Northeastern Cities in North America Can be Suitable for Reptiles, Amphibians

Northeastern cities may not be the worst places to live for reptiles and amphibians in North America, according to a new citizen science analysis.

“Overall, [these findings] suggest that you can look at cities just as you look at other ecosystems,” said David Marsh, a biology professor at Washington and Lee University in Virginia.

Overall, the level of urbanity didn’t affect reptiles and amphibians as much as the researchers expected. There was only about 10–20% less species richness in cities compared to the surrounding suburban areas. “The species richness of amphibians and reptiles was fairly high in cities,” Marsh said.