[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.13,0:00:02.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is where I grew up.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.16,0:00:05.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A small village near the city of Rotterdam
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.48,0:00:06.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the Netherlands.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.65,0:00:11.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the 1970s and 1980s,\Nwhen I was a teenager,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.67,0:00:13.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this area was still a quiet place.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.48,0:00:17.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was full of farms and fields\Nand swampland,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.70,0:00:21.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I spent my free time there,\Nenjoying myself,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.81,0:00:24.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,painting oil paintings like this one,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.21,0:00:26.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,collecting wildflowers, bird-watching
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.86,0:00:29.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and also collecting insects.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.74,0:00:31.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this was one of my prized finds.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.84,0:00:33.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a very special beetle,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.56,0:00:36.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an amazing beetle called an ant beetle.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.44,0:00:39.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is a kind of beetle\Nthat lives its entire life
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.40,0:00:41.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,inside an ant's nest.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.33,0:00:44.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It has evolved to speak ant.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.69,0:00:47.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's using the same chemical signals,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.43,0:00:50.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the same smells as the ants do,\Nfor communicating,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.41,0:00:53.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and right now, this beetle\Nis telling this worker ant,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.61,0:00:55.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Hey, I'm also a worker ant,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.92,0:00:57.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm hungry, please feed me."
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.72,0:00:59.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the ant complies,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.27,0:01:01.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because the beetle is using\Nthe same chemicals.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.92,0:01:03.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over these millions of years,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.70,0:01:08.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this beetle has evolved a way\Nto live inside an ant society.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.55,0:01:10.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over the years,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.74,0:01:12.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when I was living in that village,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.40,0:01:15.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I collected 20,000 different beetles,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.56,0:01:19.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I built a collection\Nof pinned beetles.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.12,0:01:23.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this got me interested,\Nat a very early age, in evolution.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.42,0:01:28.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How do all those different forms,\Nhow does all this diversity come about?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.62,0:01:32.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I became an evolutionary biologist,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.02,0:01:34.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like Charles Darwin.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.78,0:01:38.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And like Charles Darwin,\NI also soon became frustrated
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.60,0:01:43.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the fact that evolution is something\Nthat happened mostly in the past.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.17,0:01:46.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We study the patterns that we see today,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.62,0:01:50.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,trying to understand the evolution\Nthat took place in the past,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.06,0:01:53.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but we can never actually see it\Ntaking place in real time.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.94,0:01:55.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We cannot observe it.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.70,0:01:58.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As Darwin himself already said,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.35,0:02:01.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"We see nothing of these slow\Nchanges in progress,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.40,0:02:05.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until the hand of time\Nhas marked the lapse of ages."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.29,0:02:07.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or do we?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.37,0:02:09.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over the past few decades,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.80,0:02:13.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,evolutionary biologists\Nhave come to realize that sometimes,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.75,0:02:18.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,evolution proceeds much faster\Nand it can actually be observed,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.99,0:02:22.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,especially when the environment\Nchanges drastically
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.71,0:02:25.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the need to adapt is great.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.61,0:02:28.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And of course, these days,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.58,0:02:32.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,great environmental changes\Nare usually caused by us.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.08,0:02:35.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We mow, we irrigate, we plow, we build,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.99,0:02:39.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we pump greenhouse gases\Ninto the atmosphere
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.08,0:02:40.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that change the climate.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.60,0:02:43.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We release exotic plants and animals
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.41,0:02:45.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in places where they didn't live before,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.46,0:02:51.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we harvest fish and trees and game\Nfor our food and other needs.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.10,0:02:58.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And all these environmental changes\Nreach their epicenter in cities.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.56,0:03:03.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cities form a completely new habitat\Nthat we have created.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.18,0:03:06.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we clothe it in brick and concrete\Nand glass and steel,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.54,0:03:08.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which are impervious surfaces
