Climate change is causing some animals to “form” and evolve large limbs like beaks, ears, and tails as they adapt to warmer temperatures, according to an Australian review of global scientific research.
From Australian parrots to European rabbits, researchers found evidence that a large number of warm-blooded parrots have evolved larger body parts to be able to lose body heat more effectively.
“a whole lot of pressure”Sara Ryding
Climate change is weighing “quite a bit” of pressure on the animals, Sara Ryding from Deakin University in Australia, which led the study, said in a news release.
The study, published on Tuesday in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, builds on previous research “where climatic warming is a potential hidden explanatory variable for the occurrence of shape-shifting” and demonstrates trends are most strongly felt in birds.
The Australian parrot, for example, has seen an average increase in the size of its beak of 4-10 per cent since 1871, and the authors said this correlates favourably to summer temperatures each year.
Other birds (such as North American dark-eyed jaguars, thrushes, and Galapagos finches) had bigger beaks as well.
Meanwhile, the wings of the large round-leaved bat were growing, and the European rabbit developed larger ears, whereas it turned out that the tails and legs of masked shrews were larger.
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