10/23/2014
You just can't make this shit up!!
WASHINGTON – Chamois, a mountain goat-antelope species, weigh, on average, 25 percent less now than 30 years ago as a result of climate change, a study by Britain’s Durham University published in the Frontiers in Zoology journal said.
The study links the shrinking size of the Alpine chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) to an increase of 3 C to 4 C in the region’s temperature since the 1980s.
The decrease in the chamois’ size is striking “because of its speed and magnitude,” wrote the scientists, who for a number of years had associated climate change with a reduction in size among different animal species.
“Body size declines attributed to climate change are widespread in the animal kingdom, with many fish, bird and mammal species getting smaller,” said lead author Tom Mason, of Durham’s School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences.
“However, the decreases we observe here are astonishing. The impacts on Chamois weight could pose real problems for the survival of these populations,” Mason said.
To date, most studies have found that animals are getting smaller because the changing climate is reducing the availability or nutritional content of their food, but according to Mason’s team this is not what is “shrinking” the Alpine chamois. Instead, the team says higher temperatures are affecting how chamois behave.
The study found no evidence that the productivity of meadows grazed by Chamois had been affected by the warming climate and reports by hunters in Italy’s Alps about the rising temperatures have not reduced the amount of food available to these animals.
We know that Chamois cope with hot periods by resting more and spending less time searching for food, and this may be restricting their size more than the quality of the vegetation they eat,” co-author Stephen Willis said.
The researchers concluded that survival is uncertain for these goats and it will depend on future changes in temperatures.
“The body mass of juvenile animals is critical to their ability to survive harsh winters,” co-author Philip Stephens said.
To compensate for the drop in chamois’ size, the researchers recommended changes in hunting regulations, and said it is “vital” to further study species like the chamois since these variations in size could be a “warning” about the impact of climate change.
Should climate change have similar effects on cattle, for example, this could affect farm productivity in coming decades.
source
You just can't make this shit up!!
WASHINGTON – Chamois, a mountain goat-antelope species, weigh, on average, 25 percent less now than 30 years ago as a result of climate change, a study by Britain’s Durham University published in the Frontiers in Zoology journal said.The study links the shrinking size of the Alpine chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) to an increase of 3 C to 4 C in the region’s temperature since the 1980s.
The decrease in the chamois’ size is striking “because of its speed and magnitude,” wrote the scientists, who for a number of years had associated climate change with a reduction in size among different animal species.
“Body size declines attributed to climate change are widespread in the animal kingdom, with many fish, bird and mammal species getting smaller,” said lead author Tom Mason, of Durham’s School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences.
“However, the decreases we observe here are astonishing. The impacts on Chamois weight could pose real problems for the survival of these populations,” Mason said.
To date, most studies have found that animals are getting smaller because the changing climate is reducing the availability or nutritional content of their food, but according to Mason’s team this is not what is “shrinking” the Alpine chamois. Instead, the team says higher temperatures are affecting how chamois behave.
The study found no evidence that the productivity of meadows grazed by Chamois had been affected by the warming climate and reports by hunters in Italy’s Alps about the rising temperatures have not reduced the amount of food available to these animals.
We know that Chamois cope with hot periods by resting more and spending less time searching for food, and this may be restricting their size more than the quality of the vegetation they eat,” co-author Stephen Willis said.
The researchers concluded that survival is uncertain for these goats and it will depend on future changes in temperatures.
“The body mass of juvenile animals is critical to their ability to survive harsh winters,” co-author Philip Stephens said.
To compensate for the drop in chamois’ size, the researchers recommended changes in hunting regulations, and said it is “vital” to further study species like the chamois since these variations in size could be a “warning” about the impact of climate change.
Should climate change have similar effects on cattle, for example, this could affect farm productivity in coming decades.
source
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