THE discovery of a new ecosystem, a deep-sea hydrothermal vent, say, is a rare and exciting event, and tends to be big news. But one of the biggest “discoveries” of recent years is going on quietly, right under our noses. It turns out that cities – those noisy, smelly, garbage-strewn expanses of asphalt and concrete – are vigorous ecosystems in their own right.
Of course, we have always known that cities are home to more than just us humans; ask anyone with a backyard bird-feeder or a plague of mice in their kitchen. But, as ecologists are learning, cities are not just…
