Evolution in an Urbanizing World
Urban environments consist mostly of bricks, concrete, asphalt, metal and glass: not very alluring substrates for many terrestrial organisms. Certain mosses and lichens can be seen sometimes on walls in the city, but even they will not easily grow in direct sunlight during dry periods, especially taking the ‘urban heat island effect’ into account (Deilami... Continue Reading →
Do you remember when was the last time you blew dandelion seeds? Do you remember the last time you stopped your busy schedule and noticed a dandelion blooming? As far as I can remember, I haven't done this since I was in primary school. Why are dandelions becoming more and more rare in big cities?... Continue Reading →
Increasing artificial light In recent decades, the urban population has grown exponentially worldwide, with the expectation that the urban population will continue to increase the next decades. As cities expand, so does the reliance on artificial light sources to illuminate the night. This increases the visibility for humans when it is dark, but it can... Continue Reading →
By Veerle Langezaal During the Covid-19 lockdowns, a grassroots movement emerged where botanists in France, the UK, and the Netherlands began chalking plant species names on sidewalks. This initiative aimed to educate communities about the ecological importance of these plants, challenging the perception of them as mere weeds. This movement has since evolved into a... Continue Reading →
Urban-rural gradients: how landscape changes drive adaptive evolution of plant competitive traits Yuya Fukano, Kei Uchida, Yuuya Tachiki Abstract The role of competition in local adaptation and the associated traits underlying adaptation remain unclear. One reason for the lack of evidence may be that plant-plant competition is ubiquitous in natural environments; thus, local adaptation to... Continue Reading →
The impact of urbanization on outcrossing rate and population genetic variation in the native wildflower, Impatiens capensis L. Ruth Rivkin and Marc T. J. Johnson Abstract Cities are one of the fastest growing ecosystems on the planet, and conserving urban biodiversity is of primary importance. Urbanization increases habitat fragmentation and may be particularly problematic for... Continue Reading →
Harnessing plant-microbiome interactions for bioremediation across a freshwater urbanization gradient Anna M. O’Brien, Zhu Hao Yu, Clara Pencer, Megan E. Frederickson, Gregory H. LeFevre, Elodie Passeport Abstract Urbanization impacts land, air, and water, creating environmental gradients between cities and rural areas. Urban stormwater delivers myriad co-occurring, understudied, and mostly unregulated contaminants to aquatic ecosystems, causing... Continue Reading →
Urbanization driving changes in plant species and communities – A global view Renata de Barros Ruas, Laís Mara Santana Costa, and Fernanda Bered Abstract The urban landscape is becoming the environment most familiar to most of humanity, which has consequences for society, the environment, and biodiversity. Here, we present a systematic review of current research... Continue Reading →
Coping with novelty across an urban mosaic: Provisioning latency increases closer to roads and is associated with species-specific reproductive success in two urban adapters Michela Corsini, Pietro Leanza, Amanda D. Rodewald, Joanna Sudyka, André A.Dhondt, and Marta Szulkin Abstract Most research on urban avian ecology has focused on population- and community-level phenomena, whereas fewer studies have examined how... Continue Reading →
Urban rendezvous along the seashore: Ports as Darwinian field‐labs for studying marine evolution in the Anthropocene Fanny Touchard, Alexis Simon, Nicolas Bierne, and Frédérique Viard Abstract Humans have built ports on all the coasts of the world, allowing people to travel, exploit the sea, and develop trade. The proliferation of these artificial habitats and the associated... Continue Reading →
Native Lizards Living in Brazilian Cities: Effects of Developmental Environments on Thermal Sensitivity and Morpho-Functional Associations of Locomotion Nathalia Rossigalli-Costa & Tiana Kohlsdorf Abstract Environmental conditions often affect developmental processes and consequently influence the range of phenotypic variation expressed at population level. Expansion of urban sites poses new challenges for native species, as urbanization usually... Continue Reading →
It Is a Wild World in the City: Urban Wildlife Conservation and Communication in the Age of COVID-19 Ioana A. Coman, Caitlyn E. Cooper-Norris, Scott Longing, and Gad Perry Abstract Most ecosystems are increasingly being degraded and reduced by human activities at the local and global scales. In contrast, urban environments are expanding as increasing... Continue Reading →
Genetic patterns reveal differences between the invasion processes of common ragweed in urban and non-urban ecosystems Siran Lu, Xiangyu Luo, Linwei Han, Jingyi Yang, Jing Jin, & Jun Yang Abstract Invasive alien plant species (IAPS) in urban ecosystems can significantly impact ecosystems and human wellbeing. However, our knowledge on the IAPS in urban ecosystems are limited due... Continue Reading →
Recently, Ruth Rivkin shared some of her dissertation work with the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution (CSEE). Urban habitats are more fragmented and degraded than nonurban habitats, which can impact both the ecology and evolution of species interactions. Species interaction may be particularly sensitive to urbanization because the species involved may be responding to... Continue Reading →
Many people imagine a pristine desert in the Southwest US, with the iconic saguaro cacti in the foreground, mountains in the background. In recent years, these deserts have become highly urbanized. Thankfully, there are protections in place for these majestic, century-old cacti. If you plan to build where there is a saguaro, you have to... Continue Reading →
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