Terrestrial Locomotor Evolution in Urban Environments

2020 ◽  
pp. 197-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin M. Winchell ◽  
Andrew C. Battles ◽  
Talia Y. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Morphological Traits ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Terrestrial Habitats ◽  
Anthropogenic Structures ◽  
Locomotor Adaptations ◽  
Structural Habitat

The structural habitat of terrestrial urban environments can differ drastically from environments less impacted by human activities. Whether or not urban species use anthropogenic structures, they are subject to novel selection pressures to effectively locomote. Urban environments are distinctly more open than non-urban habitats, they offer few refuges, and habitat space is patchy with clustered perches. Animals must either change their behaviour to use only natural substrates or contend with manufactured substrates. Arboreal species are particularly impacted because the anthropogenic structures with which they interact, even if infrequently, differ from trees in structural, material, and surface properties. The chapter explores potential adaptive responses to the spatial structure and properties of climbing substrates in urban environments relevant to terrestrial and climbing locomotion. For each, the authors first discuss differences between urban and non-urban terrestrial habitats relevant to locomotion. They then discuss how these differences influence behaviour and locomotor demands, providing a mechanism through which natural selection shapes morphology. Lastly, they discuss the morphological traits most likely to be impacted by these altered demands and predict how natural selection may affect these traits in urban environments based on biomechanical principles. As there have been very few studies investigating urban morphological adaptation related to locomotion, the chapter draws on trait–environment relationships in natural environments. The discussion provides a starting point for developing rigorous hypotheses about functionally relevant trait shifts in urban environments and future directions for investigating locomotor adaptations in urban species.

scholarly journals Effects of exposure to immersive videos and photo slideshows of forest and urban environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fariba Mostajeran ◽  
Jessica Krzikawski ◽  
Frank Steinicke ◽  
Simone Kühn
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Jail Inmates ◽  
Forest Environment ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Hospital Patients

AbstractA large number of studies have demonstrated the benefits of natural environments on people’s health and well-being. For people who have limited access to nature (e.g., elderly in nursing homes, hospital patients, or jail inmates), virtual representations may provide an alternative to benefit from the illusion of a natural environment. For this purpose and in most previous studies, conventional photos of nature have been used. Immersive virtual reality (VR) environments, however, can induce a higher sense of presence compared to conventional photos. Whether this higher sense of presence leads to increased positive impacts of virtual nature exposure is the main research question of this study. Therefore, we compared exposure to a forest and an urban virtual environment in terms of their respective impact on mood, stress, physiological reactions, and cognition. The environments were presented via a head-mounted display as (1) conventional photo slideshows or (2) 360$$^{\circ }$$ ∘ videos. The results show that the forest environment had a positive effect on cognition and the urban environment disturbed mood regardless of the mode of presentation. In addition, photos of either urban or forest environment were both more effective in reducing physiological arousal compared to immersive 360$$^{\circ }$$ ∘ videos.

scholarly journals The Effects of Urban Natural Environments on Preference and Self-Reported Psychological Restoration of the Elderly

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 509
Author(s):  
Ling Qiu ◽  
Qujing Chen ◽  
Tian Gao
Keyword(s):  
Green Space ◽  
Environmental Design ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Photo Elicitation ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
The World ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Aging Populations

The world is facing the challenge of aging populations. Urban natural environments, including green spaces and blue spaces, have been demonstrated to have great benefits to the mental restoration of the elderly. However, the study of the specific characteristics of urban environments that are popular and the most restorative for the elderly is still lacking. Photo elicitation as visual stimuli was utilized to explore the differences in preference and psychological restoration of the elderly through the perception of the eight perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs) in different types of urban environments. The results showed that: (1) The respondents had different perceptions of the eight PSDs in the different urban natural environments. Blue space and partly-closed green space were more preferred by the elderly, and also had more psychological restorative effects on the elderly. (2) There was no significant correlation between the number of highly perceived PSDs and preference, as well as between the number of highly perceived PSDs and psychological restoration. However, there was a significant correlation between preference and psychological restoration. (3) Partly-closed green space with more Serene and Refuge qualities, and blue space with more Serene, Refuge and Prospect properties were optimal characteristics for psychological restoration of the elderly. In addition, open green space with more Prospect, Serene and Social qualities, and closed green space with more Space, Refuge and less Nature properties could also increase psychological restoration of older adults. These findings can provide useful guidelines for restorative environmental design for the elderly in the future.

scholarly journals Diversity of Listeria Species in Urban and Natural Environments

2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (12) ◽  
pp. 4420-4433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D. Sauders ◽  
Jon Overdevest ◽  
Esther Fortes ◽  
Katy Windham ◽  
Ynte Schukken ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Environmental Samples ◽  
Nearest Neighbor ◽  
Allelic Diversity ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Source Tracking ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Molecular Source ◽  
Listeria Seeligeri

