Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Urban evolution refers to the heritable genetic changes of populations in response to urban development and anthropogenic activities in urban areas. Urban evolution can be caused by non-random mating, mutation , genetic drift , gene flow , or evolution by natural selection . [ 1 ]
Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It can also mean population growth in urban areas instead of rural ones. [1]
The urban heat island is a phenomenon in which central regions of urban centers exhibit higher mean temperatures than surrounding urban areas. [39] Much of this effect can be attributed to low city albedo, the reflecting power of a surface, and the increased surface area of buildings to absorb solar radiation. [21]
Urban ecology is a relatively new field. Because of this, the research that has been done in this field has yet to become extensive. While there is still plenty of time for growth in the research of this field, there are some key issues and biases within the current research that still need to be addressed.
The United States Census Bureau changed its classification and definition of urban areas in 1950 and again in 1990, and caution is thus advised when comparing urban data from different time periods. [2] [3] Urbanization was fastest in the Northeastern United States, which acquired an urban majority by 1880. [2]
Topological ecology at the landscape level of biological organisation (e.g. Urban et al. [26]): On the basis of ecological hierarchy theory, it is presupposed that nature is working at multiple scales and has different levels of organisation which are part of a rate-structured, nested hierarchy. Specifically, it is claimed that, above the ...
An urban area [a] is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. This is the core of a metropolitan statistical area in the United States, if it contains a population of more than 50,000. [2] Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns ...
In behavioral biology, the rural-urban gradient has mainly been studied in the context of songbirds. Research on European blackbirds (Turdus merula) has shown that there is a significant variation of songs of the European blackbird along a rural-urban gradient. This is probably to avoid the song from being masked by the background noises.