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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world

@litc-urbanevo.bsky.social
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urbanevolution-litc.com We bring you the latest urban evolution research, and we welcome you to be a contributor!

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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
How might insects mitigate the effects of climate change and urbanization? New post by Avery Wong urbanevolution-litc.com/2026/09/25/…
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Urban Evolution & Ecology Conference @urbanevoecoconf.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
The first-ever Gordon Research Conference on Urban Evolution and Ecology focusing on "The Intersection and Emergent Properties of Ecology, Evolution and Human Social Environments in Cities" is now open for applications! www.grc.org/urban-evolut... #UrbanEcology #UrbanEvolution #UrbanEcoEvo 🧬🔬🥼🔭
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
New post by Anton Schaap: Plants in the concrete jungle urbanevolution-litc.com/2026/07/16/… #UrbanEvolution
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
New post by Leen Jammalieh: Refuge or Risk: Can Cities Protect Our Frogs? urbanevolution-litc.com/2026/07/14/… #UrbanEvolution
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
New post by Livia Rebello: The Snake Next Door urbanevolution-litc.com/2026/07/02/… #UrbanEvolution
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
New post by Aesha Sarker: Accidental Ecosystems: How Dutch Homes Became Bat Caves urbanevolution-litc.com/2026/06/30/… #UrbanEvolution
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
New post by Laura Veenstra: From fields to sewers: how rats thrive in the city urbanevolution-litc.com/2026/06/25/… #UrbanEvolution
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Urban evolution is shaped by more than traffic and pollution. Human emotions such as disgust and attraction may influence which animals are able to survive in cities.
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
New post by Shrijanti Moensi: The Fearless Pigeon: Master of Urban Adaptation urbanevolution-litc.com/2026/06/18/… #UrbanEvolution
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
New post by Kayne van Eijk: From ancient city builders to city adapters urbanevolution-litc.com/2026/06/16/… #UrbanEvolution
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
New post by Arilah van Eden: When roads split species: Are urban newts evolving apart? urbanevolution-litc.com/2026/06/11/… #UrbanEvolution
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
New post by Becky Dong: Urban corals are following in the footsteps of pigeons urbanevolution-litc.com/2026/06/09/… #UrbanEvolution
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
As Europe warms, the Asian Tiger Mosquito is spreading north through cities and tourism networks, bringing new public health and ecological risks to countries like the Netherlands.
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
If not pet, why pet shaped? How racoons are self-domesticating in urban environments.
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
New post by Willemijn Bulterman: Sponge in the City: a nature-based solution for PFAS pollution? URL: urbanevolution-litc.com/wp-admin/po… #UrbanEvolution #nbs
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marina alberti @malberti.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Evolving nature-based solutions for urban resilience | Science: A wonderful collaboration across ecology, evolution, urban science, and urban design and planning www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Evolving nature-based solutions for urban resilience
Despite growing investments in nature-based solutions for urban resilience, their design often overlooks a fundamental biological process: evolution. Populations of organisms that sustain nature-based...
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
For our readers in Netherlands: Edoardo Facchielli tells us why Dutch cities make great bat habitats and what species to look out for! urbanevolution-litc.com/2026/05/12/b... For our non-European readers, look up at dusk to see some night shift residents wherever you are too!
urbanevolution-litc.com
Bats in Leiden: The night shift nobody talks about – Life in the City
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Behavioral convergence: Urban wildlife exhibit similar behavior across species and cities Behavioral Convergence in Urban Wildlife urbanevolution-litc.com/2026/03/20/… #UrbanEvolution
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Kristin Winchell @kmwinchell.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Excited to share our new review in @natrevbiodiv.nature.com, coauthored w/allstar postdocs @vale-alaasam.bsky.social @annainthefield.bsky.social @anthonysnead.bsky.social Bridging island biogeography & evolutionary processes, we explore how eco-evo dynamics play out in the urban mosaic rdcu.be/e4tcj
rdcu.be
Eco-evolutionary dynamics shaping biodiversity in the urban mosaic
Nature Reviews Biodiversity - The urban mosaic is a complex assimilation of habitats, biotic and abiotic factors with eco-evolutionary influence on local and regional biodiversity. In this Review,...