ABSTRACTA total of 442Listeriaisolates, including 234Listeria seeligeri, 80L. monocytogenes, 74L. welshimeri, 50L. innocua, and 4L. marthiiisolates, were obtained from 1,805 soil, water, and other environmental samples collected over 2 years from four urban areas and four areas representing natural environments.Listeriaspp. showed similar prevalences in samples from natural (23.4%) and urban (22.3%) environments. WhileL. seeligeriandL. welshimeriwere significantly associated with natural environments (P≤ 0.0001),L. innocuaandL. monocytogeneswere significantly associated with urban environments (P≤ 0.0001). Sequencing ofsigBfor all isolates revealed 67 allelic types with a higher level of allelic diversity among isolates from urban environments. SomeListeriaspp. andsigBallelic types showed significant associations with specific urban and natural areas. Nearest-neighbor analyses also showed that certainListeriaspp. andsigBallelic types were spatially clustered within both natural and urban environments, and there was evidence that these species and allelic types persisted over time in specific areas. Our data show that members of the genusListerianot only are common in urban and natural environments but also show species- and subtype-specific associations with different environments and areas. This indicates thatListeriaspecies and subtypes within these species may show distinct ecological preferences, which suggests (i) that molecular source-tracking approaches can be developed forListeriaand (ii) that detection of someListeriaspecies may not be a good indicator forL. monocytogenes.

scholarly journals Cognitive Restoration from Nature Across Multiple Exposure Types - A Meta-Analysis Delineating the Effects of Test Order and Affect

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Stenfors ◽  
Stephen Charles Van Hedger ◽  
Kathryn E Schertz ◽  
Francisco Calvache Meyer ◽  
Karen Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Digit Span ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Repeated Testing ◽  
Directed Attention ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Unpublished Studies ◽  
Test Order

Interactions with natural environments and nature-related stimuli have been found to be beneficial to cognitive performance, in particular on executive cognitive tasks with high demands on directed attention processes. However, results vary across different studies.The aim of the present study was to perform a meta-analysis of all our published and unpublished studies testing the effect of different interactions with nature versus urban/built control environments, on an executive test with high demands on directed attention: the backwards digit span (BDS) task. Specific aims were to evaluate the effect of nature versus urban environment interactions on BDS across different exposure types (e.g. being in real environments, or viewing videos, images, or listening to sounds) and disentangle the effects of testing order (i.e. practice with repeated testing) and the role of affective changes on BDS performance. We also reviewed the literature and compared and contrasted our meta-analysis with results from other studies. Results from our meta-analysis comprising 12 studies (N=567 participants) showed significant environment-by-time interactions with beneficial effects of nature compared to urban environments on BDS performance. This effect was magnified after parceling out initial practice effects on the BDS. Changes in positive or negative affect did not mediate the beneficial effects of nature on BDS performance. These results mirrored effects that we reviewed from outside of our laboratories. Uncontrolled and confounding order effects may explain some of the inconsistent findings in the literature. In all, these results highlight the robustness of the effects of natural environments on cognition when confounding order effects have been considered, and also provide a more nuanced account of when a nature intervention will be most effective.

scholarly journals Delimitation, new species and teleomorph-anamorph relationships in Codinaea, Dendrophoma, Paragaeumannomyces and Striatosphaeria (Chaetosphaeriaceae)

MycoKeys ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 17-74
Author(s):  
Martina Réblová ◽  
Jana Nekvindová ◽  
Jacques Fournier ◽  
Andrew N. Miller
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Morphological Traits ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Axenic Culture ◽  
Monophyletic Clade ◽  
Morphological Comparison ◽  
The Family ◽  
Terrestrial Habitats ◽  
First Time

