Evolution in an Urbanizing World
Pollination is a fundamental ecological process that supports biodiversity and sustains economies through crop pollination. About 80% of wild plant species rely on insect pollination for seed set and fruit. Additionally, about 75% of crops used for human food rely on insect pollination. This means that insect pollination is highly important for biodiversity and agriculture... Continue Reading →
In my previous blog post I wrote about the beauty and uses of lichens in the city, and I mentioned their use as indicators for pollution. In this post I want to go a little deeper into their interactions with pollution especially in urban habitats. Ammonia Pollution Urban traffic causes a great deal of pollution... Continue Reading →
Cities are becoming more and more grey, with less and less living biomass. The consequence is that there is not enough natural nesting material available for the urban birds. These birds adapt to use alternative anthropogenic nesting materials. Examples include synthetic twine, string, and rope or artificial plants made of plastic (Hiemstra et al. 2021).... Continue Reading →
It is definitely that time of year again: insects and other invertebrates seem to spawn from every nook and cranny. We see snails feasting on freshly emerged leaves, earthworms being snatched away by hungry and breeding birds and flies scouting for a place to lay their eggs. We double-check for ticks after a nice forest... Continue Reading →
The world has become increasingly urbanised in recent decades and cities are still expanding at fast rates all across the world. This urbanization and evolution of cities has numerous major environmental consequences, such as climate change or biodiversity loss due to habitat replacement, degradation, and fragmentation (1,2). These new, often socio-environmental, challenges that urban evolution... Continue Reading →
Interpopulation morphological differences and sexual dimorphism of Dekay’s brownsnake (Storeria dekayi) along a rural–urban gradient Tianqi Huang, Peter J. Morin, & Sara Ruane Abstract In response to the surge of urbanization in the modern era, many organisms have undergone various changes, such as the shift of their morphological traits to face the challenges brought by this drastic environmental transformation. Rapid... Continue Reading →
An introduction to the city spider Spiders are the most diverse and abundant terrestrial predators on earth. This group of species is, in turn, a crucial contributor to the earth's ecosystems as we know them: they control insect populations directly, which indirectly changes plant diversity and productivity. Since many of the earths ecosystems are under... Continue Reading →
Sex-specific morphological shifts across space and time in replicate urban wall lizard introductions Eric J Gangloff, Anusha P Bishop, Alyssa Head, Gregory B Pauly, Constant Perry, Princeton L Vaughn, Kristin M Winchell, and Kinsey M Brock Abstract As species move into new environments through founder events, their phenotypes may diverge from native populations. Understanding the drivers underlying such variation, and the constraints... Continue Reading →
Cities are a special environment regulated by humans: planted green spaces, paved streets, large buildings, constant light and traffic. Some animals like meadow birds have disappeared from these landscapes, but other animals have not. Trashcans, littering, bird feeders, food laying around restaurants and cafés all attract animals to the cities. This leads to an increase... Continue Reading →
Parallel phenotypes of Littoraria angulifera emerge across ecoregions, as a response to urbanization Javier A. Venegas, Levy Obonaga & José M. Riascos Abstract Cities are emerging as the fastest-growing ecosystems on Earth. While evidence is accumulating that a diverse array of species exploits urban habitats, the mechanisms by which urbanization drives natural selection and shapes phenotypic responses remain poorly understood,... Continue Reading →
Some fries left on the ground, a half-eaten sandwich, or some breadcrumbs kindly given by someone on a park bench. Pigeons (Columba livia) in the city don’t shy away from eating human-derived foods. Although most pigeons are eager to eat our food scraps, this behaviour has been linked to a likely downside: the urban lifestyle... Continue Reading →
Urbanization strongly affects freshwater streams, because they are sensitive to land use due to their topographical location. The increase in discharge that occurs after rainfall is one of the most noticeable alterations to urban streams. In urban environments, buildings, roads, and other infrastructure rush the transportation of rainwater into streams by preventing it from soaking... Continue Reading →
What wakes you up in the morning? Is it your alarm clock? Is it the clattering of your housemate in the kitchen? Is it the smell of coffee? While these experiences happen like clockwork, for many organisms it is not sound or smell that wakes them up but the sun. Those first dawn beams of... Continue Reading →
Were bed bugs the first urban pest insect? Genome-wide patterns of bed bug demography mirror global human expansion Lindsay S. Miles, Brian C. Verrelli, Richard Adams, Yannick Z. Francioli, Daren C. Card, Ondřej Balvin, Todd A. Castoe and Warren Booth Published: 28 May 2025 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0061 By Camille Block This newly published paper, coauthored by one... Continue Reading →
Different traits shape winners and losers in urban bird assemblages across seasons Riccardo Alba, Fabio Marcolin, Giacomo Assandri, Luca Ilahiane, Francesca Cochis, Mattia Brambilla, Diego Rubolini & Dan Chamberlain Abstract Urbanisation is a major driver of global biodiversity decline, profoundly affecting animal communities. While most studies on bird communities have primarily focused on the breeding season, we aimed to identify species responses and... Continue Reading →
Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Baskerville 2 by Anders Noren.