Evolution in an Urbanizing World
Urban areas as a refuge Cities provide a diverse set of habitats that have the possibility to house many wild bee species [1]. Urban green spaces such as gardens, parks and yards provide nesting and foraging resources for many bee species and often are seen as a refuge for many wild bee species that are... Continue Reading →
Effects of urbanisation, habitat characteristics, and management on garden pond biodiversity: Findings from a large-scale citizen science survey Zsuzsanna Márton, Barbara Barta, Csaba F. Vad, Beáta Szabó, Andrew J. Hamer, Vivien Kardos, Csilla Laskai, Ádám Fierpasz & Zsófia Horváth Abstract The rapid expansion of urban areas often leads to degradation, fragmentation, and loss of natural habitats, threatening biodiversity. While urban ponds might contribute substantially to the biodiversity of urban blue-green infrastructure, the... Continue Reading →
[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obHtOIJrwh8[/embedyt] Our perceptions of wildlife and nature are shaped by the media which highlights. The mold has been set by great figures like David Attenborough, with his memorable narrative voice. However, these documentaries only explored 'pristine' landscapes in far away lands, while ignoring the creatures that must contend with the Urban Jungle. In my first... Continue Reading →
Lurking beneath the trash laden leaf litter of the 5 boroughs lurks a secretive little amphibian that exemplifies the struggle between the forces of urbanization and the biological need to adapt or face extinction. The Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) is a unique kind of caudate with numerous traits that make it well equipped to... Continue Reading →
The New York Canid Project is a community science study led by Isabella Vinces, a Science research student at Ossining High School. The goal for this study is to determine the effects of coyote populations on previously residing red fox populations in urban and suburban areas throughout New York. To participate, you simply have to... Continue Reading →
By Veerle Langezaal During the Covid-19 lockdowns, a grassroots movement emerged where botanists in France, the UK, and the Netherlands began chalking plant species names on sidewalks. This initiative aimed to educate communities about the ecological importance of these plants, challenging the perception of them as mere weeds. This movement has since evolved into a... Continue Reading →
Walid-Dani Kaki “In none of his works did Nature show her originality more than in insects”(Pliny the Elder) In recent years we have seen a steady decline in biodiversity, with devastating consequences for the natural world and human populations. The tendency of people to migrate to urban areas has led to their chaotic development at... Continue Reading →
The City Nature Challenge is an annual competition among hundreds of international cities to increase awareness of urban biodiversity. Last year’s challenge totaled 1,694,877 observations, 50,176+ species, and 67,220 participants across 450+ cities worldwide. Check if your city is participating in this year’s challenge! If not, join the global project this year and sign-up your city to participate in 2024’s challenge! This year’s challenge is active starting tomorrow, April 28, to... Continue Reading →
Check out this video of Zoë Rossman discussing the vibrant and diverse wildlife in Albuquerque, New Mexico! https://twitter.com/ABQcitynature/status/1635393208393023488 Zoë is a wildlife photographer and Ph.D. candidate studying urban coyotes (Canis latrans), and other large mammals, at the University of New Mexico. In 2021, she sat down with Laura Paskus of New Mexico PBS to discuss... Continue Reading →
“How life adapts to cities around the world” is a 5 minute educational animated film created by Sherry An (myself), a science and medical illuHow the GLUE Animation Came Aboutstrator and designer from Mississauga, Canada. The film uses 3D animation and visual storytelling to share the goals and results of the first GLUE study in... Continue Reading →
Earlier this week I showed you the pair of turkeys lurking in my neighbourhood. I was quite annoyed with them, they blocked my car from getting to my driveway when I really needed to get inside ASAP. These birds yelled at me after I parked, rude. I considered them a pest, a major annoyance to... Continue Reading →
Eastern Gray Squirrels, Sciurus carolinensis, are some of the most visible and well-known urban animals in the Northeastern United States. Prior to European settlement of the region, the black morph of S. carolinensis ("melanistic") was much more abundant. Scientists have hypothesized that the dark pelt was advantageous in the old growth forests that used to cover the region.... Continue Reading →
Entomology 2019 I recently attended the Entomology Conference in St. Louis, Missouri and here are some of the highlights. I was part of the special symposium "What Everyone Ought to Know about Insect Biodiversity in the Urban Environment" where a number of scientists gave talks and posters about their research related to this topic. Biodiversity... Continue Reading →
(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 seems sadly appropriate as I am going to talk about adaptation to hotter environments.) If... Continue Reading →
This session included three very different community science projects--from otters in Singapore to cats around the world! Otters! Philip Johns, of Yale-NUS College, studies the foraging behaviors in urban smooth-coated otters in Singapore. Singapore is very urban, and all of its waterways are highly modified--similar to those in Los Angeles. Despite this, about 18 families... Continue Reading →
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