The Chaetosphaeriaceae are a diverse group of pigmented, predominantly phialidic hyphomycetes comprised of several holomorphic genera including Chaetosphaeria, the most prominent genus of the family. Although the morphology of the teleomorphs of the majority of Chaetosphaeria is rather uniform, their associated anamorphs primarily exhibit the variability and evolutionary change observed in the genus. An exception from the morphological monotony among Chaetosphaeria species is a group characterised by scolecosporous, hyaline to light pink, multiseptate, asymmetrical ascospores and a unique three-layered ascomatal wall. Paragaeumannomyces sphaerocellularis, the type species of the genus, exhibits these morphological traits and is compared with similar Chaetosphaeria with craspedodidymum- and chloridium-like synanamorphs. Morphological comparison and phylogenetic analyses of the combined ITS-28S sequences of 35 isolates and vouchers with these characteristics revealed a strongly-supported, morphologically well-delimited clade in the Chaetosphaeriaceae containing 16 species. The generic name Paragaeumannomyces is applied to this monophyletic clade; eight new combinations and five new species, i.e. P. abietinussp. nov., P. eleganssp. nov., P. granulatussp. nov., P. sabinianussp. nov. and P. smokiensissp. nov., are proposed. A key to Paragaeumannomyces is provided. Using morphology, cultivation studies and phylogenetic analyses of ITS and 28S rDNA, two additional new species from freshwater and terrestrial habitats, Codinaea paniculatasp. nov. and Striatosphaeria castaneasp. nov., are described in the family. A codinaea-like anamorph of S. castanea forms conidia with setulae at each end in axenic culture; this feature expands the known morphology of Striatosphaeria. A chaetosphaeria-like teleomorph is experimentally linked to Dendrophoma cytisporoides, a sporodochial hyphomycete and type species of Dendrophoma, for the first time.

Phytoseiidae mites associated with native and cultivated solanaceous in Central-West Brazil

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mércia Elias Duarte ◽  
Peterson Rodrigo Demite ◽  
Renata Santos De Mendonça ◽  
Miguel Michereff-filho ◽  
Maria Luiza Santa Cruz De Mesquita Alves ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Morphological Traits ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Predatory Mites ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Phytoseiid Mites ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Phytophagous Mites ◽  
Wild Host ◽  
The One

Predatory mites represent important biological control agents and those belonging to the Phytoseiidae family are the most promising for the control of phytophagous mites and small insects. The control of key pests of tomato and other solanaceous crops, highlighting phytophagous mites, has been a challenge and the biological control constitutes a promising strategy. Prospecting predatory mites in wild host plants, natural environments as well as in agroecosystems is relevant because these non-crop and crop areas can serve as reservoirs for promising species for biological control programs. This study aimed to know the Phytoseiidae fauna associated with wild and cultivated solanaceous plants in a poorly prospected area in Brazil, the Central-West Region. A detailed taxonomic identification of phytoseiid mites was conducted, and the most important morphological traits are presented for each species. In addition, associated phytophagous mites mainly belonging to the Tetranychidae, Tenuipalpidae and Eriophyoidea were identified. Surveys were carried out in 23 species of solanaceous collected in the Distrito Federal (12 areas) and Goiás State (1 area), from February 2017 to January 2018. Nineteen species of predators belonging to ten genera were recorded: Amblyseius (2 species), Euseius (3), Galendromus (1), Iphiseiodes (1), Neoseiulus (3), Paraphytoseius (1), Phytoseius (3), Proprioseiopsis (2), Typhlodromalus (2, one probably new to science) and Typhlodromips (1). Solanum lycocarpum was the solanaceous that harbored the highest richness (11 species), as well as the one with the highest abundance of phytoseiids (250 specimens). Typhlodromalus aripo was the most common species, being the most abundant (423 specimens; 32%) and registered on the largest number of hosts (14). Many of phytoseiid species found present morphological traits that facilitate their occurrence in leaves with trichomes, as in the case of tomato and other cultivated solanaceous. These traits and the association between predators and phytophagous mites may indicate that these species are promising for biological control programms. Thus, extensive studies to assess the efficiency of the identified predatory mites to control key solanaceous pests are required.

scholarly journals The Price equation and reproductive value

2020 ◽  
Vol 375 (1797) ◽  
pp. 20190356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Grafen
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Fundamental Theorem ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Reproductive Value ◽  
Price Equation ◽  
Class Structure ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Important Idea ◽  
Fisher’S Fundamental Theorem

The Price equation is widely recognized as capturing conceptually important properties of natural selection, and is often used to derive versions of Fisher’s fundamental theorem of natural selection, the secondary theorems of natural selection and other significant results. However, class structure is not usually incorporated into these arguments. From the starting point of Fisher’s original connection between fitness and reproductive value, a principled way of incorporating reproductive value and structured populations into the Price equation is explained, with its implications for precise meanings of (two distinct kinds of) reproductive value and of fitness. Once the Price equation applies to structured populations, then the other equations follow. The fundamental theorem itself has a special place among these equations, not only because it always incorporated class structure (and its method is followed for general class structures), but also because that is the result that justifies the important idea that these equations identify the effect of natural selection. The precise definitions of reproductive value and fitness have striking and unexpected features. However, a theoretical challenge emerges from the articulation of Fisher’s structure: is it possible to retain the ecological properties of fitness as well as its evolutionary out-of-equilibrium properties? This article is part of the theme issue ‘Fifty years of the Price equation’.

