Abstract
This paper overviews changes in land use and fauna over the past ca. 100 years in and around Tokyo Metropolis. Rapid changes in fauna occurred during the second half of the last century with urbanization. The faunal changes were caused by habitat destruction due to exploitation, habitat change due to urban warming, regime changes in natural and anthropogenic disturbances, and the invasion of alien species. Although a rapid decline of native species diversity occurred during the period, some species have reinvaded or newly invaded urban and suburban areas in the last few decades. Some alien species have also invaded the built environment such as artificial coasts and abandoned coppice forests. Faunal changes continued even after the rapid environmental changes in the last century. Continuous monitoring is needed to detect further faunal changes in the Tokyo area.
