Climate-Driven Body Size Changes in Birds and Mammals Reveal Environmental Tolerance Limits.

ABSTRACT: Climate change contributes to widespread shifts in body size across taxa which can impact population and community dynamics. However, the reasons for variability in the direction and intensity of responses remain uncertain. Smaller body size improves thermoregulatory efficiency but can increase dehydration risk. Changes in species' body size is likely to balance the tradeoffs of thermoregulation and osmotic balance when responding to shifts in thermal and aridity regimes associated with climate change. Using 119,183 bird and 183,087 mammal body mass, and 15,562 bird and 239,600 mammal body length records, along with species' thermal and aridity limits based on their range geographies, we tested for associations between body size and climatic conditions. We also assessed the impacts of huma

SUBMITTER: Watson MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12062781 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature