REPLY TO THIS STUDENT DISCUSSION MINIMUM WORD COUNTS IS 120 AND NO REFERENCES
Humans effect on city bird evolution.
Being agents of selection, we effect many species in their process of evolution. We have changed the bird evolution process by changing their sound, dependency on humans, habitat, and food source. Birds needed to find new ways to adapt around humans.
The first way we have affected birds evolution is the way they sound. Modern day sounds are a new environment influence on the way birds call. Birds have been known to mock car sounds according to KQED (Kennedy, 2018). This shows they change to interact with their environment.
The second way we have affected birds evolution is by making them more dependent on humans. This changed what skills they need to survive in our cities. For a lot of birds how much they eat depends on how many scraps we drop. In my area, birds outside of town live off of the dump and travel there every day.
A third way is we have limited their habitats. As cities grow, birds rely on manmade nature structures to live (Kennedy, 2018). They have also learned to live in human made structures. As we continue to construct birds homes are constantly moved, affecting their population.
A final way we have affected birds evolution is their food source. We have changed what they eat and where they can find their food. We have changed this by introducing new foods to them and by changing where they find natural foods. Birds who do not scavenge, and look for natural food, tend to be smaller than others (Kennedy, 2018). The change in food source effects their diet, which in turns effects their fitness in natural selection.
We have discussed a few ways that human activity has changed how birds have adapted to their environment. Birds sound, dependency, habitat, and food source have adapted to modern day human life. These factors affect population and survival of the fittest for birds. Birds are a fitting example to show how human growth affects the environment and evolution.
Word Count: 336.
References
Kennedy, A. (2018, April 26). City Birds. KQED. https://www.kqed.org/perspectives/201601137132/city-birds.
