Evolution in an Urbanizing World
Kevin Aviles-Rodriguez, a contributor here at LITC, studies urban adaptation and behavior of Anolis lizards. Previously, we told you all about Kevin's research on escape behavior of urban versus forest anoles, which was Kevin's MS research. During his PhD, Kevin has been focusing more on landscape genetics and the morphological impacts of hurricane Maria in urban... Continue Reading →
Posts here on Life in the City have covered the gamut of impacts of urbanization: the urban heat island, habitat fragmentation, artificial structures, changes in species interactions, and more. One aspect of anthropogenic change we haven’t yet considered is alterations to radioecology, or the ecology of how radioactive compounds affect organisms and the environment. While... Continue Reading →
In the second of four urban anole presentations at Evolution, Emmanuel D'Agostino does a great job summarizing new research by LITC contributor Chris Thawley. Chris' post-doc research has really delved into the night-light niche and ALAN, a topic that is no stranger to this blog (check out: It’s Lit in the City, Is Artificial Light Changing Pigeon... Continue Reading →
With increased urbanization across the globe comes more invasive species. Humans accidentally bring pests with them when they travel across the world. The highly invasive Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, has been found in Wake County, North Carolina. Emily Reed, a graduate student at NC State, collected mosquito eggs from 15 sites across Wake County... Continue Reading →
Anole lizards are adapting to urbanization. Anolis cristatellus in particular has rapidly and repeatedly evolved larger toepads with more lamellae (among many other trait shifts) in urban environments across Puerto Rico when compared to nearby forest environments. But one question that has been bugging me and Travis Hagey for years is how exactly are the toepads getting... Continue Reading →
As you may have guessed by now, urbanization changes the natural landscape and this can have consequences for the organisms that live in them. Feral pigeons, which had been domesticated thousands of years ago and transported globally by humans, are not immune to rapid urbanization impacts. Previous studies have shown that there can be inbreeding... Continue Reading →
When people think of the effects of cities on wildlife, changes on land often first come to mind. But, urban areas also have major impacts on aquatic life, especially near sewage treatment plants. These sewage plants dump billions of liters of effluent per day into estuaries and oceans, and this waste can contain a veritable... Continue Reading →
As of 2008, more people live in urban than in rural areas, and human populations in cities will only continue to increase. One goal of urban evolution research is to determine how the expansion of cities impacts genetic diversity of plants and animals. Cities may alter genetic diversity by changing how organisms move across the... Continue Reading →
The percent of impervious surface increases as you move from rural to urban areas, with city centers having the highest percent impervious surface. In a Megapolis like New York CIty, there is a gradient from the core of the city to less urban areas. There is typically less available habitat for plants to grow in... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
Most people – both researchers and residents alike – are quickly coming to appreciate that wildlife are increasingly common in cities, and here to stay. Some species are generally considered a welcomed part of the tapestry of an urban environment (think peregrine falcons). Rats clearly fall on the other extreme of the spectrum, maligned for... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
I’m excited to share an update on my foray into urban ecology and evolution research as an undergraduate! I've been working in the Revell Lab at the University of Massachusetts Boston since my freshman year. I've reported here before about some of my experiences in the field working on urban anoles. Over the past couple of... Continue Reading →
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