Animals Witness ‘Shapeshifting’ Evolution To Adapt To Climate Crisis, Researchers Warn

By

2 Minutes Read

Scientists claim animals are shapeshifting, evolving body parts to help expend heat to meet global warming demands amid the climate crisis Australian parrot species are among the animals growing larger beaks to cope with global temperate changes, scientists urge - Media Credit: Adobe. Do not use without permission.

Global warming is causing animals to witness ‘shapeshifting’, meaning their bodies are evolving and adapting as a result of the climate crisis, scientists warn.

For example, some warm-blooded animals are growing larger beaks, legs, and ears. And according to experts, this phenomenon occurs to help them regulate body temperatures as the planet’s temperature rises.

‘Shapeshifting’ animals

Scientists made the claims in a new study published in the biomedical journal, Cell Press

Bird researcher Sara Ryding of Deakin University is the author and claims some animals’ body parts may increase in size in order to adapt to the continually warming planet. This ‘shapeshifting’ is well evidenced in a number of studies and is particularly seen in birds.

The report lists one example, where 58 percent of 110 bird species studies experienced beak growth.

Moreover, Australian parrots have seen an increase in beak surface area of between four and 10 percent since 1871. This has also been recorded in ‘a host of seabirds’ as well as smaller mammals.

Startling predictions indicate we are running out of time to halt climate change

Adapting to the climate crisis

Animals changing the way they expel heat is vital because it affects their energy expenditure, the study states. Moreover, it’s witnessed across broad geographical areas from the Arctic to more tropical parts of the world.

However, the study also notes that the morphological change is difficult to establish. ‘Attributing changes to climatic warming becomes even harder when data span several geological ages’, Ryder says.

Whilst it is hard to pinpoint the exact reason for the ‘shapeshifting’, because many of the evolutionary changes are reported across different global regions, they have ‘little in common apart from climate change’, Science Daily reports.

Ryder adds that there aren’t enough studies on shapeshifting to make clear predictions about what traits are associated with morphological responses to climate change.

She calls for more research into it in comparison to studies on selection and genetic evolution.

You can read the study in full here

Support Plant Based News in our mission to plant 1 million trees by 2030. 🌳

Your donation supports our mission to bring you vital, up-to-the-minute plant-based news and research and contributes to our goal of planting 1 million trees by 2030. Every contribution combats deforestation and promotes a sustainable future. Together, we can make a difference – for our planet, health, and future generations.

© 2023 Plant Based News is a UK-based digital media outlet publishing content about veganism and plant-based living, including news and current events, health, personal transformation stories, features, and recipes. | Plant Based News Ltd, PO Box 71173, London, SE20 9DQ, United Kingdom.

buttons/scroll-to-top/scroll-to-top-small-active