After years spent conducting biological research on remote islands, isolated mountaintops, and pristine forests, I returned to my home city and discovered that the urban environment, as an ecosystem with all its species and habitats, is every bit as interesting as any I had studied in the South Pacific or South America.
I found urban and suburban areas more compelling than I had imagined. Everything was new. The plant communities had never been carefully looked at, let alone studied scientifically. Most people thought that the urban animal communities comprised only rats, roaches, and pigeons. But many species live in cities, including some animals introduced from other regions of the world.
Why do these organisms live in cities? How did they get there? When were they introduced? Why do some species live in cities and suburbs while others do not? I needed to know the answers, and as I found them, I discovered a much more fascinating city environment in which to live.
But I found few readily available sources of information. Field guides for identifying organisms do not deal specifically with the urban environment. The Urban Naturalist is intended to fill the gap, to be informative and useful, to help identify species, and to provide background and ideas about each reader’s urban habitat.
Steven D. Garber
New York City