| Urban birds have broader environmental tolerance. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 17766238 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
Urbanization dramatically changes the composition and diversity of biotic communities. The characteristics distinguishing species that persist in urban environments, however, are poorly understood. Here we test the hypothesis that broadly adapted organisms are better able to tolerate urbanization, using a phylogenetically controlled, global comparison of birds. We compared elevational and latitudinal distributions of 217 urban birds found in 73 of the world's largest cities with distributions of 247 rural congeners to test the hypothesis that urban birds possess broader environmental tolerance. Urban birds had markedly broader environmental tolerance than rural congeners, as estimated by elevational and latitudinal distributions. Our results suggest that broad environmental tolerance may predispose some birds to thrive in urban habitats. The mechanisms mediating such environmental tolerance warrant further investigation, but probably include greater behavioural, physiological and ecological flexibility. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Frances Bonier; Paul R Martin; John C Wingfield |
Related Documents
:
|
21861998 - Do 10-month-old infants understand others' false beliefs? 1500628 - Effect of environmental factors on the development of allergic disorders in infancy. 11338288 - Increased eosinophil cationic protein levels in bronchoalveolar lavage from wheezy infa... 17159648 - Correlations of asthma mortality with traffic-related factors: use of catalytic convert... 10443498 - The effect of prone posture on nasal temperature in children in relation to induction o... 6970538 - Elemental composition of the developing inner ear. |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: Biology letters Volume: 3 ISSN: 1744-9561 ISO Abbreviation: Biol. Lett. Publication Date: 2007 Dec |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2007-11-13 Completed Date: 2008-01-24 Revised Date: 2009-11-18 |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 101247722 Medline TA: Biol Lett Country: England |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 670-3 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
|
Department of Biology, University of Washington, Box 351800, Seattle, WA 98195-1800, USA. fb2@vt.edu |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
Adaptation, Physiological* Animals Birds / classification, physiology* Breeding Cities Ecosystem* Geography Phylogeny Seasons |
| Comments/Corrections | |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Developing sustainable food supply chains.
Next Document: Role of the asymmetry of the homodimeric b2 stator stalk in the interaction with the F1 sector of Es...