Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Living in Synurbia

Living in Synurbia





Synurbic species, or synanthropes, are those animals and plants that live in the same places as us: urban foxes, garden birds, rats, pigeons etc. Recent studies suggest that such species not only live in greater densities in urban areas than they do rural ones but also adapt their behaviour to take advantage of the opportunities that city living provides. This may include changing their diet & foraging techniques, having smaller territories, nesting in buildings etc. There is even some evidence that species may be evolving to exploit their new environment. Urban house finches have evolved different beak shapes to their country cousins & so are able to eat the seeds available to them in towns & cities.




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