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Urban ecosystems are expanding throughout the world, and urban ecology is attracting increasing research interest. Some authors have questioned the value of existing ecological theories for understanding the processes and consequences of urbanization.

In order to assess the applicability of metacommunity theory to urban systems, I evaluated three assumptions that underlie the theory – the effect of patch area, the effect of patch isolation, and species–environment relations – using data on assemblages of pond‐breeding amphibians in the Greater Melbourne area of Australia. I also assessed the relative impact of habitat fragmentation, habitat isolation, and changes to habitat quality on these assemblages.

Poisson regression modelling provided support for an important increase in species richness with patch area (pond size) and a decrease in species richness with increasing patch isolation, as …