Evolution in an Urbanizing World
The annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) is here! From January 3-7 biologists will convene in Atlanta, Georgia to share the latest and greatest from a broad range of research areas. Urban evolution talks have a strong showing at the meeting this year, and we would like to hear about all of... Continue Reading →
City lights, moonlit nights: examining bat responses to urbanization and lunar cycles Claysson de Aguiar Silva & Ludmilla M. S. Aguiar Abstract Urbanization is one of the most abrupt mechanisms of land use change. This process can generate significant impacts on biodiversity, and its effects on bat activity patterns need further exploration due to the importance... Continue Reading →
Body size and survival of urban and rural populations of a common wolf spider are not influenced by lifelong exposure to lead pollution Lucy Guarnieri, Leo Taylor, P. Larry Phelan & Mary Margaret Gardiner Abstract Heavy metal pollution is pervasive in urban soils, and it can negatively impact the fitness of arthropods. Arthropod populations can evolve to... Continue Reading →
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is one of the most significant environmental changes of the past century.1 In 2020, there were approximately 361 million streetlights globally,2 and ALAN continues to increase at an alarming rate of 7%-10% per year.3 But how does this rapid expansion affect wildlife, particularly nocturnal creatures like bats? Research suggests that... Continue Reading →
Coastal cities in Europe are swarmed with gulls, to the annoyance of many of those cities’ inhabitants. Gulls (Larus spp.) are naturally cliff-nesting species, but are able to thrive in urban areas because of the high food availability, the suitable climate, the similarity of nest substrate, lesser risk of predation and the presence of conspecifics... Continue Reading →
Signatures of local adaptation and maladaptation to future climate in wild Zizania latifolia Yang Zou, Weidong Yang, Ruxue Zhang & Xinwei Xu Abstract Global climate change poses challenges to agricultural production and food security. Assessing the adaptive capacity of crop wild relatives to future climate is important for protecting key germplasm resources and breeding new crops. We performed population genomics,... Continue Reading →
Big cities, big bodies: urbanisation correlates with large body sizes and enhanced body condition in African dwarf chameleons (Genus: Bradypodion) Jody M. Barends & Krystal A. Tolley Abstract Urbanisation is a major driver of habitat transformation that alters the environmental conditions and selective regimes of the habitats where it occurs. For species inhabiting urban habitats, such... Continue Reading →
With the rise of modern medicine came the rise of pharmaceutical waste. Not only expired or discontinued drugs and hospital waste fall under this category, but also sources such as the components of ingested drugs that are not being metabolized by the patient, therefore reaches their faeces, which are disposed of in the bathroom and... Continue Reading →
Continent-wide parallel urban evolution of increased heat tolerance in a common moth Thomas Merckx, Matthew E. Nielsen, Tuomas Kankaanpää, Tomáš Kadlec, Mahtab Yazdanian, Sami M. Kivelä Abstract Urbanization and its urban-heat-island effect (UHI) have expanding footprints worldwide. The UHI means that urban habitats experience a higher mean and more frequent extreme high temperatures than rural... Continue Reading →
How does urbanization affect natural selection? Anne Charmantier, Tracy Burkhard, Laura Gervais, Charles Perrier, Albrecht I. Schulte-Hostedde & Megan J. Thompson Abstract Urbanisation is one of the most significant contributors to the Anthropocene, and urban evolutionary ecology has become an important field of research. While it is commonly assumed that cities impose new and/or stronger... Continue Reading →
In today’s urban environment, the constant presence of traffic noise is undeniable, infiltrating even the most hidden corners of the woods. Previous studies have shown that this anthropogenic noise negatively affects the welfare of both humans and other species. The fact that even unborn organisms experience negative effects is a worrying development, emphasizing the urgent... Continue Reading →
Urban Life Affects Differentiation and Phenotypic Variation but not Asymmetry in a Fully Terrestrial Salamander Lucía Alarcón-Ríos, Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou, David Álvarez & Guillermo Velo-Antón Abstract The environmental transformations associated with cities are expected to affect organisms at the demographic, phenotypic, and evolutionary level, often negatively. The prompt detection of stressed populations before their viability is compromised is essential to... Continue Reading →
A number of years ago there was quite a lot of media attention regarding a possible case of in situ evolution of Culex pipiens form molestus in the London Underground metro system. This media buzz created speculation that this was a unique species that had risen during the over 160 year long existence of the... Continue Reading →
Have you ever seen a duck, goose, coot or any other waterbird laying long out on the ground or surface of the water? Do these birds look tired to you? If so, they might be suffering from botulism.Avian botulism, also known as Limberneck, is the most significant disease for migratory birds around the globe. Outbreaks... Continue Reading →
Darkness sets over India’s largest city. Of course, a city with a population exceeding 12 million people will never be truly dark. Or silent. Still, in those neighborhoods bordering Sanjay Gandhi National Park the vibrant city center feels far away. In this park the wild part of India is still visible as the densely vegetated... Continue Reading →
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