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Are corvids the smartest urban animal? Our contributor Willard makes a case for this remarkably adaptable bird and highlights some unique and amazing behavior. urbanevolution-litc.com/2025/10/30/c... #urbanecology #urbanevolution
urbanevolution-litc.com
Clever City Crows: How Corvids Conquered the City
What is the most intelligent animal you can think of? Species that likely come to mind are perhaps apes, cetaceans, or elephants. However, in spite of their intelligence, most of the species from t…
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Emily Blackwell @emilyablackwell.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Really enjoyed this post on @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social this week. Very cool to learn about the history and uncertain future of this staple of urban street trees! urbanevolution-litc.com/2025/08/26/b...
urbanevolution-litc.com
Beyond the Shade: The Growing Disadvantages of the London Plane
When I was younger, I remember thinking to myself: “This tree is losing its skin, is it dying?” I believe I can’t be the only child that thought this when first looking at a London plane. Little di…
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
The single-striped grass mouse can be found near cities, but our nighttime lights have negative impacts on this understudied grassland mammal from Africa. Floor Didden tells us about a recent study urbanevolution-litc.com/2025/05/18/a... #urbanecology #urbanmammals
urbanevolution-litc.com
Artificial light at night may make African mouse species vulnerable - Life in the City
When thinking about a city at night, chances are that you include some twinkling streetlights in your mental image. Billboards, streetlamps, and neon signs are no novel presence to city dwellers. Thes...
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
The tiny plant Draba verna grows out of cracks in sidewalks & roads. Nils tells us more about this resilient #urbanplant & invites us to appreciate the beauty growing between the pavement cracks more often urbanevolution-litc.com/2025/05/16/u... #urbanecology #urbanobservation
urbanevolution-litc.com
Urban acts of defiance: Tiny flowers thriving in concrete jungles - Life in the City
The harsh, brutal urban environment is increasing. In Europe, the Netherlands ranks as one of the countries with the lowest forest cover (10%), with wooden forests being replaced by concrete jungles. ...
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Does it ever seem like your neighborhood birds & squirrels recognize you? They probably do! Jitte van Leeuwen explains how & why animals learn to recognize humans in order to thrive in the fast-paced city urbanevolution-litc.com/2025/05/15/t... #urbanecology #urbanevolution
urbanevolution-litc.com
They Know Who You Are: How City Animals Recognize People - Life in the City
Urban wildlife knows more about us than we think. Birds and mammals are able to read our behaviour and recognize individual humans.
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Lisa de Haas tells us about a charismatic #urbanwildlife from North America: the chipmunk. Learn more about how the chipmunk is adapting to city life by taking it easy! urbanevolution-litc.com/2025/04/17/r... #UrbanEcology #UrbanEvolution #urbanmammals
urbanevolution-litc.com
Relaxing Chipmunks in Urban Areas - Life in the City
The eastern chipmunk is well adapted to the urban environment. They spend less time foraging and their reproductive succes is better.
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Rose-ringed parakeets have become common in urban areas throughout Europe in the past 15 years. Thomas Griep explains why these beautiful birds are so successful in #urban ecosystems urbanevolution-litc.com/2025/04/04/h... #urbanecology #urbanevolution
urbanevolution-litc.com
How the Rose-Ringed Parakeet Conquered the Western World - Life in the City
“Dad, what are those birds? I’ve never seen them before” I remember asking my dad when I was younger. We were outside having a barbecue and for the first time, I noticed several green birds flying ove...
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
How are soil microbes affected by urbanization? Ao Mo tells us about how key urban impacts affect the diversity of these important components of ecosystems urbanevolution-litc.com/2025/04/04/h... #urbanecology #urbanevolution
urbanevolution-litc.com
How Does Urban Development Affect Soil Microbial Community? - Life in the City
Microorganisms are essential members of soil ecosystems, and they form complex, interactive networks [4] including communications and interactions with each other that are similar to human communities...
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Kristin Winchell @kmwinchell.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
NYU MS student Rafael Baez is doing super cool work with urban frogs in NYC! Trypanosomes, chytrid, immune function, and natural history. Some truly integrative research! #SICB2025
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Alexandria Shockney @ashockney24.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
An accurate representation of #SICB2025. Loved @princetonvaughn.bsky.social’s talk on anole morphological differences in urban vs. rural settings!
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Randy Klabacka @chico-huico.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Climbing performance is multivariate- climbing and clinging show different patterns for different claw types in common wall lizards. There was also a clear interaction between SVL and sex on sprint speed. Cool lessons from wall lizards by @eric-gangloff.bsky.social and his lab! #SICB2025
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
Christina Sluka is looking at how urbanization and *self-domestication* (um, cool), is affecting raccoon skull shape. What animals eat affects what their jaws are like. When animals live in cities, they eat different stuff. I apologize to Christina and raccoons for this doodle. #SICB2025
A really really fucked up looking raccoon in sparkly blue gel pen with the commentary “wtf why can’t I draw raccoons”
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Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Gunderson lab (including collaborations) roll call for #sicb2025 Let’s start with PhD candidate Shannan Yates poster testing for replicated thermal evolution in urban #anolis on Sunday
Program entry for Shannans poster
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
Urban lizards have higher body temps. So Princeton collected lizards from 3 different cities in Puerto Rico and held a lizard race in the lab. Lizards were the best at sprinting in the temperatures they live at. Big limbs? NOT always faster. But in the heat long limbs are faster! #SICB2025
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Kristin Winchell @kmwinchell.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
Didn’t get enough #urbanevolution at #SICB2025 yesterday? I have good news - there’s more! Join us for a complementary talk session this morning in International Salon 5 8:25-9:45 & at the poster session today!
