We explored the relationship between environmental variables and bird color diversity in urban parks. Color diversity increased with green-area size, but richness-corrected color diversity ceased to be related to area size. Therefore, the increase of color size with area size was mediated by increases in species richness. Color diversity was clustered in parks with the highest human disturbance, favoring the abundance of grey species which probably took advantage of food discarded by humans.

We studied rates of litter decomposition in natural and disturbed vegetation on elevation gradients of Mount Kilimanjaro to disentangle effects of climate and disturbance. Decomposition was slower in disturbed than in natural forests, but we did not find a negative effect of disturbance for non-forest vegetation. Decomposition slowed down with increasing land-use intensity, but only in the warm wet season. Temperature and humidity were the most important drivers of decomposition in all analyses.

Prey noticing a predator may freeze (turn immobile) to avoid detection. Freezing is generally thought to precede predator–prey contact, but this may not hold for species of limited sensory abilities. The snail Agaronia detects its prey Pachyoliva, another snail, only when it is right before the predator, while Pachyoliva bumping into Agaronia's side avoids detection by freezing. This post-contact freezing reminds us to consider sensory capabilities when interpreting predator–prey interactions.

Road traffic is a key threat to global animal biodiversity, causing numerous fatalities. In Vienna, we gathered vertebrate roadkill data via citizen science, bicycle, and foot monitoring. Only 4 roadkill incidents were observed during monitoring; citizens reported 84 cases. Hedgehogs and urban birds were frequent roadkill. Our findings indicate low urban roadkill rates, highlighting the importance of citizen science and expanding monitoring routes.