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.71,0:03:12.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that plants can only root in\Nwith the greatest difficulty.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.14,0:03:15.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Also in cities, we find\Nthe greatest concentrations
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.01,0:03:17.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of chemical pollution,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.61,0:03:20.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of artificial light and noise.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.11,0:03:24.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we find wild mixtures\Nof plants and animals
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.14,0:03:26.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from all over the world\Nthat live in the city,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.75,0:03:28.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because they have escaped\Nfrom the gardening
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.84,0:03:31.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and aquarium and pet trade.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.58,0:03:35.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what does a species do
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.37,0:03:39.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when it lives in a completely\Nchanged environment?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.33,0:03:43.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, many, of course, go, sadly, extinct.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.28,0:03:46.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the ones that don't go extinct,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.51,0:03:49.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they adapt in spectacular ways.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.19,0:03:52.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Biologists these days\Nare beginning to realize
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.59,0:03:56.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that cities are today's\Npressure cookers of evolution.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.80,0:04:00.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are places\Nwhere wild animals and plants
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.05,0:04:03.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are evolving under our eyes very rapidly
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.47,0:04:06.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to suit these new, urban conditions.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.78,0:04:10.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Exactly like the ant beetle did\Nmillions of years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.45,0:04:12.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when it moved inside an ant colony.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.85,0:04:17.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We now find animals and plants\Nthat have moved inside the human colony
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.61,0:04:19.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and are adapting to our cities.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.12,0:04:21.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in doing so,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.58,0:04:23.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we're also beginning to realize
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.28,0:04:26.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that evolution can actually\Nproceed very fast.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.77,0:04:30.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It does not always take\Nthe long lapse of ages;
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.17,0:04:32.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it can happen under our very eyes.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.68,0:04:36.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This, for example,\Nis the white-footed mouse.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.36,0:04:40.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a native mammal\Nfrom the area around New York,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.72,0:04:43.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and more than 400 years ago,\Nbefore the city was built,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.82,0:04:45.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this mouse lived everywhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.96,0:04:50.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But these days, they are stuck\Nin little islands of green,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.26,0:04:55.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the city's parks, surrounded by a sea\Nof tarmac and traffic.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.89,0:05:02.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A bit like a modern-day version\Nof Darwin's finches on the Galapagos.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.74,0:05:05.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And like Darwin's finches,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.01,0:05:10.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the mice in each separate park\Nhave started evolving,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.21,0:05:13.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have started to become\Ndifferent from each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.33,0:05:15.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is my colleague,\NJason Munshi-South,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.58,0:05:17.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from Fordham University,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.33,0:05:18.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who is studying this process.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.84,0:05:22.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He is studying the DNA\Nof the white-footed mice
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.70,0:05:24.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in New York City's parks,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.86,0:05:28.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and trying to understand\Nhow they are beginning to evolve
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.53,0:05:31.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in that archipelago of islands.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.09,0:05:33.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he's using a kind of\NDNA fingerprinting, and he says,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.79,0:05:35.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"If somebody gives me a mouse,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.71,0:05:37.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,doesn't tell me where it's from,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.82,0:05:39.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just by looking at its DNA,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.25,0:05:42.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can tell exactly\Nfrom which park it comes."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.16,0:05:44.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's how different they have become.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.40,0:05:49.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Jason has also discovered\Nthat those changes,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.16,0:05:50.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these evolutionary changes,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.52,0:05:53.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are not random, they mean something.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.34,0:05:56.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example, in Central Park,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.51,0:05:58.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we find that the mice have evolved genes
