Urban Observation: Peacock Fly

Although many urban residents are woefully familiar with flies (Order: Diptera), I am willing to bet not many know about the Peacock Fly (Callopistromyia annulipes). A native of North America, this diminutive fly stands out from the rest of its kin due to its rather peculiar behavior, seen below! This otherwise cryptically-colored fly uses its... Continue Reading →

New Lit Alert: Temperature and not landscape composition shapes wild bee communities in an urban environment

Temperature and not landscape composition shapes wild bee communities in an urban environment Costanza Geppert, Andree Cappellari, Daria Corcos, Valerio Caruso, Pierfilippo Cerretti, Maurizio Mei, Lorenzo Marini Abstract 1. More than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase. Even if urbanisation is widely regarded as a... Continue Reading →

New Lit Alert: Habitat provision is a major driver of native bird communities in restored urban forests

Habitat provision is a major driver of native bird communities in restored urban forests Elizabeth Elliot Noe, John Innes, Andrew D. Barnes, Chaitanya Joshi, Bruce D. Clarkson Abstract 1. Urbanization, and the drastic loss of habitat it entails, poses a major threat to global avian biodiversity. Ecological restoration of urban forests is therefore increasingly vital... Continue Reading →

New Lit Alert: Signs of Urban Evolution? Morpho-Functional Traits Co-variation Along a Nature-Urban Gradient in a Chagas Disease Vector

Signs of Urban Evolution? Morpho-Functional Traits Co-variation Along a Nature-Urban Gradient in a Chagas Disease Vector Ana C. Montes de Oca-Aguilar, Adriana González-Martínez, Raúl Chan-González, Pilar Ibarra-López, Selene Smith-Ávila, Alex Córdoba-Aguilar, and Carlos N. Ibarra-Cerdeña Abstract Environmental change (i.e., urbanization) impacts species in contrasting ways, with some species experiencing benefits given their way of life... Continue Reading →

New Lit Alert: Socio-ecological drivers of multiple zoonotic hazards in highly urbanized cities

Socio-ecological drivers of multiple zoonotic hazards in highly urbanized cities Matthew A. Combs, Pallavi A. Kache, Meredith C. VanAcker, Nichar Gregory, Laura D. Plimpton, Danielle M. Tufts, Maria P. Fernandez, Maria A. Diuk-Wasser Abstract The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of pathogen spillover from wildlife to human hosts, particularly... Continue Reading →

New Lit Alert: Detecting patterns of vertebrate biodiversity across the multidimensional urban landscape

Detecting patterns of vertebrate biodiversity across the multidimensional urban landscape Marina Alberti & Tianzhe Wang Abstract Explicit characterisation of the complexity of urban landscapes is critical for understanding patterns of biodiversity and for detecting the underlying social and ecological processes that shape them. Urban environments exhibit variable heterogeneity and connectivity, influenced by different historical contingencies,... Continue Reading →

New Lit Alert: Genetic differentiation in pesticide resistance between urban and rural populations of a nontarget freshwater keystone interactor, Daphnia magna

Genetic differentiation in pesticide resistance between urban and rural populations of a nontarget freshwater keystone interactor, Daphnia magna Kristien I. Brans, Rafaela A. Almeida, Maxime Fajgenblat Abstract There is growing evidence that urbanization drives adaptive evolution in response to thermal gradients. One such example is documented in the water flea Daphnia magna. However, organisms residing in urban lentic... Continue Reading →

Congratulations!!!

We are happy to share today some fantastic news about our LITC crew: LITC co-founder, Elizabeth Carlen, passed her dissertation defense today on urban evolution in pigeons! And one of our top contributors (and my academic sibling), Kevin Avilés-Rodríguez, also passed his dissertation defense this past friday on the interacting effects of hurricanes and urbanization in Anolis... Continue Reading →

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