The findings open new opportunities for advancing our understanding of the role of humans in Earth’s evolution, said lead author Marina Alberti from University of Washington.

“By explicitly linking urban development to heritable traits that affect ecosystem function, we can begin to map the implications of human-induced trait changes for ecological and human well being,” Alberti noted.

Rapid urbanisation poses new challenges for species, some of which will adapt or relocate while others go extinct, the researchers said. ... They analysed 1,600 observations of phenotypic change — alterations to species’ observable traits such as size, development or behaviour — across multiple regions and ecosystems worldwide.

They also assessed the relative impact of several human-caused “urban disturbances,” including the acidification and pollution of lake habitats, the relocation of animals, heat and effluents associated with a power plant, long-term harvesting of certain medicinal plants — even the apparent effects of global warming on the reproductive patterns of birds.

“We found a clear urban signal of phenotypic change — and greater phenotypic change in urbanising systems compared to natural and non-urban anthropogenic, or human-created systems,” Alberti said.