Bottlenose Dolphins’ Adaptations to Noise in Urban Harbours: Shouting, Eavesdropping & Fleeing

Bottlenose Dolphins' Adaptations to Noise in Urban Harbours: Shouting, Eavesdropping & Fleeing Health risks of urban noise to Bottlenose dolphins Recently, urban sightings of cetaceans have become increasingly prevalent, which can be linked to higher water quality and healthier environments in general. Recent examples include dolphin sightings in the Baltimore (US), and Bridlington (UK); killer... Continue Reading →

April 22, 2024 0

From Isolation to Collaboration: How COVID-19 Lockdowns Inspired a Citizen Science Project Illuminating the Wonders of Urban Plant Diversity

By Veerle Langezaal During the Covid-19 lockdowns, a grassroots movement emerged where botanists in France, the UK, and the Netherlands began chalking plant species names on sidewalks. This initiative aimed to educate communities about the ecological importance of these plants, challenging the perception of them as mere weeds. This movement has since evolved into a... Continue Reading →

July 19, 2023 0

Backyard Wildlife

Check out Lauren Cook's 'The New Urban Jungle' to explore ways to make your backyard a suitable habitat for urban wildlife! https://twitter.com/UNBiodiversity/status/1632788135401619470 Featured image: screenshot from 'The New Urban Jungle' video

April 6, 2023 0

Urban Wildlife in Albuquerque

Check out this video of Zoë Rossman discussing the vibrant and diverse wildlife in Albuquerque, New Mexico! https://twitter.com/ABQcitynature/status/1635393208393023488 Zoë is a wildlife photographer and Ph.D. candidate studying urban coyotes (Canis latrans), and other large mammals, at the University of New Mexico. In 2021, she sat down with Laura Paskus of New Mexico PBS to discuss... Continue Reading →

March 23, 2023 0

How the GLUE Animation Came About

“How life adapts to cities around the world” is a 5 minute educational animated film created by Sherry An (myself), a science and medical illuHow the GLUE Animation Came Aboutstrator and designer from Mississauga, Canada. The film uses 3D animation and visual storytelling to share the goals and results of the first GLUE study in... Continue Reading →

November 15, 2022 0

New Book Alert: Chasing Bats and Tracking Rats Urban Ecology, Community Science, and How We Share Our Cities

A new urban ecology book by Dr. Cylita Guy is out that highlights the work of multiple urban ecologists and evolutionary biologists, including many of our LITC contributors! What can city bees tell us about climate change? How are we changing coyote behavior? And what the heck is a science bike? Featuring the work of... Continue Reading →

February 4, 2022 0

Urban Evolution & Art

The piece below was posted in 2018 by A.Z. Andis Arietta a PhD candidate in the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies at Yale University -- I recently rediscovered it and thought it would be of interest to our followers. Check out Andis's blog here. In schools, we are taught that evolution is an imperceptibly... Continue Reading →

May 14, 2021 0

Why Participate in Science Communication? + Urban Evolution Teaching Resource

When I began grad school, I set a goal: for my parents to understand the basics of my research. Neither have a background in science or research. [socialpoll id="2647412"] Over the past two years they've heard me yammer on about urbanization, genotypes, and common garden experiments. I can tell that my efforts are not wasted... Continue Reading →

June 9, 2020 0

What is the “Indoor Biome”?

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 →

September 3, 2019 0

IUWC 2019: Linking Student Conservation Knowledge to Attitude and Behavior

For most of us, our interest in urban ecology is rooted in the desire to better understand and conserve biodiversity. Once researchers better understand the science behind issues facing our urban species, the next step is engaging the wider public on how to beset conserve these species. This theme was present almost every talk I... Continue Reading →

June 10, 2019 0

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 →

June 3, 2019 2

Evolution in Urban Environments Talk

For those of you who follow us and live in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), I'm giving a talk at the Riverwood Conservancy this Saturday, April 20th at 9:30 am. You can register for the event here. I will be talking about how urbanization can influence evolution for a lot of different organisms, including plants... Continue Reading →

April 17, 2019 0

Fieldwork on Urban Private Property: Getting Started

Woman taking a soil sample in a backyard

Let’s consider a scenario. You’re designing a new research project, and you realize that for the first time that you (or your students) are going to need access to private property in an urban area to answer your question properly. Do you need a permit? A permission form? Who do you ask? Should you just... Continue Reading →

March 4, 2019 2

Pigeons as a Model for Ecological and Social Research

As a common urban bird, pigeons usually provoke strong opinions — people often either despise them or enjoy the daily wildlife interaction that they provide. While conducting an urban ecology study in Butte, Montana, Dr. Stella Capoccia noticed that because of their ubiquity, pigeons are often taken for granted as an important member of the urban ecosystem. This... Continue Reading →

January 28, 2019 0

Auditory Resources for Urban Evolution

No matter what career stage you are in- maybe you just stumbled upon this blog, or maybe your works are being cited in it- vision is arguably the most critical sense for anyone intent on becoming a scientist. We are constantly reading, writing, attending seminars, peering through microscopes, and using our eyes in countless other... Continue Reading →

December 14, 2018 0

Category: Public Outreach