Future directions in urban endocrinology - the effects of endocrine plasticity on urban tolerance Frances Bonier Abstract After twenty years of studies of endocrine traits in animals living in cities, the field of urban endocrinology has built a robust literature including numerous studies looking for signatures of the effects of urban living, usually in mean... Continue Reading →
New Lit Alert: Invasion success and tolerance to urbanization in birds
Invasion success and tolerance to urbanization in birds César González-Lagos, Laura Cardador and Daniel Sol Abstract Cities are considered hotspots of biological invasions, yet it remains unclear why non-indigenous species are so successful in environments that most local native species do not tolerate. Here, we explore the intriguing possibility that humans may be unintentionally introducing... Continue Reading →
Lighting Up Anoles at Night!
This week we are cross-posting (again) from Anole Annals. Check out the original post here, written by Pavitra Muralidhar. How we perceive and interact with the world is strongly shaped by natural light. How much light there is at a given time determines whether we’re sleepy or awake, and whether we’re bracing for winter or... Continue Reading →
Tolerance to Urbanization is Widespread in Anoles
This week we are cross-posting from Anole Annals. Check out the original post here. Seven years ago I asked for the help of Anole Annals readers as I started to think about how different species of anoles throughout the Caribbean tolerate urbanization. This question, it turned out, was a lot more complex than I had... Continue Reading →
Bullies and Underdogs: Species Interactions in Urban Birds
An outstanding question in urban evolutionary biology is what factors influence a species' success in urban environments. This is a topic we've talked about before (check out Urban Adaptation in Mammals) and several other recent papers have tackled this topic. A variety of factors may influence whether or not a species occupies an urban environment... Continue Reading →
Urban Adaptation in Mammals
Mammals are some of the most easily recognizable and endearing critters to share our cities with us. Who doesn't love a cute bunny or squirrel in a city park? Or a fox or raccoon slinking through the streets at night. Even city rats can be endearing. Despite the commonality of these species, urban areas are... Continue Reading →