Gradual warming of a climate can lead to reduction of the sizes of animals of different kinds and reduction of the average sizes of animals in populations. This opinion of authors of the research published in magazine Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Scientists already today mark consequences of warming of a climate of a planet for those or other kinds of animals, including reduction of the average size of the animal unit in population. Martin Daufresne’s command from a centre of science of Semagref (Cemagref) in France has tried to define for the first time, whether there are any universal consequences of warming for all kinds of live organisms.
In their work scientists studied laws of change of the sizes of animal units in communities of different types of the sea and river organisms including fishes, bacteria and a phytoplankton. Scientists leant against file of experimental data already saved up for two decades. In all studied communities warming of climate led to reduction of the average size of the animal units at the expense of several factors – increases in community of animal different kinds of population of smaller kinds, increases in quantity of the young individuals who have yet not reached the adult sizes, and as at the expense of reduction of the sizes of the individual of the given age in any concrete kind.
“Possibly, there are some mechanisms of such reduction of the sizes of animals as we observe these effect at the most different levels – from one unit, to the whole community of kinds. The further researches must clear this question “; – Daufresne has told “Live Science”.
“However the role of global warming of a climate in reduction of the sizes of individuals of different kinds is obvious”, – the scientist has added.
Its group hopes further to expand frameworks of research and to try to track similar laws for the animals living on a land.