Category: Urban Environments
Blog news (3) Books (2) Citizen Science (20) Conference Proceedings (73) Defining Urbanization (6) Guest Post (9) How To (13) Museums/Natural History Collections (3) Natural History Notes (10) New Lit Abstracts (101) New Research (181) New Research Tools (7) Notes from the field (15) Public Outreach (21) sustainable development (2) Uncategorized (39) Urban Environments (54) Urban Evolution in the Media (12) Urban observations (87) Urban Wildlife (13)
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From ancient city builders to city adapters
Around 100 million years ago, long before humans evolved, the first cities were built on earth [1]. Although these cities were not visible from…
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When roads split species: Are urban newts evolving apart?
In cities, nature rarely disappears completely, it simply gets rearranged. For the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus), urban landscapes form networks of breeding ponds…
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Urban corals are following in the footsteps of pigeons
When you think of animals that thrive in the city, the first thing that comes to mind might be pigeons and raccoons, but certainly…
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If not pet, why pet shaped?
Everyone is familiar with this image, either from popular media or maybe even from real life: you’re walking through a North American city at…
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Sponge in the City: a nature-based solution for PFAS pollution?
There is a high likelihood that you have recently used (or at least heard about), products containing PFAS. This chemical group, which is widely…
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Bats in Leiden: The night shift nobody talks about
Every evening, about half an hour after sunset, something happens above the canals of Leiden, a city in the Netherlands, that most people miss…
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An urban fairy-tale: saving butterflies from urbanization
Cities are expanding and the world has become increasingly urbanised in recent decades. Urbanization is a main driver of global biodiversity loss and insect…
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Our cat’s cousin has returned to the Netherlands!
Our cat’s cousin has returned to the Netherlands! The Netherlands, one of the smallest countries in Europe, is getting wilder! A few days ago,…
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Herding cats
Humans and domesticated cats (Felis catus) have lived alongside one another for a very long time and, consequently, humans have taken their cats all…
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Dealing with relatives and concrete: how to make the city a refuge for wild bees?
Wild bees are declining at alarming rates in rural environments, but cities have the potential to provide habitat for a surprisingly high diversity of…
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Urban beekeeping poses a threat on wild bee species
Urban areas as a refuge Cities provide a diverse set of habitats that have the possibility to house many wild bee species [1]. Urban…
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Urbanization and the re-shaping of fish.
Around the globe we see an increase of populations living in cities, making urban environments the fastest growing ecosystem on the planet. Urbanization is…
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Beyond the Shade: The Growing Disadvantages of the London Plane
When I was younger, I remember thinking to myself: “This tree is losing its skin, is it dying?” I believe I can’t be the…
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How do we make birds feel more at home?
Cover photo: Birds on a lantern post (Source: Business Insider) Taking a walk through the busy streets of the city, life appears to all…
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A concrete hunting ground: a new environment for raptors
Within cities, the number of trophic levels present in the community can change when animals migrate there. Smaller predators can end up at the…