Activity patterns and behavior of Myocastor coypus in a gated community in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires (Argentina) Magdalena Salas, Julio C Hernandez-Hernandez, Martín Iglesias, María J Corriale Abstract Anthropization processes confront local wildlife with a new set of conditions that may lead to local extinctions or allow the expansion of some species. This... Continue Reading →
New Lit Alert: A global meta-analysis reveals higher variation in breeding phenology in urban birds than in their non-urban neighbours
A global meta-analysis reveals higher variation in breeding phenology in urban birds than in their non-urban neighbours Pablo Capilla-Lasheras, Megan J. Thompson, Alfredo Sánchez-Tójar, Yacob Haddou, Claire J. Branston, Denis Réale, Anne Charmantier, Davide M. Dominoni Abstract Cities pose a major ecological challenge for wildlife worldwide. Phenotypic variation, which can result from underlying genetic variation... Continue Reading →
New Lit Alert: Rock Refuges Are Strongly Associated with Increased Urban Occupancy in the Western Fence Lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis
Rock Refuges Are Strongly Associated with Increased Urban Occupancy in the Western Fence Lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis Alexander J. Rurik, Seth C. Wilmoth, Kendra E. Dayton and Amanda M. Sparkman Abstract Urbanization has dramatically altered habitats for local species worldwide. While some species are unable to meet the challenges that these alterations bring, others are able to... Continue Reading →
New Lit Alert: Temperature and not landscape composition shapes wild bee communities in an urban environment
Temperature and not landscape composition shapes wild bee communities in an urban environment Costanza Geppert, Andree Cappellari, Daria Corcos, Valerio Caruso, Pierfilippo Cerretti, Maurizio Mei, Lorenzo Marini Abstract 1. More than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase. Even if urbanisation is widely regarded as a... Continue Reading →
SEEP: Integrating society, ecology, evolution, and plasticity to advance urban evolutionary ecology
In the first SEEP workshop urban evolutionary ecologists discussed collaborations with the network of Long Term Ecological Research Stations (LTER) to integrate human socio-cultural dynamics in studies of urban ecology and evolution. The field of urban evolution has only recently begun to incorporate the social dynamics of urban communities as an important covariate shaping ecology... Continue Reading →
Social-Ecological Frameworks and What the Future May Hold
“There are ecologists in urban areas, and then there are urban ecologists” - Dr. Chris Schell This point made by my advisor (Dr. Christopher Schell) creates a clear distinction that there are urban ecologists who do not fully integrate social processes (nor the full human, e.g., perceptions, culture) in their studies. And there are urban... Continue Reading →
What’s Missing in Urban Ecology?
Urban ecology, although a burgeoning field, is becoming massive. In this field, there is much to think about when developing a question investigating the effect of “urbanization” on a particular species. Even within “urbanization” (which most urban ecologists recognize as just semantics and not a clear definition), there are many quantifications for this (see Moll... Continue Reading →
New Lit Alert: The effects of urbanisation on ecological interactions
The effects of urbanisation on ecological interactions Panagiotis Theodorou Abstract Cities are expanding worldwide and urbanisation is considered a global threat to biodiversity. Urban ecology has provided important insights on how urban environmental changes might affect individuals, populations and species; however, we know little about how the ecological impacts of urbanisation alter species interactions. Species... Continue Reading →
New Book Alert: Chasing Bats and Tracking Rats Urban Ecology, Community Science, and How We Share Our Cities
A new urban ecology book by Dr. Cylita Guy is out that highlights the work of multiple urban ecologists and evolutionary biologists, including many of our LITC contributors! What can city bees tell us about climate change? How are we changing coyote behavior? And what the heck is a science bike? Featuring the work of... Continue Reading →
Urban Wildlife Spotlight: The Monk Parakeet
Monk parakeets Myiopsitta monachus Sometimes referred to as the Quaker parrot due to their quaking vocalizations, the monk parakeet is a small, green parrot with grey breast and head feathers accented with blue feathers on their primaries. In addition to their unique color, these birds can often be picked out by their noisy/screechy vocalizations.... Continue Reading →
How Do We Begin To Center Environmental Justice in Urban Ecology Research?
How Do We Begin To Center Environmental Justice in Urban Ecology Research?How Do We Begin To Center Environmental Justice in Urban Ecology Research? Urban ecology has many definitions depending on who you ask. An urban planner or a sociologist may define urban ecology as "the study of the ways that human and ecological systems evolve... Continue Reading →
Urban Observation of the Week: Neighborhood Coyotes
Coyotes seem to be everywhere in North American neighborhoods. Here is a spotting from @evoecolab in his front yard. We have explored aspects of urban evolution in coyotes in a previous post by Kevin Aviles-Rodriguez. Do you have a photo or video of an urban species doing something unusual? What about a rare plant... Continue Reading →
Invaded Invasives: Do urban lizards have more parasites and how might this influence their ecology?
Anole invasion One of my favorite things about Florida, besides the warm weather, is that it's home to several anole lizards that have invaded from nearby. Some lizards invaders come from Cuba, like the brown anole (Anolis sagrei). Others, like the crested anole (Anolis cristatellus) come from Puerto Rico (like me!). This makes Florida a fascinating... Continue Reading →