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A Tale of Two Amphibians: Urban Landscapes Differentially Impact Gene Flow
When we think of urban organisms, we often don’t think of aquatic organisms. But wetlands exist in the urban matrix, and aquatic and amphibious species are impacted by habitat changes associated with urbanization. A recent study published in Ecology and…
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Novel Methods For Capturing American White Ibises In Urban Areas
Many urban wildlife biologists face unique challenges when trying to capture their study organisms. Traditional methods that are used in remote areas are often not available to urban wildlife biologists, either because the method requires traps that the public tampers…
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Urbanization Influences Gene Flow and Genetic Drift
Recently, I published a review paper in Molecular Ecology with my co-authors, Ruth Rivkin, Marc TJ Johnson, Jason Munshi-South, and Brian Verrelli. In this paper, we discussed how urbanization influences gene flow and genetic drift. We looked at 167 primary…
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November Comment Contest!
For the month of November we’re doing something special… a comment contest! We want to liven up the conversations here on the blog, and to do that we need your participation! To enter the contest, all you have to do is…
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Metropolitan Lagartixas: Lizards Thriving in Tropical Brazilian City
From Anoles to Indian Agamids to Australian Water Dragons to Western Fence Lizards, lizards from diverse branches of the squamate tree are proving themselves in urban environments. Add one more species to this growing list of urban lizards: Brazilian lagartixas, Tropidurus…
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Black Widows and Urban Heat: Can Spiders Cope With Increased Temperatures?
This week’s post comes from Dale Stevens, who tells us about the effects of elevated urban temperatures on black widow spiders. Along with landscape changes, urbanization also leads to a significant increase in temperature. Human-made surfaces retain heat during the…
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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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