New Lit Alert: Big cities, big bodies: urbanisation correlates with large body sizes and enhanced body condition in African dwarf chameleons (Genus: Bradypodion)

Big cities, big bodies: urbanisation correlates with large body sizes and enhanced body condition in African dwarf chameleons (Genus: Bradypodion) Jody M. Barends & Krystal A. Tolley Abstract Urbanisation is a major driver of habitat transformation that alters the environmental conditions and selective regimes of the habitats where it occurs. For species inhabiting urban habitats, such... Continue Reading →

October 22, 2024 0

The many consequences of urbanization on an endemic Cuban lizard

As urbanization continues to reshape landscapes, its effects on wildlife have become a subject of growing concern. In the unique context of Cuba, a recent study focused on an endemic lizard species, Anolis homolechis, found in both natural and suburban environments. This in-depth study relied on adapted tracking methods deployed over several years and explored... Continue Reading →

February 8, 2024 0

New Lit Alert: Climbing and clinging of urban lizards are differentially affected by morphology, temperature, and substrate

Climbing and clinging of urban lizards are differentially affected by morphology, temperature, and substrate P L Vaughn, C Colwell, E H Livingston, W McQueen, C Pettit, S Spears, L Tuhela, E J Gangloff Abstract Urbanization alters the environment along many dimensions, including changes to structural habitat and thermal regimes. These can present challenges, but may also provide suitable habitat for certain species.... Continue Reading →

February 23, 2023 0

Parallel Urban Adaptation from Phenotype to Genotype in Anolis Lizards

Anolis lizards (known as anoles) are models for studying evolution in the wild. Not only do anoles have a history of repeatedly diversifying to specialize in the same types of microhabitats in the same ways across the Greater Antilles (i.e., they are an adaptive radiation), these lizards also have a tendency to adapt on rapid... Continue Reading →

January 19, 2023 0

New Lit Alert: Signs of Urban Evolution? Morpho-Functional Traits Co-variation Along a Nature-Urban Gradient in a Chagas Disease Vector

Signs of Urban Evolution? Morpho-Functional Traits Co-variation Along a Nature-Urban Gradient in a Chagas Disease Vector Ana C. Montes de Oca-Aguilar, Adriana González-Martínez, Raúl Chan-González, Pilar Ibarra-López, Selene Smith-Ávila, Alex Córdoba-Aguilar, and Carlos N. Ibarra-Cerdeña Abstract Environmental change (i.e., urbanization) impacts species in contrasting ways, with some species experiencing benefits given their way of life... Continue Reading →

March 29, 2022 0

New Lit Alert: Growing up in a new world: trait divergence between rural, urban, and invasive populations of an amphibian urban invader

Growing up in a new world: trait divergence between rural, urban, and invasive populations of an amphibian urban invader Max Mühlenhaupt, James Baxter-Gilbert, Buyisile G. Makhubo, Julia L. Riley, John Measey Abstract Cities are focal points of introduction for invasive species. Urban evolution might facilitate the success of invasive species in recipient urban habitats. Here... Continue Reading →

October 25, 2021 0

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 →

July 9, 2021 0

New Lit Alert: Moving to the city: testing the implications of morphological shifts on locomotor performance in introduced urban lizards

Moving to the city: testing the implications of morphological shifts on locomotor performance in introduced urban lizards Princeton L Vaughn, Wyatt Mcqueen, Eric J Gangloff Abstract Understanding how morphology affects performance in novel environments and how populations shift their morphology in response to environmental selective pressures is necessary to understand how invaders can be successful.... Continue Reading →

June 19, 2021 0

New Lit Alert: Morphological divergence, tail loss, and predation risk in urban lizards

Morphological divergence, tail loss, and predation risk in urban lizards Shashank Balakrishna, Madhura Sham Amdekar & Maria Thaker Abstract Urbanisation changes the structure of natural habitats and alters trophic interactions, pressuring urban species to adjust and adapt. Unlike behavioural shifts that tend to be more flexible, morphological characteristics in vertebrates are less plastic and changes may come... Continue Reading →

May 10, 2021 0

Recap: The Finer Points of Urban Adaptation

In August 2020, I recently published my first first-author paper about urban Anolis lizard claws! I have previously written about my research after doing field work and presenting at my university's science symposium. I'm excited to report that the results are finally out! In our paper, The Finer Points of Urban Adaptation, myself and my coauthors (Kevin... Continue Reading →

January 29, 2021 1

Little Urban Dragons

James Baxter-Gilbert and colleagues from down under — Julia Riley and Martin Whiting — have been digging into the ecological and evolutionary responses to urbanization in a charismatic and common (at least if you're in Australia) group of lizards: Australian water dragons (Intellagama lesueurii). Previously, we told you about their findings that urban dragons are innately bold. In... Continue Reading →

November 17, 2020 0

Urban Foxes on the Prowl: Urbanization Leads to Differences in Red Fox Skull Shape

Urban areas around the world are an interesting combination of non-native and native species. In London, urban foxes are a common sight and because of this, we would predict that urban foxes have evolved due to differing selection factors in cities. For mammalogists, examing and comparing skulls is a common way to measure changes that... Continue Reading →

October 27, 2020 0

Toxic Toads in a Toxic World

The Common European Toad, Bufo bufo, is a pond-breeding amphibian found throughout Europe, including in urban environments. Ecological changes (e.g., predator communities) in anthropogenic habitats present novel challenges to the common toad, but abiotic changes (e.g., pollution) may also influence phenotypes in these landscapes. Nevertheless, we know relatively little about how these urban-dwellers (and specifically their toxins)... Continue Reading →

February 25, 2020 2

Los Angeles Lizards: Shifts in Morphology Associated with Urban Living

Ecomorphology describes how an animal’s physical traits (called morphology) match how it uses its habitat. It is assumed that ecomorphology results from performance-morphology relationships across different habitats. For instance, running speed (a measure of performance) could be affected by limb length (a measure of morphology), but this relationship varies based on habitat (e.g. type of... Continue Reading →

August 6, 2019 0

Claws in the City

I’m excited to share an update on my foray into urban ecology and evolution research as an undergraduate! I've been working in the Revell Lab at the University of Massachusetts Boston since my freshman year. I've reported here before about some of my experiences in the field working on urban anoles. Over the past couple of... Continue Reading →

May 20, 2019 1

Tag: morphology