Evolution in an Urbanizing World
Today we are excited to launch a new section of the site on urban eco-evo literature! You'll notice that along with this post today a handful of other "new literature alert" posts also were published. Instead of just tweeting the cool urban ecology and evolution papers we hear about, we will post the abstract and... Continue Reading →
Phenotypic response to a major hurricane in Anolis lizards in urban and forest habitats Kevin J Avilés-Rodríguez, Kristin M Winchell, Luis F De León, Liam J Revell Abstract Little is known about the synergistic impacts of urbanization and hurricanes on synanthropes. We compared morphological traits of the lizard Anolis cristatelluson Puerto Rico sampled before the 2017 category... Continue Reading →
Fine scale genetic structure in fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra) along a rural‑to‑urban gradient G. Yannic, V. Helfer, R. Sermier, B. R. Schmidt, L. Fumagalli Abstract Delineating population boundaries in anthropogenic landscape is of critical importance for domains of biology that are concerned with the ecology, evolution and conservation of species. This remains particularly difficult for species where there is... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
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.
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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