Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale.

Tropical dry forests (TDFs) have been widely transformed by human activities worldwide and the ecosystem services they provide are diminishing. There has been an urgent call for conservation and restoration of the degraded lands previously occupied by TDFs. Restoration experiences aim to recover species diversity and ecological functions. Different restoration strategies have been used to maximize plant performance including weeding, planting or using artificial mulching. In this investigation, we evaluated whether different restoration practices influence animal arrival and the reestablishment of biotic interactions. We particularly evaluated lepidopteran larvae diversity and caterpillar predation on plants established under different restoration treatments (mulching, weeding and control) in the Pacific West Coast of México. This study corroborated the importance of plant host identity for lepidopteran presence in a particular area. Lepidopteran diversity and herbivory rates were not affected by the restoration treatment but they were related to tree species. In contrast, caterpillar predation marks were affected by restoration treatment, with a greater number of predation marks in control plots, while caterpillar predation marks among plant species were not significantly different. This study highlights the importance of considering the introduction of high plant species diversity when planning TDF restoration to maximize lepidopteran diversity and ecosystem functioning.

The use of exotic species for pest biocontrol has been a common pathway for introduction and dispersal of invasive species that may have undesired outcomes. Biocontrol agents are believed to be a less damaging alternative than pesticides, but some species may also prey on or parasitize native species or outcompete them for resources. The harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) is a well-known biocontrol agent originally from Asia that has established invasive populations in 59 countries around the globe. Harlequin ladybirds are generalist predators that in addition to pests prey on an array of different species including other coccinelids’ eggs and larvae. In Mexico, native ladybirds that share ecological requirements with harlequin ladybirds are at risk of being outcompeted and predated upon. The aim of our study was to compare the foraging efficiency of harlequin ladybirds against three species of native coccinelids when preying on aphids. We investigated the foraging behaviour of ladybirds alone and in pairs with a conspecific, a native heterospecific or an exotic heterospecific. We found that the native Cycloneda sanguinea was the species that consumed the most aphids, while Hippodamia convergens was the fastest to find and consume each aphid. Harlequin ladybirds and H. convergens consumed the same number of aphids while P. vittigera consumed less. Conspecific competition was stronger than heterospecific competition. We discuss the suitability of using the exotic invasive harlequin ladybird for aphid biocontrol in comparison with native coccinelids.