Mammalian and Avian Urban Speciation

Abstract

A literature study was performed to gain an idea on whether or not species could undergo speciation as consequence of the urban environment. There is a lot of literature on this subject concerning urban mammals and especially avians. This is why these two species where the subject matter of this study. Urban avian and mammal species take advantage of the urban possibilities without being overwhelmed by the disadvantages. The advantages can be for instance anthropogenic food sources, avoidance of predators, or lack of competition. But the disadvantages are ample as well, with species having to overcome problems such as lack of nesting sites, traffic and noise pollution. But once species manage to have self-sustaining urban populations they can start to show urban adaptions. These adaptions of the urban population could be the first step to urban speciation, the creation of a new species. This urban speciation is a form of ecological speciation. For this kind of speciation to actually occur, a self-sustaining urban population needs to be reproductively isolated from the rest of the population. The urban environment itself could be a barrier halting gene flow between the urban population and the rest of the population. But there could also be other gene flow barriers in place working against migration or hybridisation. This study goes on to study the literature of two avian case studies of which there is though that in time these species could possibly undergo urban speciation. Important is that one has to assume that we humans and the cities we live in will remain the way they are now, or similar. Because so little study has been performed on the possibilities of urban speciation until recently, there could already be more species undergoing this process literately under our noses.