The common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) offers a great opportunity to study how humans are influencing the course of evolution. These lizards have a large native range, covering much of Southern Europe, but are also successfully established in many places, including Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. The common wall lizard was introduced to Cincinnati in the early... Continue Reading →
New Lit Alert: Skyscrapers as Ecological Traps of the Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae): Preliminary Observations
Skyscrapers as Ecological Traps of the Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae): Preliminary Observations Kenneth D. Frank & Gregory W. Cowper Abstract Since its introduction to North America from Asia in 2014, the spotted lanternfly has emerged as a pest in rural and suburban settings. In downtown Philadelphia we found adults of the spotted lanternfly... Continue Reading →
New Lit Alert: Invasion success and tolerance to urbanization in birds
Invasion success and tolerance to urbanization in birds César González-Lagos, Laura Cardador and Daniel Sol Abstract Cities are considered hotspots of biological invasions, yet it remains unclear why non-indigenous species are so successful in environments that most local native species do not tolerate. Here, we explore the intriguing possibility that humans may be unintentionally introducing... Continue Reading →
Moving to the City: Morphology and Performance in Introduced Urban Lizards
Making the best of a difficult year With a group of other students here at Ohio Wesleyan University, I had successfully written a grant to research the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) in the south of France for the summer of 2020. Like so many plans that year, this trip was canceled. While the streets... Continue Reading →