Metromorphosis : evolution on the urban island

Cities are very much alive. Like islands, they provide a natural testing ground for evolution. With more than half of the world's population living in urban areas now, the influence cities have on the planet's life is enormous. But can they produce species? Foxes are learning to take advantage of human handouts in London, blackbirds are adjusting their physiology to relax around humans, and two forms of mosquito are diverging in the London tube system. Cities are hotbeds of evolutionary change, and regardless of whether or not new forms of life are destined to arise, they may help shed light on the origin of species.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Vezina, Kenrick (Kenrick Freitas)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Thomas Levenson.

• Graduate Program in Science Writing.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/68475

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/68475