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.02,0:06:02.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that allow them to deal\Nwith very fatty food.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.26,0:06:04.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Human food.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.98,0:06:07.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Twenty-five million people\Nvisit Central Park each year.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.83,0:06:10.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the most heavily visited park\Nin North America.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.61,0:06:13.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And those people leave behind snack food
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.42,0:06:15.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and peanuts and junk food,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.02,0:06:18.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the mice have started feeding on that,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.05,0:06:21.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's a completely different diet\Nthan what they're used to,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.05,0:06:22.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and over the years,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:22.24,0:06:25.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they have evolved to suit\Nthis very fatty, very human diet.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.18,0:06:29.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is another city slicker animal.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:29.45,0:06:31.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the European garden snail.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.80,0:06:32.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A very common snail,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:33.01,0:06:36.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it comes in all kinds of color variations,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.78,0:06:40.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ranging from pale yellow to dark brown.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.79,0:06:43.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And those colors are completely determined
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.34,0:06:44.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the snail's DNA.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.51,0:06:50.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And those colors also determine\Nthe heat management of the snail
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.44,0:06:52.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that lives inside that shell.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:52.85,0:06:55.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example, a snail\Nthat sits in the sunlight,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.69,0:06:56.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the bright sun,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.87,0:06:58.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if it has a pale yellow shell,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.02,0:07:05.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it doesn't heat up as much as a snail\Nthat sits inside a dark brown shell.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.29,0:07:09.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just like when you're sitting\Nin a white car, you stay cooler
Dialogue: 0,0:07:09.34,0:07:12.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than when you're sitting\Ninside a black car.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.22,0:07:15.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now there is a phenomenon called\Nthe urban heat islands,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.37,0:07:18.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which means that in the center\Nof a big city,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:18.34,0:07:21.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the temperature can be\Nseveral degrees higher
Dialogue: 0,0:07:21.04,0:07:22.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than outside of the big city.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.46,0:07:23.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That has to do with the fact
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.84,0:07:26.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you have these concentrations\Nof millions of people,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.55,0:07:28.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and all their activities\Nand their machineries,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.81,0:07:30.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they generate heat.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:30.05,0:07:33.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Also, the wind is blocked\Nby the tall buildings,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.74,0:07:38.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and all the steel and brick\Nand concrete absorb the solar heat
Dialogue: 0,0:07:38.08,0:07:39.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they radiate it out at night.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.70,0:07:42.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you get this bubble of hot air\Nin the center of a big city,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:42.99,0:07:46.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and my students and I figured\Nthat maybe those garden snails,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.83,0:07:49.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with their variable shells,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.55,0:07:53.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are adapting to the urban heat islands.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.87,0:07:55.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe in the center of a city,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.68,0:07:58.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we find that the shell color is evolving
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.58,0:08:02.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a direction to reduce\Noverheating of the snails.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.37,0:08:05.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And to study this, we started\Na citizen-science project.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.21,0:08:08.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We built a free smartphone app,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.83,0:08:11.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which allowed people\Nall over the Netherlands
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.06,0:08:14.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to take pictures of snails\Nin their garden, in their street,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.05,0:08:15.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,also in the countryside,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:15.89,0:08:19.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and upload them to a citizen\Nscience web platform.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:19.43,0:08:22.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And over a year, we got 10,000 pictures
Dialogue: 0,0:08:22.50,0:08:25.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of snails that had been photographed\Nin the Netherlands,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.16,0:08:27.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and when we started analyzing the results,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:27.67,0:08:31.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we found that indeed,\Nour suspicions were confirmed.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.39,0:08:33.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the center of the urban heat islands,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:33.78,0:08:39.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we find that the snails have evolved\Nmore yellow, more lighter-colored shells.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.34,0:08:45.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now the city snail and the Manhattan mouse
