Climate warming and Bergmann's rule through time: is there any evidence?

ABSTRACT: Climate change is expected to induce many ecological and evolutionary changes. Among these is the hypothesis that climate warming will cause a reduction in body size. This hypothesis stems from Bergmann's rule, a trend whereby species exhibit a smaller body size in warmer climates, and larger body size under colder conditions in endotherms. The mechanisms behind this rule are still debated, and it is not clear whether Bergmann's rule can be extended to predict the effects of climate change through time. We reviewed the primary literature for evidence (i) of a decrease in body size in response to climate warming, (ii) that changing body size is an adaptive response and (iii) that these responses are evolutionary or plastic. We found weak evidence for changes in body size through time as pre

SUBMITTER: Teplitsky C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3894904 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature