16 October 2011 – News Daily (Rockville, MD): Climate change spawns the incredible shrinking ant

Posted on October 16, 2011

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In this article, two research scientists determine that the major effect of climate change, heat and drought, are cause evolutionary adaptations to a variety of plant and animal species, some of which could threaten regional or global food security.  In their research they culled fossil records as well as conducted a series of experiments which indicate that fruits and shoots are 3 ~ 17 percent smaller per 1 degree (C) increase, while each degree of warming reduces the size  of marine invertebrates by 0.5 ~ 4 percent and marine fish by 6 ~ 22 percent.

 

More on this can be found in the up coming journal article by:  Sheridan, J.A. and D. Bickford. In press. Shrinking body size as an ecological response to climate change. Nature Climate Change.  (more info at: http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/lab/evol-ecol/Jen.html )

 

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