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Urbanization is Correlated with Higher Cholesterol Levels in American Crows
Along with the altered landscape, urban organisms also encounter novel (anthropogenic) food resources. And while anthropogenic food can be abundant in cities, it is often lower in quality than natural food. This can lead to a situation in which low-quality…
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Is your bird feeder clean enough to eat off of? Bird feeders may act as reservoirs for disease transmission
When was the last time you cleaned your bird feeder? Bird feeders are a common sight in the city. For many, they represent a chance to view nature from the comfort of their own home, with little else required but…
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Happy Birthday to Us!
Life in the City turns 1 year old today! Thank you all for following our blog. We are very proud of how it has grown and owe a huge thank you to our amazing contributors. In the last 365 days…
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City Snails Wear Yellow: Urban Heat Island Drives the Evolution of Shell Colour
(I’m writing this the night of the September 20, 2019 Climate Strike. This is merely the consequence of literal months of procrastinating—the paper I am writing about got published in July, and was online as a preprint even before—but it…
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Urbanization Can Influence Plant-Herbivore Interactions
Recently, LITC contributor Sophie Brietbart and myself published a review in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution as part of a special issue on Arthropod Interactions and Responses to Disturbance in a Changing World. Changes to the biotic and abiotic environment…
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What Do FID Studies Really Tell Us About Boldness?
A common behavioral trend observed in urban animals is that they tend to be bolder compared to their rural counterparts. This behavioral shift can enable urban animals to deal with the unique stressors of urban life and may set the…
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What is the “Indoor Biome”?
The tropics of Trinidad… the gleaming ice of the Arctic… as urban scientists, these are field sites we typically forgo for the sake of a short(ish) commute. Studying what’s “close to home” certainly has its benefits. Not only can we…
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High Lead (Pb) Exposure May Lead to Adaptation in House Sparrows
City life can be difficult for many organisms. Cities are louder, brighter, hotter, and often more contaminated with toxins than nearby less-developed areas. Ever-increasing research is showing that organisms are coping with the urban environment in many ways. Urban great…
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