How might pollution impact wildlife in urban areas?

Pollution in urban areas can have significant deleterious effects on wildlife, which is captured well by the correct choice. Specifically, pollution creates harmful environments through various mechanisms, including the contamination of soil, water, and air. These pollutants can lead to habitat degradation, making areas unsuitable for wildlife to live, breed, and find food. Additionally, pollution disrupts food chains and ecological interactions, leading to declines in animal populations.

Wildlife species may experience stress from exposure to chemicals or particulate matter, which can affect their health, reproductive success, and behavior. As such, when habitats are compromised by pollution, both the direct and indirect impacts can reverberate throughout the ecosystem. This illustrates the complexity of urban environments and highlights the challenges wildlife face in adapting to human-induced changes.

In contrast, the other options suggest that pollution might enhance urban ecosystems or have neutral effects, which do not accurately reflect the scientific understanding of the relationship between pollution and wildlife in urban settings.