Evolution 2019: The Strength of Plant-Pollinator Interactions Varies Along an Urbanization Gradient

Fragmentation of habitat patches is one of many consequences that occurs due to urbanization. This fragmentation can lead to isolated populations that are completely surrounded by urban structures. This isolation can happen on relatively quick timescales, as quickly as 30 years! Due to the loss of habitat patches available for nesting, there can be plant-pollinator... Continue Reading →

Evolution 2019: A Test for Transgenerational Plasticity in the Adaptive Divergence of Acorn Ant Thermal Tolerance Across an Urban-Rural Temperature Cline

Populations are often challenged to live in novel or rapidly changing environments. This is probably most clear in cities where new habitat is being created causing native species to encounter novel habitat features. But because of this, cities set the stage to help researchers understand the plastic and evolutionary shifts that occur in wild organisms.... Continue Reading →

IUWC 2019: Recap

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 →

IUWC 2019: Inclusive Urban Ecosystems

Following the plenary at IUWC 2019, this session focused on integrating urban ecology research with community engagement. The speakers here built on some of the ideas expressed by Chris Schell previously on this site. Pigeons & Passers-by Elizabeth Carlen, an editor for this blog and PhD student in the Biological Sciences department at Fordham University... Continue Reading →

IUWC 2019: Urban Wildlife & Corridors

Suboptimal movement across the urban landscape can lead to injury or death and, thus, has a high fitness cost. Many cities have developed wildlife corridors that allow animals to move through the urban matrix while reducing their chances of being struck by a vehicle. But what if impervious surfaces, such as bike paths, can act... Continue Reading →

IUWC 2019: Community Science

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 →

IUWC 2019: Urban Raptors

Raptors are making a comeback in cities around the world, thanks to the discontinuation of DDT. We've highlighted raptors including Red-tailed Hawks and Peregrine Falcons previously in our Urban Observation of the Week. Within cities, pigeon and rat populations provide ample food and researchers in many cities are investigating what resources and landscape variables dictate... Continue Reading →

IUWC 2019: Drivers of Bird and Arthropod Diversity in Portland Yards

Urban yards have a large potential for providing habitat, and important considerations when studying these spaces are the tritrophic interactions between plant species, herbivores, and predators. Dr. Marion Dresner, Professor at Portland State University, has spent years studying these interactions in backyard habitats and is particularly interested in understanding how the management of backyards provides... Continue Reading →

IUWC 2019: Characteristics of Garden Bee Communities

Dr. Gail Langellotto, Professor of Urban and Community Horticulture at Oregon State University, was the first speaker in the "Urban Garden Ecology" section at the 2019 IUWC. Dr. Langellotto has been conducting research in garden ecosystems since her first faculty job at Fordham University. An entomologist by training, when she moved to the Bronx she... Continue Reading →

IUWC 2019: Urban Bats

If you live in a city you may not realize that urban populations of bats are all around you. But Liza Lehrer and Shannon Pederson, who work on urban bats, know that bats are common in cities, even if you don't always see them. Lehrer started off by describing how bats are under threat due... Continue Reading →

IUWC 2019: Opening Plenary – Collaboration & Conservation, Applications to Urban Wildlife

The International Urban Wildlife Conference kicked off Monday morning in Portland, OR with a Plenary Session titled "Collaboration and Conservation: Applications to Urban Wildlife" featuring talks by Dr. Chris Schell, Deeohn Ferris, and Bob Sallaniger followed by a panel discussion. Dr. Schell, Assistant Professor of Urban Ecology at the University of Washington, Tacoma and Life... Continue Reading →

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