Evolution in an Urbanizing World
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 we have published 147 posts! The blog has received a total of 48K hits from 16K... Continue Reading →
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 stage for urban adaptation. A common way to quantify boldness is to measure flight-initiation distance, or... Continue Reading →
The annual Joint Meeting of Icthyologists and Herpetologists (JMIH) kicks off today in Snowbird, Utah. This is one of my favorite conferences so I'm sad I will not be attending this year. And unfortunately, none of our contributors are attending this meeting either this year (that I know of), so we will not be able... Continue Reading →
We've talked before here on Life in the City about behavioral shifts related to fear and boldness in urban animals (check out: Skirting Skinks: Are Lizards Learning to Live Among Humans?, No city for shy dog, Concrete Escape: Increased Wariness of Anoles). Although it is clear that urban species experience behavioral modifications in response to urban... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
A major outstanding question in urban evolution (and evolutionary biology in general) is whether adaptation occurs in similar ways in different populations and across species boundaries. In other words, can the common selective pressures of urban environments lead to convergent adaptation? In my doctoral research, I found that the Puerto Rican crested anole, Anolis cristatellus, adapted... Continue Reading →
Kevin Aviles-Rodriguez, a contributor here at LITC, studies urban adaptation and behavior of Anolis lizards. Previously, we told you all about Kevin's research on escape behavior of urban versus forest anoles, which was Kevin's MS research. During his PhD, Kevin has been focusing more on landscape genetics and the morphological impacts of hurricane Maria in urban... Continue Reading →
In the second of four urban anole presentations at Evolution, Emmanuel D'Agostino does a great job summarizing new research by LITC contributor Chris Thawley. Chris' post-doc research has really delved into the night-light niche and ALAN, a topic that is no stranger to this blog (check out: It’s Lit in the City, Is Artificial Light Changing Pigeon... Continue Reading →
Anole lizards are adapting to urbanization. Anolis cristatellus in particular has rapidly and repeatedly evolved larger toepads with more lamellae (among many other trait shifts) in urban environments across Puerto Rico when compared to nearby forest environments. But one question that has been bugging me and Travis Hagey for years is how exactly are the toepads getting... Continue Reading →
Earlier this year we brought you coverage of urban evolution talks from SICB, and just last week we covered the International Urban Wildlife Conference. Up next, we will be bringing you urban evolution talks live from the annual Evolution meeting in Providence, Rhode Island from June 22nd – 25th! It seems hard to believe almost a... Continue Reading →
Although I wasn't able to attend the meeting, the International Urban Wildlife Conference looks like it was a great success and I have enjoyed following along thanks to our great contributors and the hard work of co-editor Elizabeth Carlen. Here are some highlights: We Have Stickers! I drew these to pass out at the meeting... Continue Reading →
We invite contributions to a special feature on evolution in urban environments to be published in Evolutionary Applications in 2020. Instructions on how to be considered for this special feature are provided below. Urban areas are among the fastest growing ecosystems on earth and the driver of local and global climate change. Despite this importance, little... Continue Reading →
The annual Evolution meeting co-sponsored by the Society for the Study of Evolution, Society of Systematic Biologists, and American Society of Naturalists is coming soon to Providence, Rhode Island this June 21-25th! This meeting usually has a strong representation of researchers working in urban systems and we hope this year will be no different. Are... Continue Reading →
An outstanding question in urban evolutionary biology is what factors influence a species' success in urban environments. This is a topic we've talked about before (check out Urban Adaptation in Mammals) and several other recent papers have tackled this topic. A variety of factors may influence whether or not a species occupies an urban environment... Continue Reading →
Mammals are some of the most easily recognizable and endearing critters to share our cities with us. Who doesn't love a cute bunny or squirrel in a city park? Or a fox or raccoon slinking through the streets at night. Even city rats can be endearing. Despite the commonality of these species, urban areas are... Continue Reading →
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