Evolution in an Urbanizing World
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 Evolution by Jared Homola, Cynthia Loftin, and Michael Kinnison dug into the population genetics of... Continue Reading →
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 with (though this problem does happen to non-urban biologists as well), because urban animals are... Continue Reading →
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 literature papers to see what researchers have found. Competing Models of Urban Effects You might... Continue Reading →
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 hispidus. In a recent paper, Antonio de Andrade examined the abundance and habitat use of... Continue Reading →
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 day and stay hot well into the night. Because of this, animals that thrive in... Continue Reading →
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 but abundant food attracts animals to urban areas, but due to its reduced quality, this... Continue Reading →
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 to go out each morning to fill the feeder in their pajamas. This gives city... 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 →
Recently, LITC contributor Sophie Brietbart and myself published a review in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution as part of a special issue on Arthropod Interactions and Responses to Disturbance in a Changing World. Changes to the biotic and abiotic environment via urbanization present challenges not only to herbivorous arthropods, but also their host plants and... 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 tropics of Trinidad… the gleaming ice of the Arctic… as urban scientists, these are field sites we typically forgo for the sake of a short(ish) commute. Studying what’s “close to home” certainly has its benefits. Not only can we study the evolutionary dynamics of our own neighborhoods’ wildlife, but we also engage in science... Continue Reading →
City life can be difficult for many organisms. Cities are louder, brighter, hotter, and often more contaminated with toxins than nearby less-developed areas. Ever-increasing research is showing that organisms are coping with the urban environment in many ways. Urban great tits (Parus major) living in areas with high amounts of noise pollution sing at a... Continue Reading →
Have you ever found yourself wishing that the cafeteria was opened on weekends? Well apparently so have the birds! Read on to find out how weekly fluctuations in the availability of human food affect the foraging behavior of urban birds.
Ecomorphology describes how an animal’s physical traits (called morphology) match how it uses its habitat. It is assumed that ecomorphology results from performance-morphology relationships across different habitats. For instance, running speed (a measure of performance) could be affected by limb length (a measure of morphology), but this relationship varies based on habitat (e.g. type of... 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 →
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