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The world's urban population is growing rapidly, and threatening natural ecosystems, especially streams. Urbanization leads to stream alterations, increased peak flow frequencies, and reduced water quality due to pollutants, morphological changes, and biodiversity loss, known as the urban stream syndrome. However, a shift towards recognizing urban streams as valuable natural systems is occurring, emphasizing green infrastructure and nature-based solutions. This study in Uruguay examined water quality in various watersheds with different urbanization levels and socio-environmental characteristics along a precipitation gradient. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and in situ data, we assessed physicochemical parameters, generated territorial variables, and identified key predictors of water quality. We found that urbanization, particularly urban areas, paved areas, and populations without sanitation, significantly influenced water quality parameters. These factors explained over 50% of the variation in water quality indicators. However, the relationship between urbanization and water quality was non-linear, with abrupt declines after specific urban intensity thresholds. Our results illustrate that ensuring sanitation networks and managing green areas effectively are essential for preserving urban stream water quality. This research underscores the importance of interdisciplinary teams and localized data for informed freshwater resource management.

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Fireflies (Coleoptera, Lampyridae) are a globally threatened group of insects due to habitat loss and fragmentation, light pollution, climate change and pesticides. However, against all odds, some firefly populations persist in urbanized environments where all four of these factors are present simultaneously. In this work, we compiled several data sources to document the diversity of fireflies in the urbanized area of Morelia, characterize their current habitats, and determine the main stressors affecting these bioluminescent insects. We found seven genera and 26 species of fireflies (19 nocturnal, seven diurnal) associated with 32 urban, peri-urban and extra-urban areas; at least, 14 are new records for Michoacán, and the list for the state now includes nine genera and 41 species. Five additional sites were documented as extinction sites. We compared the characteristics of these five sites with those of the sites with extant populations. We found that in Morelia, fireflies are mainly associated with areas that have high to moderate proportions of vegetation cover, are near water bodies, have very gentle to moderate slopes, and are exposed to low levels of light pollution. In contrast, the extinction sites showed high proportions of artificial surfaces and high levels of light pollution. Because some fireflies are considered bioindicators of ecosystem integrity as they are associated to specific habitats, are highly diverse and due to their sensitivity to environmental changes, we consider that sites from Morelia's urban core and extinction sites show the highest levels of environmental degradation, threatening most fireflies and other insects living in the urban core with local extinction. At the same time, our results also suggest that implementing conservation strategies and sustainable planning for the urban development of Morelia in the short term could allow fireflies and other vital elements of the city's insect communities to persist for future generations. Restoration and conservation of green areas and nighttime environments are essential for biodiversity and human health, especially in intra-urban zones.

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Community programs can facilitate the access of vulnerable subgroups to physical activity (PA). This study analyzed the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics, health conditions, public open spaces (POS) usage, and women's PA. The 155 participants were assiduous in taking part in PA classes in POS in São José dos Pinhais, Brazil. The accelerometer-based PA measures identified four outcomes: (1) daily light-intensity PA (LPA), (2) daily moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA (MVPA), (3) LPA in POS, and (4) MVPA in POS. Linear regression, and the Durbin-Watson and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for data analysis in STATA software. The main results showed that the weekly frequency (ß: 10.9, p < 0.01) and intensity of the main activity in the POS (ß: 22.4, p < 0.05) were related to daily MVPA. Economic level and length of stay in the POS were positively related to the LPA performed (p < 0.05). Weekly frequency (ß: 2.4, p < 0.01), length of stay (ß: 11.0, p < 0.01), and intensity of PA practiced in the POS (ß: 5.9, p < 0.05) showed a positive relationship with MVPA in the POS. In conclusion, there was a positive relationship between some analyzed variables and PA of different intensities, especially the consistent relationship between weekly frequency of POS usage and MVPA. Participation in structured PA classes in a community program can contribute to an increase of 47 min of daily MVPA.

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The mosquito fauna in urban parks in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, was investigated and compared for richness and diversity, and the abundance of each species was associated with climatic variables. Simultaneously, a virological investigation was performed to test the presence of Flavivirus and Alphavirus. Aspirations of adult mosquitoes were conducted in 3 urban parks for 3 consecutive weeks of each season between October 2018 and January 2020. A total of 2,388 mosquitoes were identified, with Culex quinquefasciatus, Cx. nigripalpus, and Aedes aegypti being the most abundant species. Mosquito assemblages showed similar richness and diversity, showing variability in individual results. Temperatures and Ae. aegypti abundance correlated significantly in one of the parks investigated herein. Urban parks represent areas of shelter and refuge for both anthropophilic and opportunistic species, such as Cx. quinquefasciatus and Ae. aegypti, as well as species that still need moderately preserved environments to develop.

