Brooklyn College students bring ecology course content to Wikipedia

Co-authored by Ian Ramjohn

As the world grows more urbanized, urban and suburban areas provide a barrier to wildlife reliant on increasingly fragmented natural habitats while also providing new opportunities for species that can tolerate close association with humans. This fall, Brooklyn College students in Tony Wilson’s Principles of Ecology course brought their classroom content to Wikipedia to improve how the encyclopedia covers both of these interconnected topics.

“While the internet is a rich source of information, primary scientific sources are typically very dense and written in jargon that is difficult for the public to understand,” explained Wilson. “At the same time, many of the webpages, blogs and tweets that the public see on the internet are provided without attribution, creating potential confusion and discord. Wikipedia has built a unique brand associated with ‘knowledge integrity’, with an integrated network of writers and editors working to ensure that the information provided is truthful and provided without bias. ” 

At its best, Wilson explained, Wikipedia offers an invaluable service in providing accessible, user-friendly and accurate information in ecology, environmental science, and a range of other fields. 

Working as individuals and in groups, Wilson’s 21 students contributed nearly 31,000 words and more than 200 references to Wikipedia, helping raise public awareness of correlated topics such as wildlife species and their habitats, climate change, and ecological conservation. 

One trio of student editors focused their efforts on the urban evolution article, completely transforming nearly every section to outline the complex effects of factors like urban pollution, urban habitat fragmentation, and resource availability on urban evolution. 

For some species, urban environments offer a space to thrive with few predators and a ready source of food. For others, urban environments are habitats rich in prey species, with few other competitors. But urban environments are always challenging places to live, with higher temperatures (due to the urban heat island effect), higher levels of air, water and noise pollution, and greater oxidative stress. These factors create an environment where species are subject to very intense selective pressures, driving evolution in species populations that inhabit urban environments. 

As the three student editors expanded the article, they added detailed explanations of these selective pressures and highlighted examples of how species have evolved in response to them. Readers can now learn about how white-footed mice’s teeth have changed to handle the available food sources in New York City, and how raccoons have demonstrated increased behavioral flexibility and learning abilities by adapting to their urban environments. The student editors also discussed non-adaptive genetic changes in urban populations (like genetic drift) as a result of isolation and habitat fragmentation.

While some urban wildlife can use buildings, small parks, and backyards as habitat, other species depend on larger and more specialized areas. Coney Island Creek in Brooklyn is an important patch of habitat for many wildlife species that depend on wetlands. It also represents a heavily impacted and polluted area, illustrating how even wildlife habitat in cities can differ sharply from non-urban habitat.

This urban waterway is the product of centuries of human manipulation of a coastal wetland, coupled with recent efforts to restore parts of it. Three classmates, including biology major Arianna Arregui, added 4,400 words and 41 references to the Coney Island Creek Wikipedia article to enhance the coverage of its wildlife habitat, along with several of the aquatic and terrestrial species which depend on the area. Arregui’s group also added valuable information about the impacts of restoration projects, the limits of these efforts, and the many needs that still remain.

“Coney Island Creek holds significant historical and ecological value that often goes unnoticed,” explained Arregui. “With proper advocacy, meaningful changes can be made to support its restoration and inspire future ecological projects. As a native New Yorker, I’ve often felt that connecting with nature in an urban setting can be challenging, which is why Coney Island Creek resonated with my interests in urban ecology and environmental protection.” 

While urban habitat provides opportunities for some species, for most species it represents a loss of habitat and a barrier that fragments them into smaller populations with higher risks of extinction. Rapid development in Florida resulted in the loss of wildlife habitat, and fragmented what was left into smaller patches that are capable of supporting fewer species. Species in habitat fragments are more prone to extinction, and if they go extinct locally, it’s very difficult for others to recolonize these now-vacant patches of suitable habitat. The role of the Florida Wildlife Corridor – whose Wikipedia article was transformed by another group of students in Wilson’s course – is to improve the connection between Florida’s state parks, national forests, and wildlife management areas.

By expanding information about the bipartisan legislative efforts that created these corridors and the conservation benefits that they provided, the students provided readers with a more complete understanding of their history and ecological role. The student editors also highlighted the challenges faced by the network and the ways in which these kinds of networks hurt wildlife by allowing invasive species to spread between protected areas.

Thanks to the work of Wilson’s students this semester, Wikipedia now gives readers a more nuanced understanding of the way wildlife interacts with expanding urbanization – and provides critical insights into what the future may look like in a warmer and increasingly urbanized world.

Wiki Education thanks the Horne Family Foundation for their support of this work to improve Wikipedia content related to species habitat, wildlife populations, and the impact of climate change.

Interested in incorporating a Wikipedia assignment into your course? Visit teach.wikiedu.org to learn more about the free resources, digital tools, and staff support that Wiki Education offers to postsecondary instructors in the United States and Canada.