New Lit Alert: Cat colonies and flight initiation distances of urban birds: Dealing with conflicting sources of citizen wellbeing

Cat colonies and flight initiation distances of urban birds: Dealing with conflicting sources of citizen wellbeing Mario Díaz, Jonatan Fernández, Alicia Page Abstract Feral cat colonies in cities improve the wellbeing of people who feed and care for them, but they can have negative effects on biodiversity due to the predatory behaviour of cats. We... Continue Reading →

March 27, 2023 0

New Lit Alert: Cat colonies and flight initiation distances of urban birds: Dealing with conflicting sources of citizen wellbeing

March 18, 2022 0

Genomic Analysis Highlights Cognition in Urban Burrowing Owls

What makes a bird successful in the city? Jakob Mueller and colleagues first attempted to answer this question in blackbirds, finding genomic signatures of selection in the SERT gene associated with harm avoidance. Now, building on only a handful of studies to explore the genomic basis of urban adaptive responses, Mueller and colleagues tackle this... Continue Reading →

December 15, 2020 1

What Do FID Studies Really Tell Us About Boldness?

A common behavioral trend observed in urban animals is that they tend to be bolder compared to their rural counterparts. This behavioral shift can enable urban animals to deal with the unique stressors of urban life and may set the stage for urban adaptation. A common way to quantify boldness is to measure flight-initiation distance, or... Continue Reading →

September 10, 2019 0

Skirting Skinks: Are Lizards Learning to Live Among Humans?

You can't live near humans if you're afraid. Fleeing constantly can be very costly, so generally animals near humans tend to become accustomed to them. A new research compares skinks in Mo'orea island to see if their escape response varies and if skinks living with more humans have adjusted their responses accordingly.

July 12, 2019 1