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This study aimed to describe the physical activity (PA) in public open spaces (POS) in a medi-um-sized city in Brazil. The System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) was applied to evaluate a representative sample of users in 10 POS which received actions from the Active City, Healthy City Program. The places were evaluated four days a week (Tuesday, Wednes-day, Saturday, and Sunday) at four times (8 am, 10 am, 2 pm, and 4 pm). The proportion of users by gender, age group, skin color, and PA level was compared between the POS using the chi-square test for heterogeneity in the STATA software (p<0.05). As main results, 32,768 scans were performed in 64 target areas and identified 8,634 individuals. The highest proportion of people were males (58%), adults (38%), with white skin color (97%), and in light or moderate PA (76%). Except for skin color, there was a significant difference in the proportion of all other variables between the POS (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the POS was more commonly used by men, adults, and people of white skin color for light and moderate PA. Based on the results, program managers could reallocate resources to increase utilization and PA at each place

O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever a atividade física (AF) em espaços públicos abertos (EPA) em uma cidade de médio porte do Brasil. O System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) foi utilizado para avaliar uma amostra representativa de frequentadores de 10 EPA que receberam ações do programa Cidade Ativa, Cidade Saudável. Os locais foram avaliados quatro dias da semana (terça-feira, quarta-feira, sábado, domingo) em quatro horários (8h, 10h, 14h, 16h). A proporção de frequentadores por sexo, faixa etária, cor de pele e nível de AF foi comparada entre os EPA pelo teste do qui-quadrado para heterogeneidade no software STATA (p < 0,05). Como resultados principais, foram realizados 32.768 scans em 64 áreas-alvo e 8.634 frequentadores foram identificados. Foi observada maior proporção de pessoas do sexo masculino (58%), adultos (38%), de cor de pele branca (97%) e em AF de intensidade leve ou moderada (76%). Com exceção da cor da pele, houve diferença significante na proporção das demais variáveis entre os EPA (p < 0,05). Em conclusão, os EPA são mais comumente utilizados por homens, pessoas adultas, de cor de pele branca e para a prática de AF de intensidade leve e moderada. Com base nos resultados, os gestores do programa poderiam realocar recursos para aumentar a utilização e a AF em cada local

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O objetivo do trabalho é retratar a importância da modalidade de Ritmos nos espaços públicos da Região Metropolitana de Belém. Esse trabalho foi uma revisão integrativa de caráter descritivo, com o intuito de elaborar uma síntese de dados com fundamentação em materiais já elaborados contidos na literatura científica. Através dos resultados e de nossa discussão identificamos que as aulas de ritmos são essenciais para quem busca o lazer e saúde nos espaços públicos da Região Metropolitana de Belém, pois a prática dessa atividade nesses ambientes ao ar livre traz movimentação, saúde, diversão e troca de experiências no decorrer das aulas e na aprendizagem dos indivíduos. Com isso, a importância da preservação desses espaços quando se trata de relação à cidade-natureza é primordial, para que haja um equilíbrio na sociedade e que atenda a todas as comunidades.

The objective of the work is to portray the importance of the modality of Rhythms in the public spaces of the Metropolitan Region of Belém. This work was an integrative review of a descriptive nature, with the aim of elaborating a synthesis of data based on materials already prepared contained in the scientific literature. Through the results and our discussion, we identified that rhythm classes are essential for those who seek leisure and health in public spaces in the Metropolitan Region of Belém, since the practice of this activity in these outdoor environments brings movement, health, fun and exchange of experiences. experiences in the course of classes and in the learning of individuals. With this, the importance of preserving these spaces when it comes to the city-nature is paramount, so that there is a balance in society and that serves all communities.

