Evolution in an Urbanizing World
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 →
If you've walked around a city with pigeons, you might have noticed that many of them are missing toes or have deformed feet. These foot deformities are common and may arise due to a number of different ailments including: chemicals that make surfaces sticky or apply an unpleasant odor; physical deterrents that are placed on... 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 →
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 →
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