Evolution in an Urbanizing World
Sadly, plastics and litter have become part of the urban and often rural environment. It can be found almost everywhere and in any form – ranging from plastic bags to broken traffic cones. We consider it trash, however, for some birds, it is a jackpot. Often, litter is creatively included during nest building by these... Continue Reading →
In a previous post titled Meta-analysis of Urban Bird Phenology, we discussed how urban conditions have affected the average value of phenology and reproductive phenotypes in bird species. Capilla-Lasheras et al. found that urban bird populations had lower values than their non-urban conspecifics for three life-history traits, indicating earlier lay dates, smaller clutch sizes, and... Continue Reading →
As urban centers continue to grow, so too does the research that investigates how urbanization influences evolution. However, urban marine ecosystems are often overlooked. Interestingly, population density along coastlines is 3-times higher than the global average but research in urban marine systems is more than 3-times lower than research inland. Researchers identified the main... Continue Reading →
Heavy metal pollution is a widespread threat to urban ecosystems. Although many types of heavy metals are required by organisms at trace levels, the environmental availability of heavy metals is increasing to potentially toxic levels due to human activities such as mining, industrial combustion, and automobile use. A key goal for ecotoxicologists, evolutionary biologists, and... Continue Reading →
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 →
Heavy metals, such as lead and mercury, are common pollutants in human-affected ecosystems, including cities. These metals can bioaccumulate, or reach high concentrations in exposed organisms, because heavy metals may be stored in some tissues, like fats, and are difficult for organisms to remove from their bodies. High levels of heavy metals have negative impacts... Continue Reading →
City life can be difficult for many organisms. Cities are louder, brighter, hotter, and often more contaminated with toxins than nearby less-developed areas. Ever-increasing research is showing that organisms are coping with the urban environment in many ways. Urban great tits (Parus major) living in areas with high amounts of noise pollution sing at a... Continue Reading →
With this gorgeous Tampa weather, the last thing anyone at SICB 2019 wants to think about is snow and ice. Everyone except for Megan Kobiela, a PhD candidate from University of Minnesota, who studies the effects of deicing salt on monarch butterflies. By using salt to keep roads safe in the winter, humans have dramatically... Continue Reading →
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