De acordo com o texto, o comportamento de animais e plantas ...

CITIES DRIVE ANIMALS AND PLANTS TO EVOLVE

Species are adapting to urban pollution, traffic and shrinking habitats through changes in their genes By Sharon Oosthoek - Apr 6, 201

            Ever seen a raccoon open a trash can in search of leftovers? Or walk across power lines to get from one rooftop to another? If so, you've witnessed an animal adapting its behavior to city life. That's been going on since people started building cities thousands of years ago. Now, biologists are seeing signs that animals and plants are also adapting in a more basic way to survive in cities. Their genes are changing.

           Genes are segments of DNA that influence how an organism looks and functions. An animal or plant’s DNA is like an instruction book for how it develops and grows. Some instructions guide its reproductive habits. Others influence the way it moves. Still others might let it withstand poison. Urban pollution, traffic and shrinking wild spaces have been causing changes in these genetic instructions. And scientists have been tracking more and more signs of these genetic changes.                   

         When genes change in response to their environment, it’s called evolution. Some of those changes may leave animals and plants better suited to their homes. It may offer new traits that increase the odds of surviving long enough to reproduce. This means the individuals will pass on these new traits to their offspring. Eventually, traits that had once been rare can now become common throughout a population.