Did you miss out on Evolution 2019 last week in Providence, Rhode Island? Were you overwhelmed with all of the urban talks at the meeting? Not to worry, here’s a recap of what you missed.
We brought you a total of 20 blog posts from 10 contributors, including 5 new contributors to the blog! Check out the full posts, or here’s my editor’s summary to get you started:
Plants and lizards dominated.
Lisa Mazumder presented on her research on urban dandelions in which she showed that urban populations had distinct flowering times and distinct genotypes, raising the intriguing idea that there may be local adaptation across an urban region related to phenology! Also digging into population genetics of plants, Lindsay Miles presented on her work on how anthropogenic land use impacts gene flow of an endemic South African shrub, finding that agricultural land uses have had tremendous impacts on gene flow. Rebecca Panko presented her work on the urban plant Capsella bursa-pastoris in New York City where urban plants mature more slowly than non-urban plants. Ruth Rivkin presented her dissertation research on plant-pollinator interactions in Toronto, Canada, where she has shown that patterns of reproductive success in more urbanized areas are consistent with a pollinator-deficit hypothesis. And there were two great presentations on the global white clover project that goes by the name GLUE. While we are waiting to hear the final results of the global initiative when they are published, James Santangelo (who’s presentation we did not cover because the results are forthcoming) and GLUE contributor Nicholas Poulos both gave us a sneak peak of some of the patterns they are starting to see and they are really intriguing!
And with 4 urban lizard talks, it’s clear that urban anoles are rapidly gaining traction as a great (model?) urban system (I might be a little biased).
I presented preliminary results from my post-doc work looking at convergence in urban adaptive responses across distantly related anole species from the Greater Antilles. Kevin Aviles-Rodriguez presented some of his dissertation research in which he found that anole morphology shifted after hurricane Maria in similar ways in both urban and forest habitats. Christopher Thawley presented his research on the evolutionary repercussions of taking advantage of artificial light at night, finding that anoles that are exposed to ALAN lay eggs earlier and more frequently than those in natural lighting conditions! And lastly, Bailey Howell, an undergraduate at Mississippi University for Women, presented her undergraduate research in which she has shown that urban anole toepads aren’t just bigger, they differ in shape as well!
Urban aquatic systems gain traction, especially when it comes to pollution.
Although aquatic systems are often overlooked in the context of urban evolutionary ecology, several presenters at Evolution told us abut their fascinating work on aquatic species dealing with anthropogenic pressures from cities. Sofia Tschijevski presented on biodiversity and use of anthropogenic structures of native and invasive organisms in the harbor and intertidal regions of Sydney, Australia. Andrew Whitehead presented on his well-known research on killifish in which he and collaborators have dug deep into the genetic basis of adaptation to extreme pollution. Jonathan Puritz presented his work on the effects of sewage effluent, which impacts water pH, on mollusk development and survival. Oysters exposed to sewage have much lower survival rates than those exposed to low pH or clean water, creating a selective pressure in this anthropogenic ecosystem to survive these stressful conditions. And finally, in the last talk of the meeting, Germán Orizaola presented his research on the effects of radiation on the Eastern Treefrog in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, finding phenotypic shifts in body color but no apparent decrease in health or longevity!
Landscape genetics of urban species continues to be a hot topic.
A number of researchers presented their work on patterns of genetic diversity and gene flow across metropolitan regions in a diverse group of organisms. Elizabeth Carlen presented her dissertation research in which she has found that there is gene flow across pigeon populations all along the eastern coast of the United States, suggesting that distant urban areas may be a lot more connected than we appreciated! Emily Reed presented on the invasive mosquito Aedes albopictus: developed open spaces in urban environments facilitate genetic connectivity while impervious surfaces act as barriers to gene flow. Javier Monzón presented on urban coyotes in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California in which he used genomic analyses to understand population structure and barriers to gene flow. And Lindsay Miles brought it all together when she presented her meta-analysis of gene flow and genetic drift across urban environments.
Researchers push the field in new directions.
We’ve talked before on this blog about the rapid urbanization in the Galapagos and the potential evolutionary effects on species in this biological paradise. In two separate talks, Luis de Leon and Kiyoko Gotanda presented on research projects investigating the effects of anthropogenic food consumption by Galapagos finches. Turns out urban finches have developed a taste for anthropogenic foods, which may be leading to significant shifts in microbiomes and beak morphologies of species in human-dominated habitats.
We’ve also talked before about acorn ant thermal physiology in urban environments (Proc. B Special Issue: City Ants Adapt to Hotter Environment, City Living in a Nutshell: Urban Ants Acclimate to Higher Temperatures Faster ). Sarah Diamond and Ryan Martin, both at Case Western Reserve University, continue to investigate the many ways these little critters are physiologically adapting to urban environments. First, Ryan Martin presented his research on the transgenerational plasticity of shifts in thermal tolerance (or as it were, the lack of plasticity – differences were maintained after multiple generations!). Sarah Diamond followed this with her research on how cities are altering the metabolism of acorn ants as well.
In short:
Overall a fantastic meeting full of great new research. A huge thanks from all of us at Life in the City to our contributors and to you all for reading. As always, if you would like to become a contributor during a conference or anytime, send us an email and we’d be happy to have you join the urban evolution blogging crew!
- New Lit Alert: Urban environment determines population genetics in the green toad, Bufotes viridis - September 11, 2023
- Contribute to the New York Canid Project! - July 21, 2023
- Parallel Urban Adaptation from Phenotype to Genotype in Anolis Lizards - January 19, 2023
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