OOS 19
Green Roof Biodiversity and the Food Web

Tuesday, August 11, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
328, Baltimore Convention Center
Organizer:
Leigh J. Whittinghill
Co-organizers:
Olyssa Starry and J. Scott MacIvor
Moderator:
J. Scott MacIvor
Green infrastructure represents a new frontier for ecological research in urban areas. Green roofs are prime examples, where interdisciplinary collaboration has resulted in a new template of urban green space where researchers can test ecological theory. To date, this research has focused on performance based benefits, including stormwater retention and energy savings. As these benefits are increasingly realized, a growing number of studies involving ecologists are examining the potential for green roofs to contribute to urban habitat enhancements and wildlife conservation. Starting with a look at how green roofs could affect the biotic homogenization of cites, this session explores a wide range of taxa being studied on city rooftops, from microbial communities, to pollinators, to plant species both ornamental and agricultural. Talks will examine how we can or should use ecological theory to organize our research pursuits on these novel environmental systems and address the myths and knowledge gaps regarding green roofs as wildlife habitat. This session will also elucidate in what ways green roofs might also pose consequences for new directions in urban biodiversity conservation and amelioration.
8:00 AM
Green roof and biodiversity potential along the urban-rural gradient
Michael McKinney, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Nick Sisco, University of Tennessee
8:20 AM
Microbial communities on New York City green roofs across space and time
Krista L. McGuire, Barnard College, Columbia University, Columbia University; Matthew I. Palmer, Columbia University; Noah Fierer, University of Colorado, Boulder; Jonathan Leff, University of Colorado; Jack Gilbert, University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory
8:40 AM
Factors influencing vegetation and arthropod community composition along a green roof chronosequence 
Kelly Ksiazek, Northwestern University/Chicago Botanic Garden; Manfred Köhler, Hochschule Neubrandenburg
9:00 AM
Pollen load composition and bee diversity on native-planted green roofs: A comparison with urban and natural environments
Emily Walker, Saint Mary’s University; Jeremy Lundholm, Saint Mary's University
9:20 AM
Plant selection on ecological green roofs
Ed Snodgrass, Emory Knoll Farms
9:40 AM
9:50 AM
Plant community dynamics of native plant assemblages on geographically isolated green roofs
Jason M. Aloisio, Fordham University, Wildlife Conservation Society; Matthew I. Palmer, Columbia University; Amy R. Tuininga, Montclair State University; J.D. Lewis, Fordham University
10:10 AM
10:30 AM
The suitability of New York City rooftops for greening and agricultural use
Leigh J. Whittinghill, Former Postdoctoral Fellow; Ruchard Plunz, Columbia University; Patricia Culligan, Columbia University; Jessica Sachs, Columbia University
10:50 AM
Fine-scale heterogeneity effects on green roof biodiversity
Amiel Vasl, University of Haifa; Bracha Y. Schindler, University of Haifa; Gyongyver Kadas, University of East London; Shay Levy, University of Haifa; Leon Blaustein, University of Haifa