Evolution in an Urbanizing World
We get a whole lot of New York City's wildlife observations here. For your viewing pleasure, here is the Eastern Phoebe, which may look like it is in pristine wildlife, but listen closely and you can hear the sounds of the city. Do you have a photo or video of an urban species doing... Continue Reading →
There's an old saying, "the early bird gets the worms." Well in Washington D.C., the early bird, a Peregrine Falcon, gets the better parking spots! This week our observation comes from iNaturalist, a web and mobile app that allows users to record, share, and discuss observations of plants and animals. You can read more about... Continue Reading →
These milkweeds are still hanging on. Most milkweed plants are not visible, they have retreated to under the soil, especially in urban areas that mow. This population has been holding on, protected by the narrow patch of land, shielded from many of the elements in this nook. These are hearty plants, found in rough patches,... Continue Reading →
This weekend is Saint Patrick's Day and what better way to celebrate than to show off a four-leaf clover, Trifolium repens. They are more common than you'd think, if you were collecting hundreds of samples across the world like graduate student Simon Innes. Usually these plants have three distinct leaves (hence trifolium in the name).... Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago one of the students in my department, Stephanie Lieffrig, had this Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) land on her AC unit in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx, New York. Hawks, along with Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) are quite common in New York City and AC units are a rather common perch... Continue Reading →
We find all sorts of flora and fauna in urban areas that don't seem to belong there. Here is a purple gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus) that was found a bit outside of its Southern US range. These birds are usually found in marshes further south than Washington D.C., and usually not so high up as this apartment sill!... Continue Reading →
Raccoons are really smart and prolific in urban areas. They have been found to eat "people" food, cat food, dog food, trash, etc. In fact, they may be getting fatter in urban areas compared to non-urban areas. Dr. Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde is working on finding out if this is really the case. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3TtmbIlTvw[/embedyt] Do you... Continue Reading →
This week we wish you a Happy Valentine's Day, urban anole style! Here's some photos I took of Anolis grahami in Kingston, Jamaica a couple of weeks ago. Anoles have a colorful throat fan (called a dewlap) that they extend to signal to other males in dominance displays and to females they would like to mate... Continue Reading →
Ecological stoichiometry of the black widow spider and its prey from desert, urban and laboratory populations Urbanization can change the nutrient availability for organisms that live within cities. Ecological stoichiometry (ES) is a way to identify nutrient requirements and limitations of organisms by measuring carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P). ES can show when their are imbalances in... Continue Reading →
The Western black widow spider has been found in many urban areas across the Western United States. You find them frequently in garages, in wood pile, and on brick fences in urban areas. Urban populations can get quite dense, with over 100 spiders occupying 1 city block! These spiders are asocial, which means they do... Continue Reading →
Remember back when we showed you how to get permission to do field sampling on private property? Well, here is the lovely dogwood, Cornus florida, in front of row houses in Richmond, VA. Do you have a photo or video of an urban species doing something unusual? What about a rare plant or animal... Continue Reading →
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 →
This week's observation is New York City's newest mascot, egg roll squirrel. Pizza rat is so last week. NYC strikes again with wildlife enjoying anthropogenic food. And if you can't get enough squirrels check out our previous posts on squirrel behavior here and here. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L4mK_By-Bg[/embedyt] Do you have a photo or video of... Continue Reading →
We are starting a new post type here, weekly urban observations. To kick this off, here is the classic pizza rat! New York City has lots of urban wildlife that seem to really do well with humans. We've discussed rats previously on our blog, along with how urbanization might influence the diets of Darwin's Finches... Continue Reading →
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