Journal ArticleDOI
Declining body size: a third universal response to warming?
TLDR
A review of recent studies shows heterogeneity in the magnitude and direction of size responses, exposing a need for large-scale phylogenetically controlled comparative analyses of temporal size change as mentioned in this paper, which will increase both understanding of the underlying mechanisms and physiological consequences of size shifts and therefore, the ability to predict the sensitivities of species to climate change.Abstract:
A recently documented correlate of anthropogenic climate change involves reductions in body size, the nature and scale of the pattern leading to suggestions of a third universal response to climate warming. Because body size affects thermoregulation and energetics, changing body size has implications for resilience in the face of climate change. A review of recent studies shows heterogeneity in the magnitude and direction of size responses, exposing a need for large-scale phylogenetically controlled comparative analyses of temporal size change. Integrative analyses of museum data combined with new theoretical models of size-dependent thermoregulatory and metabolic responses will increase both understanding of the underlying mechanisms and physiological consequences of size shifts and, therefore, the ability to predict the sensitivities of species to climate change.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Shrinking body size as an ecological response to climate change
TL;DR: This Perspective looks at the evidence for shrinking body size across endothermic and ectothermic organisms and proposes future research directions.
Journal ArticleDOI
The Future of Species Under Climate Change: Resilience or Decline?
TL;DR: The fossil record suggests that most species persisted through past climate change, whereas forecasts of future impacts predict large-scale range reduction and extinction, but responses are highly variable.
Journal ArticleDOI
Phytoplankton response to a changing climate
Monika Winder,Ulrich Sommer +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review mechanistic links between climate alterations and factors limiting primary production, and highlight studies where climate change has had a clear impact on phytoplankton processes.
Journal ArticleDOI
Genetics of Climate Change Adaptation
Steven J. Franks,Ary A. Hoffmann +1 more
TL;DR: Although genetic and genomic data are rapidly accumulating, the authors still have much to learn about the genetic architecture of climate change adaptation, including genetic regulatory networks and epigenetic effects.
Journal ArticleDOI
Climate warming and ectotherm body size – from individual physiology to community ecology
TL;DR: This review discusses the underlying physiological mechanisms of changes in ectotherm body size and addresses observed responses within a broad ecological context at different levels of organization, from individuals to communities, particularly in aquatic systems.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Toward a metabolic theory of ecology
James H. Brown,James H. Brown,James F. Gillooly,Andrew P. Allen,Van M. Savage,Van M. Savage,Geoffrey B. West,Geoffrey B. West +7 more
TL;DR: This work has developed a quantitative theory for how metabolic rate varies with body size and temperature, and predicts how metabolic theory predicts how this rate controls ecological processes at all levels of organization from individuals to the biosphere.
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Species Distribution Models: Ecological Explanation and Prediction Across Space and Time
Jane Elith,John R. Leathwick +1 more
TL;DR: Species distribution models (SDMs) as mentioned in this paper are numerical tools that combine observations of species occurrence or abundance with environmental estimates, and are used to gain ecological and evolutionary insights and to predict distributions across landscapes, sometimes requiring extrapolation in space and time.
Journal ArticleDOI
Climate Extremes: Observations, Modeling, and Impacts
David R. Easterling,Gerald A. Meehl,Camille Parmesan,Stanley A. Changnon,Thomas R. Karl,Linda O. Mearns +5 more
TL;DR: Results of observational studies suggest that in many areas that have been analyzed, changes in total precipitation are amplified at the tails, and changes in some temperature extremes have been observed.
Journal ArticleDOI
More Intense, More Frequent, and Longer Lasting Heat Waves in the 21st Century
Gerald A. Meehl,Claudia Tebaldi +1 more
TL;DR: Observations and the model show that present-day heat waves over Europe and North America coincide with a specific atmospheric circulation pattern that is intensified by ongoing increases in greenhouse gases, indicating that it will produce more severe heat waves in those regions in the future.