Evolution in an Urbanizing World
As you may have guessed by now, urbanization changes the natural landscape and this can have consequences for the organisms that live in them. Feral pigeons, which had been domesticated thousands of years ago and transported globally by humans, are not immune to rapid urbanization impacts. Previous studies have shown that there can be inbreeding... Continue Reading →
When people think of the effects of cities on wildlife, changes on land often first come to mind. But, urban areas also have major impacts on aquatic life, especially near sewage treatment plants. These sewage plants dump billions of liters of effluent per day into estuaries and oceans, and this waste can contain a veritable... Continue Reading →
As of 2008, more people live in urban than in rural areas, and human populations in cities will only continue to increase. One goal of urban evolution research is to determine how the expansion of cities impacts genetic diversity of plants and animals. Cities may alter genetic diversity by changing how organisms move across the... Continue Reading →
The percent of impervious surface increases as you move from rural to urban areas, with city centers having the highest percent impervious surface. In a Megapolis like New York CIty, there is a gradient from the core of the city to less urban areas. There is typically less available habitat for plants to grow in... Continue Reading →
Fragmentation of habitat patches is one of many consequences that occurs due to urbanization. This fragmentation can lead to isolated populations that are completely surrounded by urban structures. This isolation can happen on relatively quick timescales, as quickly as 30 years! Due to the loss of habitat patches available for nesting, there can be plant-pollinator... Continue Reading →
Populations are often challenged to live in novel or rapidly changing environments. This is probably most clear in cities where new habitat is being created causing native species to encounter novel habitat features. But because of this, cities set the stage to help researchers understand the plastic and evolutionary shifts that occur in wild organisms.... Continue Reading →
Earlier this year we brought you coverage of urban evolution talks from SICB, and just last week we covered the International Urban Wildlife Conference. Up next, we will be bringing you urban evolution talks live from the annual Evolution meeting in Providence, Rhode Island from June 22nd – 25th! It seems hard to believe almost a... Continue Reading →
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