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Before considering rats, this research group started by looking at white-footed mice. [1] > The mice have become so genetically distinct from one another that

Before considering rats, this research group started by looking at white-footed mice. [1] > The mice have become so genetically distinct from one another that if you show Munshi-South a DNA sequence randomly selected from a white-footed mouse in NYC, he can tell you where it lives. At the same time, city mice as a whole also seem to be evolving new traits that mice from rural areas outside the city lack… [1] http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/01/uptown-mice-are-different-from-downtown-mice.html http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/01/uptown-mice-are... This is an older article, from when their first studies were coming out. [2] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/26/science/26evolve.html http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/26/science/26evolve.html Both articles also discuss other species, but it seems like the focus is usually on genetic differences between urban and rural populations, or polluted versus not polluted, and not on intra-urban genetic variations.

pavel_lishin 9y ago
Your quote stopped right where I started to get interested, so for the benefit of others: > At the same time, city mice as a whole also seem to be evolving new traits that mice from rural areas outside the city lack: genetic mutations that may help them neutralize toxic metals in polluted soil, for example, or speed up their sperm in response to the intense sexual competition in their overcrowded metropolitan homes. I wonder why they seem to be a little hedgy around the toxic-metal-mutation bit. I'm guessing they suspect that that's what the mutation does, but don't particularly want to feed the poor mice toxic-metal laden soil just to confirm.
- astrodust 9y ago
  Some populations of city mice are ridiculously hardy. They can eat warfarin-laced poison food like it's candy. It's like the roaches in some Washington D.C. buildings that are immune to virtually every chemical used for pest control. It's so bad that chemical companies test new compounds on those populations first. That's what decades of selective breeding has brought about.
  - serf 9y ago
    > They can eat warfarin-laced poison food like it's candy. question : where does such food come from, and why?
    - astrodust 9y ago
      It's a common rat/mouse poison. Cheap to manufacture.
- exolymph 9y ago
  > don't particularly want to feed the poor mice toxic-metal laden soil just to confirm. Respectfully, I think it's more likely that definite results are hard to get. Researchers generally don't shy away from harming mice.

pavel_lishin 9y ago

Your quote stopped right where I started to get interested, so for the benefit of others: > At the same time, city mice as a whole also seem to be evolving new traits that mice from rural areas outside the city lack: genetic mutations that may help them neutralize toxic metals in polluted soil, for example, or speed up their sperm in response to the intense sexual competition in their overcrowded metropolitan homes. I wonder why they seem to be a little hedgy around the toxic-metal-mutation bit. I'm guessing they suspect that that's what the mutation does, but don't particularly want to feed the poor mice toxic-metal laden soil just to confirm.

astrodust 9y ago
Some populations of city mice are ridiculously hardy. They can eat warfarin-laced poison food like it's candy. It's like the roaches in some Washington D.C. buildings that are immune to virtually every chemical used for pest control. It's so bad that chemical companies test new compounds on those populations first. That's what decades of selective breeding has brought about.
- serf 9y ago
  > They can eat warfarin-laced poison food like it's candy. question : where does such food come from, and why?
  - astrodust 9y ago
    It's a common rat/mouse poison. Cheap to manufacture.
exolymph 9y ago
> don't particularly want to feed the poor mice toxic-metal laden soil just to confirm. Respectfully, I think it's more likely that definite results are hard to get. Researchers generally don't shy away from harming mice.