New Lit Alert: Urban living influences the nesting success of Darwin’s finches in the Galápagos Islands

Urban living influences the nesting success of Darwin’s finches in the Galápagos Islands Johanna A. Harvey, Kiley Chernicky, Shelby R. Simons, Taylor B. Verrett, Jaime A. Chaves, Sarah A. Knutie Abstract Urbanization is expanding worldwide with major consequences for organisms. Anthropogenic factors can reduce the fitness of animals but may have benefits, such as consistent human food availability. Understanding anthropogenic... Continue Reading →

April 23, 2021 0

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 →

April 12, 2021 1

Infographic: The right temperature

Pineapples and Whales recently created an infographic about parallel evolution in urban anole populations! It's based on this study in Nature Ecology & Evolution: Parallel selection on thermal physiology facilitates repeated adaptation of city lizards to urban heat islands.

April 6, 2021 0

Urban Observation of the Week: Harlem Hawk

New York City is the largest city in the United States. It has concrete, sky-high buildings, insane traffic, and yet it is home to a variety of birds and birders. Today, we bring you a red-tailed hawk, identified by Jeff Ward, in the Harlem back yard of Jacqui Farmer. Do you have a photo or... Continue Reading →

March 17, 2021 0

Urban Observation of the Week: Singapore Otters

A few weeks ago, we showed you astroturf otters and Salisbury street market otters. Today, we bring you smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata) running through the streets of Singapore. Do you have a photo or video of an urban species doing something unusual? What about a rare plant or animal that you were surprised to find... Continue Reading →

March 10, 2021 0

Urban Observation of the Week: Owl on a Power Line

Above ground power lines seem to make a great perch for a lot of squirrels and birds. Usually, we see owls perched on trees, but today we bring you an owl on a power line. Do you have a photo or video of an urban species doing something unusual? What about a rare plant or... Continue Reading →

March 3, 2021 0

Urban Lizards Like it Hot (and their genes may tell us why)

Cities are hot. Because of the urban heat island effect, urban environments tend to be significantly warmer than nearby non-urban environments. For ectothermic organisms, like lizards and insects, elevated urban temperatures create thermally stressful conditions. It might be unsurprising then that researchers have documented an increase in thermal tolerance in urban animals (e.g., City Ants... Continue Reading →

February 26, 2021 0

Urban Observation of the Week: Graffiti Anoles

When a wall is painted over many times, it will start to have layers peel off. These cracks in the paint apparently make a great hideout for anoles. Do you have a photo or video of an urban species doing something unusual? What about a rare plant or animal that you were surprised to find... Continue Reading →

February 24, 2021 0

Where’s the Restroom?

Earlier this week, the wonderful women over at Women of Fisheries posted about the struggles of going to the bathroom when doing fieldwork on a boat. They point out that going to the bathroom can be especially uncomfortable for women since it's more difficult to easily pee off the side of the boat due to... Continue Reading →

February 19, 2021 0

Urban Observation of the Week: Rat in the Engine

When your car isn't running as smoothly as it used to, you take it into the car shop to get it checked out. Most of the time, there's some component that got old and needs to be replaced. Sometimes, there's wildlife hanging out in the warmth of the engine. This bushy-tailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea) chewed... Continue Reading →

February 17, 2021 0

What is an urban pest?

Earlier this week I showed you the pair of turkeys lurking in my neighbourhood. I was quite annoyed with them, they blocked my car from getting to my driveway when I really needed to get inside ASAP. These birds yelled at me after I parked, rude. I considered them a pest, a major annoyance to... Continue Reading →

February 12, 2021 0

Urban Observation of the Week: Street Turkeys

There have been multiple sightings of these two turkeys in my neighborhood. I was trying to get home and these two just stayed in the middle of the street, blocking my way. These turkeys are HUGE and have zero fear of my car! Do you have a photo or video of an urban species doing... Continue Reading →

February 10, 2021 1

How to Study Urban Speciation

Given the right conditions, life in the city might just lead to speciation. Wouter Halfwerk digs into the potential for and evidence of urban speciation in his latest paper in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. Halfwerk points out that many studies have revealed both genetic and phenotypic divergence in urban populations, but asks are we seeing... Continue Reading →

February 5, 2021 0

Urban Observation of the Week: Red Tailed Hawk in NYC

Pigeons are one of the most common, iconic birds we see in cities. Did you know that pigeons are prey for larger, predatory birds? We like Red-tailed hawks so much they've been featured as our urban observation multiple times. Here, we see a New York City red-tailed hawk that caught a pigeon for lunch. Do... Continue Reading →

February 3, 2021 0

Recap: The Finer Points of Urban Adaptation

In August 2020, I recently published my first first-author paper about urban Anolis lizard claws! I have previously written about my research after doing field work and presenting at my university's science symposium. I'm excited to report that the results are finally out! In our paper, The Finer Points of Urban Adaptation, myself and my coauthors (Kevin... Continue Reading →

January 29, 2021 1

Life in the City