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Most of the epidemiological investigations looking at the health benefits of green spaces have measured the level of green areas by using only one approach, mainly the Normalized Difference Index - NDVI (a satellite-derived indicator). We hypothesized a difference in the association between health and green space depending on the metric used to measure green exposure. This study considers students' academic performance as a proxy of cognitive abilities (a health indicator). We estimated the relationship between green areas and students' academic performance in the Federal District (FD), Brazil, with three different greenness metrics: NDVI, distance to green spaces (m) - obtained from land use data, and quantity of green spaces (m2) - also from land use data. We assessed student-level academic performance data provided by the Department of the Education in the FD. The data includes students from the public schools in the FD for 256 schools (all the public schools in the FD) and 344,175 students (all the students enrolled in the public schools in the FD in 2017-2020).). For the first metric represented by the distance to green spaces, we estimated the straight-line distance between each school and the nearest green area. For NDVI and quantity of green spaces, we estimated the area of all green spaces within buffers of 500 m, 750 m, and 1 km around the schools. We applied a cross-sectional study design using mixed-effects regression models to analyze the association exposure to green areas around schools and student-level academic performance. Our results confirmed our hypothesis showing that the impact of green areas on students' performance varied significantly depending on the type of green metric. After adjustments for the covariates, we estimated that NDVI is positively associated with school-level academic performance, with an estimated coefficient of 0.91 (95%CI: 0.83; 0.99) for NDVI values at a school's centroid. Distance to green areas was negatively associated with academic performance [-2.09 × 10-5 (95CI: 3.91 × 10-5; -2.84 × 10-6]. The quantity of green areas was estimated with mixed results (direction of the association), depending on the buffer size. Results from this paper suggest that epidemiological investigations must consider the different effects of greenness measures when looking at the association between green space and academic performance. More studies on residual confounding from this association with a different study design are needed to promote public health by making schools healthier.

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Mounting evidence shows that physical activity, social interaction and sensorimotor stimulation provided by environmental enrichment (EE) exert several neurobehavioural effects traditionally interpreted as enhancements relative to standard housing (SH) conditions. However, this evidence rather indicates that SH induces many deficits, which could be ameliorated by exposing animals to an environment vaguely mimicking some features of their wild habitat. Rearing rodents in social isolation (SI) can aggravate such deficits, which can be restored by SH or EE. It is not surprising, therefore, that most preclinical stress models have included severe and unnatural stressors to produce a stress response prominent enough to be distinguishable from SH or SI-frequently used as control groups. Although current stress models induce a stress-related phenotype, they may fail to represent the stress of our urban lifestyle characterized by SI, poor housing and working environments, sedentarism, obesity and limited access to recreational activities and exercise. In the following review, we discuss the stress of living in urban areas and how exposures to and performing activities in green environments are stress relievers. Based on the commonalities between human and animal EE, we discuss how models of housing conditions (e.g., SI-SH-EE) could be adapted to study the stress of our modern lifestyle. The housing conditions model might be easy to implement and replicate leading to more translational results. It may also contribute to accomplishing some ethical commitments by promoting the refinement of procedures to model stress, diminishing animal suffering, enhancing animal welfare and eventually reducing the number of experimental animals needed.

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In this study we focused on urban bird diversity across Mexico, a megadiverse country, with a special focus on the relative role of urban greenspaces and heavily-built sites. We considered a country-wide approach, including 24 different sized Mexican cities. Our aims were to describe the urban bird diversity in focal cities and further assess the relationships between it and the biogeographic region where cities are located, their size, elevation, and annual rainfall. Additionally, we evaluated differences in the functional composition of bird communities in both studied urban scenarios (i.e., urban greenspaces, heavily-built sites). Our results confirm that urban greenspaces are home to a large proportion of species when contrasted with heavily-built sites. While total species richness and species richness of greenspaces were related with the cities' biogeographic region -with higher species richness in the Neotropical region and Transition Zone-, the relationship did not hold true in heavily-built sites. We found that annual rainfall was negatively related to bird richness in heavily-built sites, suggesting that species from arid systems can be more tolerant to urbanization. Regarding the bird functional group assessment, results show a clear differentiation between the functional groups of greenspaces and those of heavily-built sites, with granivores and omnivores associated with the latter and a highly diverse array of functional groups associated with urban greenspaces.

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Urbanization has rapidly increased in recent decades and the negative effects on biodiversity have been widely reported. Urban green areas can contribute to improving human well-being, maintaining biodiversity, and ecosystem services (e.g. pollination). Here we examine the evolution of studies on plant-pollinator interactions in urban ecosystems worldwide, reviewing also research funding and policy actions. We documented a significant increase in the scientific production on the theme in recent years, especially in the temperate region; tropical urban ecosystems are still neglected. Plant-pollinator interactions are threatened by urbanization in complex ways, depending on the studied group (plant or pollinator [generalist or specialist]) and landscape characteristics. Several research opportunities emerge from our review. Research funding and policy actions to pollination/pollinator in urban ecosystems are still scarce and concentrated in developed countries/temperate regions. To make urban green spaces contribute to the maintenance of biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services, transdisciplinary approaches (ecological-social-economic-cultural) are needed.

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