Wealth, Race, and Wildlife: The Impacts of Structural Inequality on Urban Wildlife

National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
Winter/Spring 2021 Seminar Series
Advancing Ecology and Environmental Data Science for a More Just and Equitable Future

Wealth, Race, and Wildlife: The Impacts of Structural Inequality on Urban Wildlife
Christopher Schell, Ph.D.School of Interdisciplinary Arts & SciencesUniversity of Washington – Tacoma

Urban ecosystems are intrinsically heterogenous, characterized by dynamic biotic andabiotic interactions that are not witnessed in non-urban environments. Urban flora andfauna experience a suite of novel disturbances and stressors that have led to remarkablephenotypic strategies and adaptations to cope with urban living. Despite recentgroundbreaking discoveries and innovation in the fields of urban ecology and evolution,the drivers of urban heterogeneity that induce biological change are seldom articulated.The spatiotemporal distributions of urban organisms are directly affected by the unevendistribution of resources (e.g., refugia, food, water) across cities, all of which are connectedto societal function and governance. Hence, to build a comprehensive understanding ofurban systems and wildlife adaptation, we must integrate and reconcile how structuralinequality – especially racism and classism – shape urban environmental mosaics. 

In this seminar talk, Dr. Chris Schell will discuss how structural and systemic inequalities,especially economic and racial inequality, shape ecological and evolutionary outcomes ofwildlife. In doing so, we will discuss how leading with an environmental justice and activismframework in the natural sciences can promote conversation, sustainability, and resiliencein a human-dominated world.

Join the Zoom webinar: https://ucsb.zoom.us/j/83031551654