Currently, slightly less than half the world's population lives in dense urban areas, principally cities. In Australia, nearly 85% of people live in towns with 1000 or more residents. Although individual species of urban flora and fauna have often been well studied, little is known of the long‐term temporal patterns associated with changes in both the abiotic and biotic environments as urban systems expand. Using historical and current information, the changes in species richness (defined as the native and introduced vertebrates and vascular plants) in Adelaide, South Australia, are described from its founding in 1836 until 2002. Adelaide is an isolated city of over a million inhabitants, bordered by a range of hills and the South Australian coastline. With a Mediterranean climate, a culture that places high importance on private residential gardens, and the presence of extensive public parklands, the metropolitan area has a significant diversity of both native and introduced flora and fauna. Using only the presence or absence of a species, the changes to plant and vertebrate species richness were quantified by analyzing the observed patterns of change at a functional group level. Powerful correlative evidence is provided to explain the development and establishment of patterns in urban ecology.

There has been a dramatic change in species composition, with an increase in total species numbers of ∼30%. At least 132 native species of plants and animals have become locally extinct, and a minimum of 648 introduced species have arrived (mostly plants). The plants increased in species richness by 46%. Fifty percent of the native mammal species were lost, and overall, the birds declined by one species, representing 21 extinctions and 20 successful introductions. Amphibians and reptiles showed no net change. The herbaceous perennial and annual plant species richness showed a substantial increase. This temporal approach to urban ecology demonstrates new ways to identify individual species or groups at risk of extinction and provides some long‐term management goals for large urban areas.