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Continental Patterns of Phenotypic Variation Along Replicated Urban Gradients : A Mega-Analysis

Thompson, M. J. LU ; Martin, J. G.A. LU ; Biard, C. ; Bleu, J. ; Branston, C. J. ; Capilla-Lasheras, P. ; Dingemanse, N. J. ; Dominoni, D. M. ; Eens, M. and Eeva, T. , et al. (2025) In Ecology Letters 28(7).
Abstract

Individual variation among and within natural populations can have eco-evolutionary implications by, for example, affecting species interactions or evolutionary potential. Urban systems present a unique opportunity to evaluate how environmental change shapes variation since urban phenotypic differentiation is widely documented on contemporary timescales. We introduce and test three hypotheses to determine how urbanisation affects phenotypic variation at different population levels. Combining 21 long-term datasets in a mega-analysis approach, we synthesise how urbanisation impacts variation in tarsus length and lay date among and within subpopulations of great and blue tits (Parus major, Cyanistes caeruleus) at a continental scale. Our... (More)

Individual variation among and within natural populations can have eco-evolutionary implications by, for example, affecting species interactions or evolutionary potential. Urban systems present a unique opportunity to evaluate how environmental change shapes variation since urban phenotypic differentiation is widely documented on contemporary timescales. We introduce and test three hypotheses to determine how urbanisation affects phenotypic variation at different population levels. Combining 21 long-term datasets in a mega-analysis approach, we synthesise how urbanisation impacts variation in tarsus length and lay date among and within subpopulations of great and blue tits (Parus major, Cyanistes caeruleus) at a continental scale. Our synthesis reveals that urbanisation is associated with increased phenotypic variation within subpopulations by 11% on average, and by as much as 25% across the species and traits examined. We also find some evidence (for tarsus length in great tits) that urbanisation increases differentiation between subpopulations. We did not, however, find that urbanisation increases differences between subpopulations in their within-subpopulation variation. Our synthesis provides novel insights into how urban contexts impact individual diversity at different spatial scales and we highlight future directions that could establish the genetic and environmental effects that underlie these continental patterns of urban phenotypic variation.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
blue tit, city, environmental heterogeneity, great tit, individual diversity, intraspecific variation, lay date, subpopulation, tarsus length, urbanisation
in
Ecology Letters
volume
28
issue
7
article number
e70180
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • pmid:40704628
  • scopus:105011824340
ISSN
1461-023X
DOI
10.1111/ele.70180
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6dd9524f-2cdf-4d62-b634-e474ae9fe6e0
date added to LUP
2025-11-23 12:09:35
date last changed
2025-12-09 03:15:58
@article{6dd9524f-2cdf-4d62-b634-e474ae9fe6e0,
  abstract     = {{<p>Individual variation among and within natural populations can have eco-evolutionary implications by, for example, affecting species interactions or evolutionary potential. Urban systems present a unique opportunity to evaluate how environmental change shapes variation since urban phenotypic differentiation is widely documented on contemporary timescales. We introduce and test three hypotheses to determine how urbanisation affects phenotypic variation at different population levels. Combining 21 long-term datasets in a mega-analysis approach, we synthesise how urbanisation impacts variation in tarsus length and lay date among and within subpopulations of great and blue tits (Parus major, Cyanistes caeruleus) at a continental scale. Our synthesis reveals that urbanisation is associated with increased phenotypic variation within subpopulations by 11% on average, and by as much as 25% across the species and traits examined. We also find some evidence (for tarsus length in great tits) that urbanisation increases differentiation between subpopulations. We did not, however, find that urbanisation increases differences between subpopulations in their within-subpopulation variation. Our synthesis provides novel insights into how urban contexts impact individual diversity at different spatial scales and we highlight future directions that could establish the genetic and environmental effects that underlie these continental patterns of urban phenotypic variation.</p>}},
  author       = {{Thompson, M. J. and Martin, J. G.A. and Biard, C. and Bleu, J. and Branston, C. J. and Capilla-Lasheras, P. and Dingemanse, N. J. and Dominoni, D. M. and Eens, M. and Eeva, T. and Evans, K. L. and Isaksson, C. and Liker, A. and Massemin, S. and Matthysen, E. and Mouchet, A. and Perret, S. and Senar, J. C. and Seress, G. and Szulkin, M. and Vincze, E. and Watson, H. and Réale, D. and Charmantier, A.}},
  issn         = {{1461-023X}},
  keywords     = {{blue tit; city; environmental heterogeneity; great tit; individual diversity; intraspecific variation; lay date; subpopulation; tarsus length; urbanisation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{7}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Ecology Letters}},
  title        = {{Continental Patterns of Phenotypic Variation Along Replicated Urban Gradients : A Mega-Analysis}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.70180}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/ele.70180}},
  volume       = {{28}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}