In the age of climate crisis, survival isn’t easy. Some warm-blooded animals, like birds and elephants, are responding to this reality by changing the size of their appendages, according to a new analysis. That is, some may evolve to have bigger beaks, tails, or legs in the future.
Warm-blooded animals, including humans and birds, maintain a constant internal body temperature. They regulate the temperature through these appendages to adapt to extreme climates. If animals fail to control this, however, they can overheat and die.
This makes climate change disruptive for animals in multiple ways. Some move to cooler climates; some change the timing of their breeding and migration; others evolve to change body sizes to cool down. The research, published in Trends in Ecology and Evolutionon Tuesday, shows how some warm-blooded animals change the size of their legs, ears, tails, beaks, and other parts to regulate their body temperatures. Historically, some animals have evolved to have larger beaks or ears to get rid of heat; these changes are becoming more pronounced with a warming climate.
The researchers looked at existing research of appendage sizes in more than than 30 animals. The “shape-shifters” responded to a common pattern of fundamental changes in their form. The most notable difference so far was observed in some birds. The Australian parrot species, for instance, saw their beak size increase by 4% to 10% since 1871. The bill size of the North American dark-eyed juncos (a type of small songbird) was linked to shorter durations of a cold environment. Wood mice reportedly had longer tail lengths; bats in warm climates were growing to have increased wing sizes.
Naturally, the shifts are too small to be increasingly noticeable. So far, the change in sizes of tails, beaks, and other parts is less than 10%. “However, prominent appendages such as ears are predicted to increase, so we might end up with a live-action Dumbo in the not-so-distant future,” Sara Ryding and Matthew Symonds, researchers at the Deakin University and co-authors of the paper, noted in The Conservation.
How animals use appendages to regulate body temperatures is a pattern understood through Allen’s rule. In the 1870s, American zoologist Joel Allen noticed warm-blooded animals tended to have smaller appendages in colder climates; they had larger appendages in warmer climates. The advantage of having say, a bigger beak or ears, is that the larger size helps to disperse warmth when animals’ bodies overheat. Beaks, for instance, are not insulated and become a site of heat exchange; the blood flow is diverted to the bill when the bird is hot, which renders the beak warmer than the rest of the body. Similarly, ears, tails, and legs in mammals allow easy dispersal.
This pattern is noticed in several studies of birds and mammals. “African elephants, for example, pump warm blood to their large ears, which they then flap to disperse heat,” the researchers noted. In the present analysis, birds with smaller beaks were less likely to survive hotter climates.
Allen’s rule has helped researchers identify biological patterns in the past. Experts believe this trend can also be useful in predicting changes in animals as the climate warms. “These include (with some caveats) starlings, song sparrows, and a host of seabirds and small mammals, such as South American gracile opossums,” the study notes.
This shapeshifting is happening in myriad ways currently; animals with different appendages may grow and change globally. How larger beaks or tails may impact the animal is something the researchers plan to study in the future.
For now, however, evidence of evolution is not necessarily a comforting finding. “It means animals are evolving, but it does not necessarily mean that they are coping with climate change. We can see that some species have increased in appendage size so far, but we don’t know if they will be able to keep up as the climate crisis worsens,” Sara Ryding told CNN. It is possible some animals may not be able to evolve in time.
Several studies, along with the latest report on climate impact by the International Panel on Climate Change, predict a sordid tale of extinction for many animal species. How Allen’s rule and climate warming impact animals can piece together a puzzle of sorts. Researchers can identify the tangible consequence of global warming, and also trace which species are most vulnerable to the changes, and redirect conservation policies.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