Dialogue: 0,0:08:45.33,0:08:51.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are just two examples\Nof a growing list of animals and plants
Dialogue: 0,0:08:51.12,0:08:54.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that have evolved to suit\Nthis new habitat,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:54.46,0:08:57.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this city habitat that we have created.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:57.83,0:09:00.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in a book that I've written\Nabout this subject,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:00.73,0:09:02.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the subject of urban evolution,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:02.26,0:09:03.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I give many more examples.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.70,0:09:06.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example, weeds that have evolved seeds
Dialogue: 0,0:09:06.49,0:09:09.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are better at germinating\Non the pavement.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.90,0:09:13.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Grasshoppers that have evolved a song
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.43,0:09:16.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that has a higher pitch\Nwhen they live close to noisy traffic.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:17.55,0:09:22.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Mosquitoes that have evolved\Nto feed on the blood of human commuters
Dialogue: 0,0:09:22.91,0:09:25.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,inside metro stations.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.28,0:09:28.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And even the common city pigeon
Dialogue: 0,0:09:28.06,0:09:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that has evolved ways to detox themselves
Dialogue: 0,0:09:31.03,0:09:35.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from heavy-metal pollution\Nby putting it in their feathers.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:35.74,0:09:38.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Biologists like myself,\Nall over the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.11,0:09:41.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are becoming interested\Nin this fascinating process
Dialogue: 0,0:09:41.18,0:09:42.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of urban evolution.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:42.37,0:09:46.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are realizing that we're really\Nat a unique event
Dialogue: 0,0:09:46.32,0:09:48.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the history of life on earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.24,0:09:50.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A completely new ecosystem
Dialogue: 0,0:09:50.78,0:09:55.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is evolving and adapting\Nto a habitat that we have created.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:57.18,0:09:58.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And not just academics --
Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.86,0:10:02.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we're also beginning to enlist\Nthe millions of pairs of hands
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.67,0:10:05.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and ears and eyes\Nthat are present in the city.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:05.06,0:10:08.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Citizen scientists, schoolchildren --
Dialogue: 0,0:10:08.16,0:10:09.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,together with them,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.37,0:10:12.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we are building\Na global observation network
Dialogue: 0,0:10:12.43,0:10:16.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which allows us to watch this process\Nof urban evolution taking place
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.81,0:10:18.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in real time.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:19.32,0:10:22.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And at the same time,\Nthis also makes it clear to people
Dialogue: 0,0:10:22.82,0:10:25.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that evolution is not\Njust some abstract thing
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.58,0:10:28.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you need to travel\Nto the Galapagos to study,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:28.46,0:10:33.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or that you need to be a paleontologist\Nto understand what it is.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:33.12,0:10:36.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a very ordinary biological process
Dialogue: 0,0:10:36.21,0:10:39.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's taking place\Nall the time, everywhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:39.66,0:10:42.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In your backyard,\Nin the street where you live,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.25,0:10:44.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,right outside of this theater.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:44.73,0:10:48.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there is, of course,\Na flip side to my enthusiasm.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.81,0:10:51.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I go back to the village\Nwhere I grew up,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:51.51,0:10:56.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I no longer find those fields and swamps\Nthat I knew from my youth.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:56.55,0:10:58.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The village has now been absorbed
Dialogue: 0,0:10:58.47,0:11:01.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the growing\Nconglomeration of Rotterdam,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:01.18,0:11:03.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and instead, I find shopping malls
Dialogue: 0,0:11:03.68,0:11:06.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I find suburbs and bus lanes.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:06.82,0:11:10.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And many of the animals and plants\Nthat I was so accustomed to
Dialogue: 0,0:11:10.43,0:11:14.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have disappeared,\Nincluding perhaps that ant beetle.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:15.45,0:11:18.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I take comfort in the fact\Nthat the children growing up
Dialogue: 0,0:11:18.58,0:11:20.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in that village today
Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.60,0:11:24.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,may no longer be experiencing\Nthat traditional nature
Dialogue: 0,0:11:24.49,0:11:25.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I grew up with,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:25.70,0:11:27.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they're surrounded\Nby a new type of nature,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:27.97,0:11:29.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a new type of ecosystem,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:29.84,0:11:33.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that, to them, might be just as exciting\Nas the old type was to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:33.93,0:11:37.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are living in a new,\Nmodern-day Galapagos.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:37.65,0:11:41.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And by teaming up with citizen scientists
Dialogue: 0,0:11:41.21,0:11:44.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and with evolutionary\Nbiologists like myself,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:44.58,0:11:48.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they might become the Darwins\Nof the 21st century,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:48.37,0:11:50.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,studying urban evolution.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:51.11,0:11:52.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:52.30,0:11:54.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)