October 22nd, 2020 
Choose THREE of the following topics to answer in 2-3 pages (double spaced). Your completed midterm exam will be a minimum of six pages total (seven with your works cited) and can be as long as ten pages. Be as complete and detailed as possible. Be sure to cite the sources of all the information (including the Weisman and Niemel texts) you use in your articles with both in-text citations (author, year) and complete citations at the end of each essay (use APA style). Use your own words! Quote only sparingly. Also, the question How? does not just mean describe a change, but if possible also explain the mechanisms involved. Use a readable 12 point font and double space.
Taking into account all of the differences between natural and urban habitats, how are animals able to live within urban areas? Which kinds of animals can and cannot live in urban habitats? Do they share any special traits? Does living in an urban area change their population structure?
2. If New York City was completely abandoned by people, what would happen to all the houses, cathedrals, skyscrapers, sculpture, bridges, subways, roads and other material left behind? Would everything completely disappear? How long would it take? Would the returning vegetation resemble the pre-European settlement forest? If not, why not?
3. Discuss the characteristics of urban soils. Explain how previous use affects soils in the long term using the experimental agricultural fields Rothamsted Broadbalk and Geesecroft as examples,
4. Explain how urban structures change hydrology and water quality. Go into detail on the different aspects of hydrology, including soil characteristics that affect hydrology.
5. What are some of the different types of land uses in urban areas? Compare each in terms of biodiversity, surface types, relative evapotranspiration, plant cover, albedo, and radiation flux.
6. How are wetlands in and at the edge of urban areas affected by the urban presence? (in terms of biodiversity, community and population structure, hydrology, and soil and water quality characteristics)
7. Explain how the presence of buildings, roads, and sealed surfaces affects the climate of city (compared to surrounding rural and natural areas). Include all aspects of climate temperature, wind, and precipitation and their spatial and seasonal patterns, chemical and biological.
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