Evolution in an Urbanizing World
Posted by: Brian C. Verrelli, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA The esteemed evolutionary biologist Douglas J. Futuyma once famously wondered “Wherefore and whither the naturalist?” in pondering the role of naturalists and the future of natural history studies. It is hard to imagine one without the other. I could not help but think something similar in... Continue Reading →
If you live in Europe or North America, chances are you have seen the species I have studied in my most recent paper at least once. The cross spider (Araneus diadematus) makes big beautiful orb webs, can easily be recognized by a cross-shaped white drawing on its abdomen, and you can find it pretty much... Continue Reading →
Night life in the city can be much brighter and artificial lighting can be a significant source of new evolutionary directions for city dwellers. A recent study by Hopkins et al. (2018) researchers reviewed how Artificial Light At Night (ALAN) can drive evolutionary change in a theoretical population. How can artificial light at night (ALAN) drive evolution?... Continue Reading →
In their recent contribution to the special issue on urban evolution in Proceedings B, Sarah Diamond and team share their exciting results on detecting parallel and non-parallel physiological responses to the urban heat island in acorn ants (paper here). This is the first of several posts to come on the recent special issue on urban evolution... Continue Reading →
Articles in the special feature used a diverse set of study organisms to explore the effects of urbanization on evolutionary patterns and processes. (a) Yellow jasmine (Gelsemium sempervirens, photo: Wikimedia Commons). (b) Great tit (Parus major, photo: Wikimedia Commons). (c) Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia, photo: A. Butko). (d) Water flea (Daphnia magna, photo: J. Mergeay). (e)... Continue Reading →
If you spend a lot of time in cities you’re probably used to seeing animals feeding on garbage. From city-dwellers who intentionally place stale bread crumbs outside for birds to the pesky raccoons that seem to be able to get into every type of garbage can, there is no doubt that urban animals take advantage... Continue Reading →
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