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AUTHORS. Alaini C. Schneider, Central Michigan University; Bradley J. Swanson, Central Michigan University
ABSTRACT. The global trend of increasing urbanization is a challenge to conservationists working to preserve Earth’s biodiversity. Urban ecosystems have previously been documented as understudied, and consequently these novel systems are not yet fully understood. We analyzed the study of urban ecology of vertebrates through surveying the published literature from 1995 to 2016. We found an increase in the number of urban studies published over time, with a significant increase in the rate of publication after 2005. We found a significant difference in the number of urban studies published according to conservation status of study species. We found a significant difference in the number of urban studies published across continents. We found significant differences in both the number of studies published and the rate of publication through time among three taxonomic groups, with mammals being studied most often and having the highest rate of increase, followed by avians, and lastly herpetofauna. We also found a significant difference in the topics of study across taxa, revealing differential motivations behind studying the three taxonomic groups. Our research highlights a significant gap in the literature for studies of urban herpetofauna when compared to urban avians and mammals. Through our analysis, we provide insight for future research priorities regarding urban wildlife.