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asab27's review against another edition
4.0
Overall this is an interesting and informative book. The only slight downside is that some of the examples don’t always connect or seem a little out of nowhere, though they are still interesting. Also, as someone who studies evolution and ecology, “pre-adaptation” is a ridiculous and misleading term that I’ve never heard used (the idea itself makes sense it is just the wording), I was surprised how much it is focused on.
mila_'s review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
Great prose, witty writing style, and informative throughout.
zofoklecja's review against another edition
4.0
A bunch of interesting facts about urban ecosystems, complete with descriptions of the research that led to understanding them. The author is Dutch and it shows - stories are refreshingly non-UScentric
andrewspink's review against another edition
5.0
This is a book that definately exceded my expecations. I had expected a rather dry book about evolutionary theory, but unstead what I read was a fascianting series of stories illustraing various facets of evolution in the cities. Menno Schilthuizen starts by reminding us that evolution isn't just about what happended to the dinosours millions of years ago, but is what is going on here and now. At the begining of the book I knew that intellectually, by the end it was something I experienced. More to the point, he makes a convincing case that the extreme change in environment from a natural or semi-natural habiat to a city has led to very rapid evolution. He gives a whole load of interesting examples where that has been proven to happen and makes a strong case that the only reason we don't know more examples is that there hasn't been much reseach done in that area.
I was delighted to read a whole chapter about the work of the reseach group of my friend and ex-colleague Hans Slabberkoorn.
It was really interesting to read that there is proof of urban-specific evolution in humans (in the response of the immune system to TBC).
The book is very balanced. The author succesfully converys great enthusiasm for the plants and animals found in cities, includign all the 'aliens' and invasive new species. In the final chapter he makes it clear that of course the loss of biodiversity is to be regretted but that just because we are sorry for what we've lost doesn't mean that we get in its place is without value.
I was delighted to read a whole chapter about the work of the reseach group of my friend and ex-colleague Hans Slabberkoorn.
It was really interesting to read that there is proof of urban-specific evolution in humans (in the response of the immune system to TBC).
The book is very balanced. The author succesfully converys great enthusiasm for the plants and animals found in cities, includign all the 'aliens' and invasive new species. In the final chapter he makes it clear that of course the loss of biodiversity is to be regretted but that just because we are sorry for what we've lost doesn't mean that we get in its place is without value.
mclerce's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Uitermate fascinerend boek, en ook nog erg leesbaar. Ik heb er veel van geleerd (dat onze Europese spreeuwen in de VS zitten komt eigenlijk door Shakespeare!) en er stonden mooie zinnen in ("Het urbane weefgetouw weeft voedselwebben van schering en inslag die door het toeval worden bepaald, en waarbij soorten worden samengevoegd in een nieuw en verrassend patroon."). Aanrader!
octavia_cade's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
Very interesting book about evolution taking place in cities. One of the opening examples was particularly effective - mosquitoes in the London Underground, effectively cut off from different populations on different lines, evolving differently from each other.
This could be quite a difficult topic, but the book's very much popular science, directed at a lay audience, which is appealing. I've read a number of popular science books that are far less accessible, so it's a success there. A couple of things help it along, I think. First, the chapters are all relatively short. Almost bite-sized, averaging 10-15 pages each, so it's easy to get through. Secondly, a lot of this is concerned with sharing the details of practical experiments. There's not a lot of theory here. There are a lot of clearly explained examples, such as the above-mentioned mosquitoes, and I've always found practical examples an extremely effective way of getting ideas across. Admittedly, those examples tend towards insects, and to a lesser degree birds - animals with relatively short generations, so that the ability to assess genetic change over time is something that can be demonstrably measured.
I'm not as certain as Schilthuizen as to his conclusions about the value of introduced species, though. I think he's right when he says that urban environments are increasingly sharing organisms across the world, but remembering the Tallamy book I read some time back, Bringing Nature Home, where introduced species are very clearly shown to have a deleterious effect on endemic biodiversity, well. The homogenisation that Schilthuizen describes may have somewhat less value in that context.
This could be quite a difficult topic, but the book's very much popular science, directed at a lay audience, which is appealing. I've read a number of popular science books that are far less accessible, so it's a success there. A couple of things help it along, I think. First, the chapters are all relatively short. Almost bite-sized, averaging 10-15 pages each, so it's easy to get through. Secondly, a lot of this is concerned with sharing the details of practical experiments. There's not a lot of theory here. There are a lot of clearly explained examples, such as the above-mentioned mosquitoes, and I've always found practical examples an extremely effective way of getting ideas across. Admittedly, those examples tend towards insects, and to a lesser degree birds - animals with relatively short generations, so that the ability to assess genetic change over time is something that can be demonstrably measured.
I'm not as certain as Schilthuizen as to his conclusions about the value of introduced species, though. I think he's right when he says that urban environments are increasingly sharing organisms across the world, but remembering the Tallamy book I read some time back, Bringing Nature Home, where introduced species are very clearly shown to have a deleterious effect on endemic biodiversity, well. The homogenisation that Schilthuizen describes may have somewhat less value in that context.
spiritismus's review against another edition
4.0
Darwin in de stad is een duidelijk boek over urbane evolutie! Dat is best een prestatie. Wanneer de schrijver iets te veel verdwijnt in vakjargon, volgt er altijd weer een alinea die het wat makkelijker probeert uit te leggen. Ik vond het ontzettend interessant om te lezen! Ik heb veel geleerd over verschillende diersoorten die ik, al wonende in de stad, regelmatig tegenkom.