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Judi Lynn

(160,211 posts)
Wed Sep 8, 2021, 01:04 AM Sep 2021

Some animals are evolving new body shapes as the climate changes

LIFE 7 September 2021
By Krista Charles



Crimson Rosella
A crimson rosella (Platycercus elegans), an Australian parrot that is gaining a larger bill as the world warms

Kevin Dickinson / Alamy

Endotherms, commonly called warm-blooded animals, have changed the shape of their bodies over the past century to keep themselves cooler in response to rising global temperatures.

Many animals have body parts that stick out, such as ears, beaks, limbs and tails. Sara Ryding at Deakin University in Australia and her colleagues have found that a variety of animals have been responding to increasing global temperatures by increasing the size of these appendages.

Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2289347-some-animals-are-evolving-new-body-shapes-as-the-climate-changes/#ixzz75qVOrlbX

(Sorry, one must subscribe to read the article, and I can't afford to subscribe to everything which demands a subscription, but I wanted to post the topic.)

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Animals Are ‘Shape Shifting’ in Response to Climate Change
CNN | September 7, 2021 2:19 pm



A red-rumped parrot, one of the bird species that has seen its bill size increase. (Credit: Ryan Barnaby)

(CNN) — Some warm-blooded animals are experiencing shifts in their body shapes, likely as a response to the pressures of climate change, according to a new review of existing research.

Animals are getting larger beaks, legs and ears that allow them to better regulate their body temperatures as the planet gets hotter, with birds particularly affected, said Sara Ryding, a researcher at Deakin University in Australia and one of the authors of the research that published on Tuesday in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution.

The biggest shifts in appendage size in the more than 30 animals they looked at in the review were among some Australian parrot species, which saw their beak size increase by 4% to 10% on average since 1871.

“It means animals are evolving, but it does not necessarily mean that they are coping with climate change. We can see that some species have increased in appendage size so far, but we don’t know if they will be able to keep up as the climate crisis worsens,” Ryding said via email.

More:
https://news.wttw.com/2021/09/07/animals-are-shape-shifting-response-climate-change

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New research reveals animals are changing their body shapes to cope with climate change
September 7, 2021 4.11pm EDT



Global warming is a big challenge for warm-blooded animals, which must maintain a constant internal body temperature. As anyone who’s experienced heatstroke can tell you, our bodies become severely stressed when we overheat.

Animals are dealing with global warming in various ways. Some move to cooler areas, such as closer to the poles or to higher ground. Some change the timing of key life events such as breeding and migration, so they take place at cooler times. And others evolve to change their body size to cool down more quickly.

Our new research examined another way animal species cope with climate change: by changing the size of their ears, tails, beaks and other appendages. We reviewed the published literature and found examples of animals increasing appendage size in parallel with climate change and associated temperature increases.

In doing so, we identified multiple examples of animals that are most likely “shape-shifters” – including species in Australia. The pattern is widespread, and suggests climate warming may result in fundamental changes to animal form.

More:
https://theconversation.com/new-research-reveals-animals-are-changing-their-body-shapes-to-cope-with-climate-change-166267

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