Tag: Urban ecology
Blog news (3) Books (2) Citizen Science (21) Conference Proceedings (73) Defining Urbanization (6) Guest Post (9) How To (14) Museums/Natural History Collections (3) Natural History Notes (10) New Lit Abstracts (101) New Research (181) New Research Tools (7) Notes from the field (15) Public Outreach (22) sustainable development (2) Uncategorized (42) Urban Environments (59) Urban Evolution in the Media (12) Urban observations (88) Urban Wildlife (16)
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The Snake Next Door
Image: Common Vine Snake (Ahaetulla nasuta) — Raju Kasambe / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
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From fields to sewers: how rats thrive in the city
Cities are not as empty at night as they seem. When humans go to sleep, another species becomes active. They move through walls, drains,…
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Human disgust is quietly driving urban evolution
When people think about urban evolution, their first thought tends to be how animals adapt to urban environments by dealing with pollution, traffic, noise,…
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Hitchhiking Intruders: How the Tiger Mosquito is moving into Northern Cities
Imagine returning from a summer holiday in Italy. The warm Mediterranean climate feels far removed from the cool Dutch weather you are used to.…
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Sponge in the City: a nature-based solution for PFAS pollution?
There is a high likelihood that you have recently used (or at least heard about), products containing PFAS. This chemical group, which is widely…
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A concrete hunting ground: a new environment for raptors
Within cities, the number of trophic levels present in the community can change when animals migrate there. Smaller predators can end up at the…
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Lichens versus Urban Traffic
In my previous blog post I wrote about the beauty and uses of lichens in the city, and I mentioned their use as indicators…
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BZZZZZzzzZZZ Oh No Mosquito! Urban Vector-Borne Disease Ecology
It is definitely that time of year again: insects and other invertebrates seem to spawn from every nook and cranny. We see snails feasting…
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The Urban Spider Survival Guide
An introduction to the city spider Spiders are the most diverse and abundant terrestrial predators on earth. This group of species is, in turn,…
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Urbanization’s Hidden Pleiotropic Effect on Pigeon Plumage Color and Blood Cholesterol
Some fries left on the ground, a half-eaten sandwich, or some breadcrumbs kindly given by someone on a park bench. Pigeons (Columba livia) in…
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The Effect of Feral Cats on Urban Wildlife
When people consider the causes of the decline in bird or small mammal populations most will first think of pesticides or vehicle deaths. However,…
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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…
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Artificial light at night may make African mouse species vulnerable
When thinking about a city at night, chances are that you include some twinkling streetlights in your mental image. Billboards, streetlamps, and neon signs…
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New Lit Alert: Colourful Urban Birds: Bird Species Successful in Urban Environments Have More Elaborate Colours and Less Brown
Juan Diego Ibáñez-Álamo, Kaspar Delhey, Lucía Izquierdo, Mihai Valcu, Bart Kempenaers Juan Diego Ibáñez-Álamo and Kaspar Delhey shared first authors. Abstract Rapidly expanding urbanisation presents significant challenges to…
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Hidden Biodiversity: Lichens in the city
In urban ecology, a lot of attention has been paid to groups such as birds and trees and how they adapt to life in…