內容簡介
內容簡介 當達爾文演化論深入現代都市叢林探索生物如何在高樓林立及人口密集的都市發揮超強生命力與驚人的演化透過不一樣的角度看待你所居住的城市，人類正朝向全球有3 4人口居住在城市的未來邁進。地球上大部份的土地皆已城市化，其餘的土地皆被人工打造的牧場、農場和種植地所佔領，而真正的自然環境及生物們又該何去何從？生物學家Menno Schilthuizen將透過本書精闢解答。越來越多野生動物在人類中形成新的生態位，甚至發展驚人的演化及變化。大部分居住在都市中動物進化的更加狡猾及聰明，例如野鴿發展出能自行排毒的羽毛，而走道裂縫中的雜草則生長出新品種的種子，而經常在城市中出現的黑色鳥群甚至也演化成一種全新物種，也就是所謂的烏鶇。生物在都市中的適應力及演化力以前所未見的速度快速發展，植物與動物正在為人類所打造的人工環境中發展全新生活方式。作者認為我們處在人類歷史發展的新篇章邊緣，儘管生物多樣性正在逐漸消失，但新型態的生命形式也在積極茁壯。See your city through fresh eyesWe are marching towards a future in which three-quarters of humans live in cities, and a large portion of the planet's landmass is urbanized. With much of the rest covered by human-shaped farms, pasture, and plantations, where can nature still go? To the cities -- is Menno Schilthuizen's answer in this remarkable book. And with more and more wildlife carving out new niches among humans, evolution takes a surprising turn. Urban animals evolve to become more cheeky and resourceful, city pigeons develop detox-plumage, and weeds growing from cracks in the pavement get a new type of seeds. City blackbirds are even on their way of becoming an entirely new species, which we could name Turdus urbanicus.Thanks to evolutionary adaptation taking place at unprecedented speeds, plants and animals are coming up with new ways of living in the seemingly hostile environments of asphalt and steel that we humans have created. We are on the verge of a new chapter in the history of life, Schilthuizen says -- a chapter in which much old biodiversity is, sadly, disappearing, but also one in which a new and exciting set of life forms is being born.Menno Schilthuizen shows us that evolution in cities can happen far more rapidly, and strangely, than Darwin had dared dream.
