By Veerle Langezaal During the Covid-19 lockdowns, a grassroots movement emerged where botanists in France, the UK, and the Netherlands began chalking plant species names on sidewalks. This initiative aimed to educate communities about the ecological importance of these plants, challenging the perception of them as mere weeds. This movement has since evolved into a... Continue Reading →
Parallel Evolution of Melanism in Urban Squirrels
Cities offer an unprecedented global experiment for parallel evolutionary change: they similarly differ in several dimensions including climate, land cover, and pollution. Yet few studies examine evolutionary change across multiple cities, which is critical for identifying environmental characteristics that mediate adaptive responses. For example, city size, age, and habitat connectivity may all contribute to the... Continue Reading →
Natural Selection Favors Black Morph of Eastern Gray Squirrel in Cities
Eastern Gray Squirrels, Sciurus carolinensis, are some of the most visible and well-known urban animals in the Northeastern United States. Prior to European settlement of the region, the black morph of S. carolinensis ("melanistic") was much more abundant. Scientists have hypothesized that the dark pelt was advantageous in the old growth forests that used to cover the region.... Continue Reading →
City Snails Wear Yellow: Urban Heat Island Drives the Evolution of Shell Colour
(I’m writing this the night of the September 20, 2019 Climate Strike. This is merely the consequence of literal months of procrastinating—the paper I am writing about got published in July, and was online as a preprint even before—but it seems sadly appropriate as I am going to talk about adaptation to hotter environments.) If... Continue Reading →