We use DNA barcoding of the COI gene in the widespread native pest ant Tapinoma sessile to test two hypotheses regarding the origin of urban populations and traits associated with their success.
To avoid biases derived from the long-term coexistence between people and birds in ancient cities, we focused on a recently urbanized system to test behavioural traits underlying urban invasion as a contemporary process [4].
Site-specific and landscape traits of urban green areas have been identified as determinants for the presence/absence of bird species among urban systems.
Thus far, no clear or consistent patterns have been revealed, but we do have evidence that urban habitat can shape endocrine traits, and that those traits might contribute to adaptation to the urban environment.
And the results of this experiment suggest that the ability to respond to even such unconvincing stimuli is an adaptive trait for urban survival.
Previous evidence of 'copy-cat' acquisition of a Western trait in urban centres (McGlashan and Harington, 1985) is neither supported nor denied by the current findings as the miners were mainly recruited from rural areas.
This study has enabled us to identify a combination of biological traits sensitive to urban features that may represent useful indicators for both theoretical and applied purposes in order to understand the impact of urbanization on animal communities.
Finally, we explore considerations and implications of employing a traits approach in urban areas, and examine how connections between traits and ecosystem services could be developed as indicators in a research and management context to generate a robust and resilient supply of ecosystem services.
For the Ala55Val polymorphism, there was no association of all genotypes (C/C, C/T, or T/T) with disease traits, but more urban than rural subjects with C/T genotype (Ala55Val) has higher BMI.
We assessed differences in epifaunal assemblages, comprising crabs and molluscs, employing multivariate ACI unbalanced analyses to compare peri-urban mangrove swamps with those characteristic of non-urban mangroves with similar ecological traits.
