Evolution in an Urbanizing World
An outstanding question in urban evolutionary biology is what factors influence a species' success in urban environments. This is a topic we've talked about before (check out Urban Adaptation in Mammals) and several other recent papers have tackled this topic. A variety of factors may influence whether or not a species occupies an urban environment... Continue Reading →
Urbanization has repeatedly been shown to negatively impact wild animals and is a particular concern for wild birds. Fortunately, some species are able to flexibly alter their behavioral phenotypes and adapt to the busy life in the city. Resource competition may be higher in urban environments, thereby selecting for more aggressive behaviors in city-slicking birds.... Continue Reading →
Darwin's finches in the Galapagos are the poster children of adaptive radiation. These birds have formed many species that differ in their beaks. The size and shape of beaks make them uniquely suited to take advantage of different food resources. Hard big beaks are great for eating large hard seeds, small beaks for small seeds.... Continue Reading →
My eyes are instinctively drawn to a black, blue, and snow white flurry of movement. A reflex hammer to my naturalist’s knee. The subject of my fascination springs a brisk two-footed hop-scotch, just ahead along a ribbon of green separating parking lot from bustling sidewalk in downtown Calgary. The throng of oncoming foot-traffic ignore the... Continue Reading →
Collecting samples in urban environments can present some challenges (as Matt Combs describes in "The Good, The Bad, and The Smelly" and Jane Remfert describes in “Urban Residential Field Tip”). As someone working on pigeons in Northeastern cities, I’ve encountered problems while simply trying to collect my samples. Many ornithologists use mist nets, but these... Continue Reading →
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