Lundquist Urban Ecology Lab
We study biodiversity in the city’s parks, rivers, and smallest green spaces, using open GIS data, remote sensing, and undergraduate research.
About the lab
The lab is led by Dr. Matthew J. Lundquist, an ecologist and entomologist at Northeastern University – New York City. We study insects, fish, and plants in urban rivers, parks, and street plantings, and analyze them with open GIS data, LiDAR, and statistical models. Results are shared as papers, open code, and public maps.
Research
How might pollinators move between green spaces in a city of buildings and streets? We use open GIS data and least-cost path models, something like Google Maps for insects, to map potential routes between parks and locate the vegetation gaps where targeted greening could improve connectivity.
Ecological Applications, 2025 · Explore the map · Code
Featured by The Nature Conservancy: “Bug Highway: The Hidden Paths Used by Insects”
Photo: Dmitri Zotov / Unsplash
We survey aquatic insects in the Bronx River and examine what its fish, such as blacknose dace, are eating to understand how urbanization changes the river’s food web.
Northeastern Naturalist, 2023 · Urban Naturalist Notes, 2025
Large parks get most of the attention, but street tree pits and other small patches are everywhere. We study which insects use them.
We build practical ways to teach statistics, programming, and field science, including hybrid lab models and free interactive course sites.
Journal of College Science Teaching, 2024 · Course materials
Photo: Christopher Gower / Unsplash
Applied ecology
We want our research to help cities decide where to plant, what to protect, and how to restore the green spaces and rivers that people and wildlife share.
Find where a few well-placed plantings could link parks for pollinators and other small animals.
Help urban rivers recover by learning which stretches still support thriving insect and fish communities.
Show the value of street trees, gardens, and other small green spaces that are easy to overlook.
Keep our maps, data, and code open so planners, educators, and neighbors can put them to use.
Free to use
Interactive map of modeled pollinator routes between NYC green spaces.
Biostatistics course with lessons and an in-browser R lab.
Interactive course site for conservation biology.
A step-by-step demonstration of catchment analysis.
Field activity for spotting urban ecology in the city.
A self-guided urban ecology walk across Manhattan.
Publications
† Undergraduate co-author
Corman JR, et al. (incl. Lundquist MJ). Limno-STOICH: a comprehensive database linking the elemental stoichiometry of organisms with inland aquatic habitats. Limnology and Oceanography Letters 11(2): e70105.
Lundquist MJ, Lovejoy PC, Fay BG†, Hernandez JE†, Madrid M†. Bug roads: Modeling the green space connectivity and pollinator habitat in a large city using open GIS data and tools. Ecological Applications 35(7): e70128. Code
Hernandez JE†, Lundquist MJ. Limited diets of Eastern Blacknose Dace within the highly urbanized Bronx River, New York, USA. Urban Naturalist Notes No. 11.
Shen M, et al. (incl. Lundquist MJ). FreshLanDiv: A global database of freshwater biodiversity across different land uses. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(12): e13917.
Leri AC, Fassihi GE†, Lundquist MJ, Khan M†, Arguin ML. Vertical stratification and seasonality of fecal indicator bacteria in New York City playground sandboxes. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 273: 116152.
Lundquist MJ, Aguanno A. Here and there: a novel hybrid remote/in-person college-level science lab model at a small, primarily undergraduate institution. Journal of College Science Teaching 53(3): 205–210.
Lundquist MJ, Scott EA†. Patterns of aquatic insect biodiversity in the highly urbanized Bronx River, NY. Northeastern Naturalist 30(2): 122–134.
Lundquist MJ, Weisend MR†, Kenmore HH†. Insect biodiversity in urban tree pit habitats. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 78: 127788. Data and code
Lundquist MJ, Zhu W. Aquatic insect diversity in streams across a rural–urban land-use discontinuum. Hydrobiologia 837: 15–30. Data and code
Lundquist MJ, Zhu W. Aquatic insect functional diversity and nutrient content in urban streams in a medium-sized city. Ecosphere 9(5): e02284. Data and code
People
Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University – New York City
I study how cities affect habitat connectivity, freshwater communities, and pollinators, using GIS, remote sensing, and spatial models.
Undergraduate and post-baccalaureate researchers, Marymount Manhattan College.
Modeling pollinator dispersal routes in NYC (Bug Roads)
Trophic ecology of blacknose dace in the Bronx River
Machine vision for tracking pollinators in urban gardens
Cooling potential of small NYC parks from LiDAR canopy data
DNA barcoding of aquatic insects
Urbanization and mayflies in the Bronx River
Insect and fish interactions in the Bronx River
Caddisfly community composition in the Bronx River
Aquatic insects along an urban–rural gradient; green-roof assessment
GIS analysis of tourism and green space in NYC
Insect biodiversity in NYC tree beds
Insect biodiversity in NYC tree beds
Contact
Questions about the research, data, or tools are welcome.