Plenty of rooftops with few neighbours occupied by young breeding Yellow-legged Gulls (Larus michahellis): does this occur at the expense of their health condition? Joana Pais De Faria, Vitor H. Paiva, Sara N. Veríssimo, Catarina S. Lopes, Rita Soares, João Oliveira, Ivo dos Santos, Ana C. Norte, Jaime A. Ramos Abstract Gull populations, as largely... Continue Reading →
New Lit Alert: Which Traits Influence Bird Survival in the City? A Review
Which Traits Influence Bird Survival in the City? A Review Swaroop Patankar, Ravi Jambhekar, Kulbhushansingh Ramesh Suryawanshi, and Harini Nagendra Abstract Urbanization poses a major threat to biodiversity worldwide. We focused on birds as a well-studied taxon of interest, in order to review literature on traits that influence responses to urbanization. We review 226 papers... Continue Reading →
New Lit Alert: Urbanization extends flight phenology and leads to local adaptation of seasonal plasticity in Lepidoptera
Urbanization extends flight phenology and leads to local adaptation of seasonal plasticity in Lepidoptera Thomas Merckx, Matthew E. Nielsen, Janne Heliölä, Mikko Kuussaari, Lars B. Pettersson, Juha Pöyry, Juha Tiainen, Karl Gotthard, and Sami M. Kivelä Abstract Urbanization is gaining force globally, which challenges biodiversity, and it has recently also emerged as an agent of... Continue Reading →
Urban Adaptation in Mammals
Mammals are some of the most easily recognizable and endearing critters to share our cities with us. Who doesn't love a cute bunny or squirrel in a city park? Or a fox or raccoon slinking through the streets at night. Even city rats can be endearing. Despite the commonality of these species, urban areas are... Continue Reading →
Time for a Dive Part II: Urban Evolution in the Aquatic
Above: (c) Erin Walsh for Journal of Conservation Physiology on the evolution of heat tolerance in Daphnia Earlier this week, I introduced you to the aquatic flea, Daphnia magna, and its habitat in urban environments. I'll pick up where I left off and tell you now about the research I've been doing with these aquatic organisms. After... Continue Reading →
City Gulls of Spain
One thing I always wonder when I see birds flying around cities is "where are they nesting???" Fortunately, the Audubon Society has an answer for that question - many birds nest in and on buildings and other anthropogenic structures. For example: Chimney swifts nest inside of chimneys Cliff swallows build mud nests on the sides... Continue Reading →
SICB 2019: Urbanization Affects the Stress Physiology and Life History of Stream Fish
Urban environments are on the rise, bringing with them pollutants from run-off which alters water temperature, chemistry, and hydrology, ultimately driving a decrease in biodiversity. These disturbances can affect the physiological stress response of fishes by increasing or dysregulating their primary stress hormone, cortisol, and potentially altering their reproductive allocation. Arseniy Kolonin, a master’s student at Texas State... Continue Reading →