Abstract Urbanization is a significant contributing factor to the biotic homogenization and dominance of generalist species, which are among the primary anthropic pressures on biodiversity. Tardigrades are an appropriate model for assessing the impact of anthropogenic factors on biological communities due to their susceptibility to environmental changes and resistance. This study investigates the impacts of urbanization on tardigrade communities in three locations in Argentina: Santa Rosa, Salta, and San Salvador de Jujuy. In urban habitats that were distributed along a vehicular traffic gradient (high, medium, and low), 108 samples of mosses and lichens were collected. Additionally, environmental and microhabitat variables were recorded. Four of the 14 species identified were found in all localities. The urban assemblages demonstrated a pattern of nestedness and species’ loss that was associated with high levels of urbanization, with substantial distinctions between Santa Rosa and the northern localities. The results of this study confirm that vehicular traffic reduces diversity by causing nestedness species’ loss. Nevertheless, the community’s response was not universal; it was contingent upon the biogeographical identity of the region. These results challenge the generalization of biotic homogenization and emphasize the necessity of developing conservation strategies that are tailored to ecological conditions and the local species’ pool.
Ostertag et al. (Tue,) studied this question.