How are species adapting to human contexts?

“The potential magnitude of unintentional human selection should not be underestimated.”

Authors Kathryn G. Turner, Christopher J. Schell, and Brook T. Moyers report in their recent article “Genomics of Adaptation to Human Contexts” (Journal of Heredity, 2018, Vol. 109, No. 2) the summaries of a one day symposium of geneticists and their published papers. One key paragraph of their article states:

“Moyers et al. (this issue) review the evidence for a genetic “cost of domestication,” and that with few exceptions, domesticated lineages show signs of increased deleterious genetic variation compared to their wild relatives. These signs include increased genome-wide linkage disequilibrium, reduced genetic diversity, increased numbers or substitutions of nonsynonymous relative to synonymous mutations, and more numerous or frequent mutations that annotate as deleterious in comparative analyses. The same pattern is found when comparing modern domesticated lineages subject to recent intense artificial selection (elite or improved varieties) against older domesticated lineages (landrace or noncommercial varieties). These patterns are likely driven by the combination of repeated genetic bottlenecks, strong artificial selection, and increased inbreeding that humans have intentionally and unintentionally applied during the process of domestication.”

Looking at the big picture when it comes to urban wildlife conservation

It may be useful to evaluate surrounding green spaces and their connectivity when creating urban wildlife habitat. A study done in Syracuse, NY in 1986 found that many mammal species don't just stay within one habitat type, but instead use a mosaic of spaces for varying needs. The researchers found that by studying the variables found within a regional area were more important than site specific landscapes. The area of water, amount of paving, grass area, and green space amounts were more important than classes of trees or amount of understory. The authors conclude that urban animals use a regional approach for habitat needs than individual site provisions.

Good ag neighbors: Rare remnant plant species are better conserved in larger forest patches next to ag lands than urban

Because of publisher copyright restrictions I can't share the research abstract, however I can summarize an interesting study in 2006 that found that agricultural lands are better neighbors than urban land use that adjoin remnant woodlots. The study that was done in Spain found that plant species recorded were compared to levels of human disturbance and frequency. Results were determined that disturbance-type plant species decreased with increasing distance to forest edge. Rare forest species were richer in large patches adjacent ag-based lands as compared to small woodland patches in peri-urban areas.

New Study Shows Vegetation Controls the Future of the Water Cycle

“Plants are really the thermostat of the world,” says Léo Lemordant, Gentine’s PhD student and lead author of the paper. “They’re at the center of the water, energy, and carbon cycles. As they take up carbon from the atmosphere to thrive, they release water that they take from the soils. Doing that, they also cool off the surface, controlling the temperature that we all feel. Now we know that mainly plants—not simply precipitation or temperature—will tell us whether we will live in a drier or wetter world.”

Their study“Critical impact of vegetation physiology on the continental hydrologic cycle in response to increasing CO₂.”is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Authors are: Léo Lemordant (Columbia Engineering); Pierre Gentine (Columbia Engineering and Earth Institute); Abigail Swann (University of Washington); Benjamin I. Cook (NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University); and Jacob Scheff (University of North Carolina, Charlotte).