Smaller-brained birds shrink in response to climate change, Wash U study finds
Since the late 1970s, many North American bird species have decreased in size, scientists say. But during that period, bigger-brained birds, like the song sparrow, did not shrink as much as their smaller-brained counterparts, like warblers.
That’s according to researchers at Washington University, who drew on a data set of approximately 70,000 birds killed by window strikes in downtown Chicago between 1978 and 2016.
“We were really struck by how some species seem to be decreasing a lot more than others,” said study co-author, Justin Baldwin, a Ph.D. candidate with the Botero Lab at Washington University.
And the reason, researchers believe, is rising temperatures. Baldwin said further research could shed light on how exactly climate change has catalyzed the differences in size. Right now, he sees two possible explanations.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2022-02-25/smaller-brained-birds-shrink-in-response-to-climate-change-wash-u-study-finds