scholarly journals Mental Health & Resiliency: Designing Participatory Nature Dependent Environments and Communities for a Sustainable Future

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Beam ◽  
Nawari O. Nawari ◽  
Bill Tilson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
Community Planning ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Relationship Building ◽  
Natural Environments

Sustainable design trends have historically wended down a road that supports the idea of densely populated urban planning as a strategy for mitigating sprawl. Creation of dense urban areas aims at the reduction of carbon emissions. However, studies show that densely populated areas often come with a panacea of mental health, resiliency, and quality of life ails for a community.The following research explores the possibility of combining densely populated design approaches with ancient community planning methods that encourage relationship building: close contact with natural environments and social interchange. Community planning that also creates a day to day contact with nature could be a crucial strategy for both sustaining healthy ecosystems and the development of sustainable communities. The potential for integrating dependence upon nature within built urban environments, as well as the possibility of positive place-making by harvesting nature dependent cultural and social assets in communities and neighborhoods, is, therefore, a wealthy area worthy of exploration.To explore these areas, mental health research on the effects of nature on the brain, as well as the three leading determinants of social, environmental and economic well-being, worldwide, and the founding cultures of these determinants were reviewed. Resilient indigenous groups and case studies of the happiest nation, of Norway and two leading environmentally sustainable and resilient countries, Costa Rica, Cuba, and New Mexico are examined. The paper provides recommendations for improving mental health and resilience by integrating strategies for nature and community needs in urban planning and built environments design.

Expanding Urban Slums

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Humphrey ◽  
Shahadat Hossain
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Urban Poverty ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Slums ◽  
Urban Informality ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Globalizing World ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
American Cities

Slums have generated renewed interest among scholars in the wake of rapid urbanization in the South and the growing incidence of urban poverty worldwide. This gave rise to the expression “expanding urban slums,” which refers to a phenomenon occurring in the Global South associated with “hyper-urbanization”— rapid urbanization beyond the capacity of the state or city to plan for, to provide services and housing for, to regulate urban environments or regulate the poor. The UN Challenge of Slums report describes two kinds of slums: “slums of hope” and “slums of despair.” Slums of hope are “progressing” settlements, characterized by new, normally self-built structures, usually illegal (e.g. squatters) that are in, or have recently been through, a process of development, consolidation and improvement. Slums of despair refer to “declining” neighborhoods, in which environmental conditions and domestic services are undergoing a process of degeneration. Earlier studies of slums differ from contemporary research in terms of the extent to which megaslums are emerging as a permanent feature of megacities. Contemporary studies of the “expanding slum” can be conceptualized as about different aspects of informalization of urban social, economic, and political processes. The literature on urban informality and informalization indicates that slums are not excluded spaces but integrated on different terms. Scholars must begin to develop more nuanced theories of urbanism in a globalizing world, and they can use the “gray zones” of Latin American cities as a starting point.

scholarly journals The Restorative Value of the Urban Environment: A Systematic Review of the Existing Literature

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 117863021881280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke Maria Weber ◽  
Jörg Trojan
Keyword(s):  
Urban Environment ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
Research Focus ◽  
Urban Settings ◽  
Architectural Elements ◽  
Social Components

Background: Stress poses a major issue in our modern society, making restoration an important research focus. Restoration likelihood has mostly been observed in nature, which was compared with urban environments that have little restorative potential, eg, industrial areas. However, many people reside in and need to find restoration in cities. The main aim of this review is to summarize research that has focused on investigating restoration possibilities in urban environments and the environmental elements interacting with the restoration likelihood of an urban environment. Method: This review focuses on studies addressing the topic of restoration possibilities in urban settings in built and human-made natural urban environments. The studies were searched via Google Scholar, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, and PSYNDEX. All studies concerned with restoration in urban environments were included. However, studies concerned with nonoriginal data, solely investigating effects of natural environments or treating urban environments as a control for restoration in nature, were excluded from the review. Overall, 39 studies corresponded to the criteria and were included. Results: Natural elements in urban environments have a restorative potential and can increase the restorativeness of urban settings. Furthermore, built urban environments vary in their restorative potential, but promising results have been uncovered as well. Architectural elements, cultural, and leisure areas had a restorative value, whereas the findings on streets and residential areas differ. In sum, many urban locations can have restorative effects, but these effects may be influenced by factors such as cultural background, age, social components, and individual dispositions. Discussion: Certain urban environments hold a restorative potential. However, the literature on restoration in urban environments is still quite scarce and therefore has been of little practical use. Even though applying the findings to real-life environments is desirable, it might prove difficult, considering the overall sparse evidence. More research on the predictors of restoration likelihood (eg, social factors), generational and cultural differences, and comparisons between natural and urban environments is recommended.

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