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Urbanization and Zoonotic Disease
The Wuhan novel coronavirus is dominating the news, with reports of thousands infected and new cases reported worldwide every day. Are we at the verge of a pandemic? That’s not a question I’m equipped to answer, and I encourage our…
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The Urban Island: Landscape Genetics of Red Foxes in Berlin
Urbanization can impact wildlife in different ways, depending on the organism and how it interacts with humans and the built environment. Geographical barriers may limit or prevent an organism from moving through a city and an organism’s behavioral variability (particularly…
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SICB 2020: Artificial Light at Night and West Nile Virus in House Sparrows
As habitats become increasingly urbanized, wildlife are exposed to artificial light at night (ALAN). Greater exposure to ALAN can have detrimental effects on animal physiology, such as suppressing components of the host immune system. However, how these changes ultimately affect…
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Urbanization Reduces Genetic Connectivity in Bobcats
When you live in the outskirts of the city, every once in a while you may spot a bobcat in your neighborhood. In fact, we have had a few urban observation posts of neighborhood bobcats. But how are these urban…
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SICB 2020: How is Light Effecting Behavior and Physiology of Anoles?
Urbanization is becoming a huge concern and many researchers at SICB 2020 wanted to study the effects it has on the surrounding wildlife. Laura Taylor, an undergraduate student at Trinity University, looked specifically at how urbanization and artificial light at…
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SICB 2020: Urban Lizards Lay Lower Quality Eggs
The decisions that a parent makes or conditions that a parent experiences can influence the survival and fitness of their offspring. These transgenerational effects, in which impacts of the environment on one generation impact subsequent generations, are widespread and can…
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SICB 2020: Artificial Light at Night and Stress
Urban areas are easy to find during the night as they quite literally light up. Urban light pollution disrupts biological processes from gene expression to ecosystem composition across multiple taxa, including birds, insects, mammals, and fishes. With ever-increasing urbanization, understanding…
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SICB 2020: Lead Pollution of Human Water Supplies Impacts Songbirds
Heavy metals, such as lead and mercury, are common pollutants in human-affected ecosystems, including cities. These metals can bioaccumulate, or reach high concentrations in exposed organisms, because heavy metals may be stored in some tissues, like fats, and are difficult…
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