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https://doi.org/10.32942/x2nk8...
Article . 2024 . Peer-reviewed
License: CC BY
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Ecology Letters
Article . 2024 . Peer-reviewed
License: Wiley Online Library User Agreement
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Ecology Letters
Article . 2024
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Shorebirds are shrinking and shape-shifting: declining body size and lengthening bills in the past half-century

Authors: A. McQueen; M. Klaassen; G. J. Tattersall; S. Ryding; R. Atkinson; R. Jessop; C. J. Hassell; +3 Authors

Shorebirds are shrinking and shape-shifting: declining body size and lengthening bills in the past half-century

Abstract

Animals are predicted to shrink and shape-shift as the climate warms; declining in size, while their appendages lengthen. Determining which types of species are undergoing these morphological changes, and why, is critical to understanding species responses to global change, including potential adaptation to climate warming. We examine body size and bill length changes in 25 shorebird species using extensive field data (>200,000 observations) collected over 46 years (1975-2021) by community scientists. We show widespread body size declines over time, and after short-term exposure to warmer summers. Meanwhile, shorebird bills are lengthening over time but shorten after hot summers. Shrinking and shape-shifting patterns are consistent across ecologically diverse shorebirds from tropical and temperate Australia, are more pronounced in smaller species, and vary according to migration behaviour. These widespread morphological changes could be explained by multiple drivers, including adaptive and maladaptive responses to nutritional stress, or by thermal adaptation to climate warming.

Keywords

Climate Change, Beak, Australia, Birds, Charadriiformes, Animals, Body Size, Seasons

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citations
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
4
Average
Top 10%
Average
hybrid