habitats. By representing plants and habitats as ecological networks, this study offers an alternative approach for characterizing plant communities and monitoring plant–habitat relationships over time.

Linking Water Chemistry to Benthic Macroinvertebrates in a NYC Stream

Examining how water chemistry and urban environmental conditions shape benthic macroinvertebrate communities in Tibbetts Brook by pairing physicochemical measurements with biodiversity surveys to identify environmental drivers of stream community composition and biological integrity.

Plant–Habitat Networks

A mayfly with translucent wings perched on a green blade of grass
A mayfly with translucent wings perched on a green blade of grass

FEATURED INITIATIVE

Developing a visually driven field guide that explores ecological and socio-ecological networks in urban environments, using New York City as an initial case study. Through field observations, photography, and ecological diagrams, the guide highlights connections among biodiversity, people, infrastructure, and environmental processes while providing an approach that can be adapted to cities and regions beyond NYC

green trees near body of water
green trees near body of water

Hidden Ecologies: A Field Guide to NYC's Ecological Networks

Contact
selective focus photography of brown and black butterfly flying near blooming purple petaled flowers
selective focus photography of brown and black butterfly flying near blooming purple petaled flowers

Interested in our work?

Have a question about our research, want to collaborate, or are interested in getting involved with Biodiversity Hub NYC?