Alberti et al., 2017 Diamond et al., 2018 Campbell‐Staton et al., 2020 reviewed in Johnson & Munshi‐South, 2017 Lambert et al., 2020 Diamond & Martin, 2021). Indeed, numerous studies have reported divergent phenotypes between urban and non‐urban populations in phenological, morphological, behavioural and reproductive traits (e.g. Perhaps not surprisingly, multiple shifts in animal and plant phenotypes have been associated with the novel conditions and selective pressures found in cities (Hendry et al., 2017). The footprint of human activity is most pronounced in urban environments, where microclimatic conditions, biogeochemical cycles and sensory landscapes are considerably different from those in non‐urban habitats (Grimm et al., 2008). Humans have drastically changed environmental conditions on Earth, particularly since the invention of agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution. The higher variation in phenology in birds subjected to urban disturbance could result from plastic responses to a heterogeneous environment, or from higher genetic variation in phenology, possibly linked to higher evolutionary potential. These findings reveal a novel effect of urbanisation on animal life histories with potential implications for species adaptation to urban environments (which will require further investigation). This result arises from differences between populations within breeding seasons, conceivably due to higher landscape heterogeneity in urban habitats. Second, we show that urban populations have higher phenotypic variation in laying date than non‐urban populations. First, we show that urban populations reproduce earlier and have smaller broods than non‐urban conspecifics. Here, we conducted a meta‐analysis of the avian literature to compare urban versus non‐urban means and variation in phenology (i.e. This prediction, however, has never been tested across species nor over a broad geographical range. Recent work suggests that urban populations might have higher levels of phenotypic variation than non‐urban counterparts. Phenotypic variation, which can result from underlying genetic variation or plasticity, is an important metric to understand eco‐evolutionary responses to environmental change. Cities pose a major ecological challenge for wildlife worldwide.
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