Urban areas are dynamic, heterogeneous habitats that differ dramatically from your traditional “non-urban” habitats. These centers are complex, multi-level habitats that are full of interacting stressors. Additionally, urban habitats are fragmented via impervious surfaces and are subject to noise, chemical, and light pollution alongside human interaction(s). Humans (and their pets) directly and indirectly interact with... Continue Reading →
Systemic Racism Shapes Urban Ecology and Evolution
The rate of urbanization is increasing greatly and with that, comes large human populations. Our population has increased from 6 billion people in 2000 to roughly 7.8 billion people in 2020 and in North America alone (~370 million people), over 80% of people reside in cities. These urban areas serve as an epicenter for human... Continue Reading →
Defining Urbanization: A New Conceptual Framework
What is urbanization and how do we, as urban evolutionary biologists, ecologists, and conservation biologists, define this metric? We've written about this topic before and a new paper by Remington Moll et al. titled "What does urbanization actually mean? A framework for urban metrics in wildlife research" takes a deep dive into defining urbanization. Generally,... Continue Reading →