Leveraging social media and other online data to study animal behavior.

The widespread sharing of information on the Internet has given rise to ecological studies that use data from digital sources including digitized museum records and social media posts. Most of these studies have focused on understanding species occurrences and distributions. In this essay, we argue that data from digital sources also offer many opportunities to study animal behavior including long-term and large-scale comparisons within and between species.

Online toolkits for collaborative and inclusive global research in urban evolutionary ecology.

Urban evolutionary ecology is inherently interdisciplinary. Moreover, it is a field with global significance. However, bringing researchers and resources together across fields and countries is challenging.

The plastic homes of hermit crabs in the Anthropocene.

Plastic is the most pervasive element of marine waste, with harmful impact on wildlife. By using iEcology (i.e.

Why do some bird species incorporate more anthropogenic materials into their nests than others?

Many bird species incorporate anthropogenic materials (e.g. sweet wrappers, cigarette butts and plastic strings) into their nests.

The prevalence of anthropogenic nest materials differs between two distinct populations of migratory birds in Europe.

A major impact of human development is the transformation of natural habitats into farming lands and the expansion of built-up areas. Also, plastic pollution is affecting wildlife on a global scale. Discarded plastic is ubiquitous and accessible for birds, which can incorporate them into the nest structure.

The effect of climate change on avian offspring production: A global meta-analysis.

Climate change affects timing of reproduction in many bird species, but few studies have investigated its influence on annual reproductive output. Here, we assess changes in the annual production of young by female breeders in 201 populations of 104 bird species (N = 745,962 clutches) covering all continents between 1970 and 2019. Overall, average offspring production has declined in recent decades, but considerable differences were found among species and populations.

Breeding in the pandemic: short-term lockdown restrictions in a European capital city did not alter the life-history traits of two urban adapters.

Unlabelled: Humans are transforming natural habitats into managed urban green areas and impervious surfaces at an unprecedented pace. Yet the effects of human presence on animal life-history traits are rarely tested. This is particularly true in cities, where human presence is often indissociable from urbanisation itself.

The extended avian urban phenotype: anthropogenic solid waste pollution, nest design, and fitness.

Solid waste pollution (garbage discarded by humans, such as plastic, metal, paper) has received increased attention given its importance as a global threat to biodiversity. Recent studies highlight how animals incorporate anthropogenic materials into their life-cycle, for example in avian nest construction. While increasingly monitored in natural areas, the influence of solid waste pollution on wildlife has been seldom explored in the urban habitat.

Distance to landfill and human activities affects the debris incorporation into the white stork nests in urbanized landscape in central Spain.

Human's activities dominates many aspects of the Earth's environment; thus animals are forced to adapt and respond to the resulting changes in habitat structure and functioning due to anthropogenic pressure. Along with the growing human population and the associated amount of waste produced, the amount of different type of physical contamination component in environment is increasing. Incorporation of debris in nests may be a mounting avian response to anthropogenic pollution.

Life in a polluted world: A global review of anthropogenic materials in bird nests.

Human pressure exerts a significant influence on animals and the environment. One of its consequences, plastic pollution is considered one of the major threats to fauna as well as a significant conservation issue. In this research, we examined the global pattern of one example of avian behavior in response to pollution-namely, the incorporation of anthropogenic materials into nests-as well as the existing knowledge on this subject.

Factors determining the occurrence of anthropogenic materials in nests of the white stork Ciconia ciconia.

Birds have been using anthropogenic materials for nest construction for the past few decades. However, there is a trade-off between the use of new nesting material, which is often linked to greater breeding success, and the higher risk of nestling mortality due to entanglement or ingestion of debris. Here, we investigate the incorporation of anthropogenic materials into nests of the white stork Ciconia ciconia, based on a long-term study of a population in Western Poland.