Tag: NYC
Blog news (3) Books (2) Citizen Science (18) Conference Proceedings (73) Defining Urbanization (6) Guest Post (8) How To (13) Museums/Natural History Collections (3) Natural History Notes (10) New Lit Abstracts (101) New Research (180) New Research Tools (7) Notes from the field (15) Public Outreach (21) sustainable development (1) Uncategorized (38) Urban Environments (48) Urban Evolution in the Media (11) Urban observations (82) Urban Wildlife (9)
-
The Superpowers of Urban Rats: How urban life transforms rodents
Our typical urban rats, mainly brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), have undergone adaptations that enable them to thrive in urban environments. These adaptations distinguish urban…
-
SICB 2025: The Impact of Urban Heat Islands and Wetlands on Avian Diversity
The shrinkage of natural landscapes with increased urbanization causes substantial shifts in ecosystems, particularly a decrease in bird diversity. Understanding the interactions between the…
-
Urban Observation: Dolphins in the Bronx River!
Wow, last month dolphins were spotted swimming in the Bronx River for the first time in over five years! Check out the video tweeted…
-
Urban Observation: Winter Neighbors 2: Red-eared Slider
As this tepid winter sweeps through NYC, a few careful eyes may spot a peculiar sight lounging in the mid-afternoon sun of our urban…
-
Urban Observation: Clash of the Titans
While huddled up in a nook on my apartment’s rooftop, camera set up and aimed at the skies above, I briefly witnessed a skirmish…
-
Urban Observation of the Week: Pigeon Nest
Pigeons are super common in urban areas. We find them so often that it is actually rare for them to get a spot on…
-
Urban Observation of the Week: Harlem Hawk
New York City is the largest city in the United States. It has concrete, sky-high buildings, insane traffic, and yet it is home to…
-
Urban Observation of the Week: Red Tailed Hawk in NYC
Pigeons are one of the most common, iconic birds we see in cities. Did you know that pigeons are prey for larger, predatory birds?…
-
Urban Observation of the Week: Wall Lizards in NYC
Lizards are becoming increasingly common in urban areas. They are able to forage longer than usual because of the urban heat island effect. Today’s…
-
Urban Observation of the Week: Warbler on the Road
The birders are back! This time, we see a Black-throated Green Warbler on the street. These birds are seen in the Northern American forests…
-
Urban Observation of the Week: Falcons Venting
If you enjoyed last week’s urban birder observation, you’ll probably get a kick out of this week’s. Here we have a Peregrine Falcon just…
-
Evolution of Rat Crania in an Urban Environment
This week we are cross-posting from the Ecology & Evolution blog written by Dr. Emily Puckett and Elizabeth Carlen. Check out the original post here. Observations…
-
Evolution 2019: Evolution Takes Flight: Population Genetics of Feral Pigeons (Columba livia) in the Northeastern United States
As you may have guessed by now, urbanization changes the natural landscape and this can have consequences for the organisms that live in them.…
-
Evolution 2019: Urban Plant Evolution: A Case Study with Capsella bursa-pastoris in New York City
The percent of impervious surface increases as you move from rural to urban areas, with city centers having the highest percent impervious surface. In…
-
The Good, The Bad, and The Smelly: Fieldwork in the Big Apple
I’ve spent years trapping rats across Manhattan in New York City as I study the urban evolution and ecology of brown rats (Rattus norvegicus). This…