Nilon’s research considers the impact of urbanization on wildlife habitats, populations and communities. Since 1997, Nilon has been a co-principal investigator on the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES), one of two urban ecosystems included in the National Science Foundation’s Long-Term Ecological Research program. His work with the BES focuses on understanding how ecological and socioeconomic factors influence bird species composition and abundance. Because urban areas are homes for people as well as wildlife, Nilon’s research also considers the role of nature as part of an individual’s day-to-day environment, and environmental justice issues associated with access to nature. Nilon and his students have worked on projects in Kansas City and St. Louis that seek to understand how people perceive open spaces in their neighborhood. Recently he has collaborated with colleagues from the MU School of Medicine on a project studying the kinds of open spaces where children are active. Since 2010 Nilon has been a principal investigator on three different synthesis projects that are compiling data from more than 150 of the world’s cities. The projects seek to understand global patterns of biodiversity in cities, the filters that shape species composition in cities, and the social and ecological factors that shape patterns of abundance in cities, and apply that information to management, conservation and planning programs.

BIO340 Ecology

BIO418 Animal Behavior

BIO493 Ornithology​

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1. Effects of wildland development on forest bird communities​ CH Nilon, CN Long, WC Zipperer – Landscape and Urban Planning,Volume 32, Issue 2, June 1995, Pages 81-92​

2. Urban biodiversity and the importance of management and conservation​ Charles H. Nilon ​Landscape and Ecological Engineering volume 7, pages45–52(2011)