Urban development can be tough on wildlife. But some plants and animals are adapting to our cities in surprising ways.

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References:

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DeCandido, R., Muir, A.A., & Gargiullo, M.B. (2004) A first approximation of the historical and extant vascular flora of New York City: implications for native plant species conservation. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 131:243–251. http://birdingbob.com/NYC.Flora.Final...


Donihue, C.M., and Lambert, M.R. 2014. Adaptive evolution in urban ecosystems, AMBIO 44(3): 194203. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1...


Fattorini, S. (2011) Insect extinction by urbanization: a long term study in Rome. Biological Conservation 144:370–375.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/...


Harris, S.E., MunshiSouth, J., Obergfell, C., & O’Neill, R. (2013) Signatures of rapid evolution in urban and rural transcriptomes of whitefooted mice (Peromyscus leucopus) in the New York metropolitan area. PLoS One 8(8):e74938. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...


Tait, C.J., Daniels, C.B. & Hill, R.S. (2005). Changes in species assemblages within the Adelaide metropolitan area, Australia, 1836–2002. Ecology 15: 346359. http://www.planta.cn/forum/files_plan....


Wirgin, I., Roy, N.K., Loftus, M., Chambers, R.C., Franks, D.G. & Hahn, M.E., (2011) Mechanistic Basis of Resistance to PCBs in Atlantic Tomcod from the Hudson River, Science 331(6022): 13221325. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/331...


White Footed Mouse photo by Melinda Fawver / Courtesy Shutterstock