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Kristin Winchell @kmwinchell.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
Join us TODAY at #SICB2025 for a whole day of #urbanevolution talks in Marquis A. We’ve got a lineup that includes birds, bugs, lizards, & more! Also a fun workshop at 10:30 on urban research challenges and getting started, and a round table discussion this afternoon!
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Dr. Valentina Alaasam @vale-alaasam.bsky.social · 29/12/2024
Have you ever thought about the perks of doing fieldwork in your own backyard? ...Are you "urban-ecology-curious"? Come to our workshop at #SICB2025 on Jan 4 10:30-12:00 to learn about urban field safety, accessibility, engaging undergrads, designing experiments, permit perils, and more!
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Urban Evolution at SICB 2025 The annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) is here! From January 3-7 biologists will convene in Atlanta, Georgia to share the latest and greatest from a broad range of research areas. Urban evolution talks have a strong showing at…
urbanevolution-litc.com
Urban Evolution at SICB 2025
The annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) is here! From January 3-7 biologists will convene in Atlanta, Georgia to share the latest and greatest from a broad range of research areas. Urban evolution talks have a strong showing at the meeting this year, and we would like to hear about all of the urban talks and posters if possible so that those of us not attending the meeting can follow along.
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
New Lit Alert: City lights, moonlit nights: examining bat responses to urbanization and lunar cycles City lights, moonlit nights: examining bat responses to urbanization and lunar cycles Claysson de Aguiar Silva & Ludmilla M. S. Aguiar  Abstract Urbanization is one of the most abrupt mechanisms of…
urbanevolution-litc.com
New Lit Alert: City lights, moonlit nights: examining bat responses to urbanization and lunar cycles
City lights, moonlit nights: examining bat responses to urbanization and lunar cycles Claysson de Aguiar Silva & Ludmilla M. S. Aguiar  Abstract Urbanization is one of the most abrupt mechanisms of land use change. This process can generate significant impacts on biodiversity, and its effects on bat activity patterns need further exploration due to the importance of these animals in controlling insect populations and maintaining ecological balance.
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
New Lit Alert: Body size and survival of urban and rural populations of a common wolf spider are not influenced by lifelong exposure to lead pollution  Body size and survival of urban and rural populations of a common wolf spider are not influenced by lifelong exposure to lead pollution Lucy…
urbanevolution-litc.com
New Lit Alert: Body size and survival of urban and rural populations of a common wolf spider are not influenced by lifelong exposure to lead pollution 
Body size and survival of urban and rural populations of a common wolf spider are not influenced by lifelong exposure to lead pollution Lucy Guarnieri, Leo Taylor, P. Larry Phelan & Mary Margaret Gardiner  Abstract Heavy metal pollution is pervasive in urban soils, and it can negatively impact the fitness of arthropods. Arthropod populations can evolve to become more tolerant or resistant to metals, but the mechanisms of these processes are understudied.
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Is ALAN an advantage or disadvantage for bats? Artificial light at night (ALAN) is one of the most significant environmental changes of the past century.1 In 2020, there were approximately 361 million streetlights globally,2 and ALAN continues to increase at an alarming rate of 7%-10% per year.3…
urbanevolution-litc.com
Is ALAN an advantage or disadvantage for bats?
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is one of the most significant environmental changes of the past century.1 In 2020, there were approximately 361 million streetlights globally,2 and ALAN continues to increase at an alarming rate of 7%-10% per year.3 But how does this rapid expansion affect wildlife, particularly nocturnal creatures like bats? Research suggests that ALAN poses considerable challenges for bats, whose nocturnal behaviors are finaly tuned to natural light cycles.
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Gulls are taking over our European cities Coastal cities in Europe are swarmed with gulls, to the annoyance of many of those cities’ inhabitants. Gulls (Larus spp.) are naturally cliff-nesting species, but are able to thrive in urban areas because of the high food availability, the suitable…
urbanevolution-litc.com
Gulls are taking over our European cities
Coastal cities in Europe are swarmed with gulls, to the annoyance of many of those cities’ inhabitants. Gulls (Larus spp.) are naturally cliff-nesting species, but are able to thrive in urban areas because of the high food availability, the suitable climate, the similarity of nest substrate, lesser risk of predation and the presence of conspecifics like other gulls (Mainwaring et al., 2014).
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Kristin Winchell @kmwinchell.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
We are having an #urbanwildlife photo competition to support students in our #urbanevolution symposium at #SICB2025! Submissions will be printed & displayed at the venue all week, & we will auction them off at the end. Submit a photo and please share! docs.google.com/forms/d/1NXG...
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Life in the City - Evolution in an urbanizing world @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
We're back online and now we're on Bluesky! New content coming soon at urbanevolution-litc.com!
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