We all know that humans are the largest contributor to global warming and the resultant climate change that plagues environmental initiatives across the world.
But we're missing out on something that's taking place all around us – evolution. Or at least, what can be seen with the naked eye. We're all so busy trying to figure out ways to reverse the effects of climate change, that we've completely overlooked the biological processes already occurring in nature.
Newly published research in the Trends In Ecology & Evolution scientific journal suggests that a handful of warm-blooded creatures are already adapting to rising global temperatures – by growing larger limbs and appendages to shed excess heat more efficiently.
Animals are evolving at a quicker rate than ever recorded.
IMAGE: PublicDomainPictures / Pixabay
“A lot of the time when climate change is discussed in mainstream media, people are asking ‘can humans overcome this?’, or ‘what technology can solve this?’. It’s high time we recognized that animals also have to adapt to these changes, but this is occurring over a far shorter timescale than would have occurred through most of evolutionary time,” says Sara Ryding, co-author of the study and bird researcher at Deakin University, Australia.
While this might sound like reassuring news to some, it's not necessarily a good thing. Not for all animals, at least. More specifically, animals that typically live in colder climates will have a much harder time 'shapeshifting' to meet the difficult conditions already negatively affecting various wildlife habitats.
“The climate change that we have created is heaping a whole lot of pressure on them, and while some species will adapt, others will not,” Ryding warned.
An illustration of 'Allen's Rule'. IMAGE: HFMO
The study cites a popular biological theory called 'Allen's Rule', which in this case suggests that animals living in colder regions tend to have lower surface-area-to-volume ratios – aka shorter limbs and appendages – to reduce the amount of lost heat to a minimum. Naturally, the opposite is true for animals living in warmer climates, relying on larger limbs to release as much heat as possible.
But with climate change, and applying 'Allen's Rule' into the mix, natural selection will have to take place, and will probably decrease the populations of cold-climate creatures since they won't be able to adapt as quickly and/or easily.
Though no one can point to climate change as the absolute root cause of this accelerated evolution in some animals, researchers say there's very little else to connect all the physical changes that they've detected, spanning across different regions and habitats, and among various species as well.
Despite these changes occurring, you'd be hard-pressed to notice them in your regular wood mouse, for example.
IMAGE: Wildwood Trust
Evolution takes place slowly, something that's hard to notice in real-time. But that doesn't mean we'll never be able to notice them at all.
“The increases in appendage size we see so far are quite small – less than 10 percent – so the changes are unlikely to be immediately noticeable,” Ryding said.
“However, prominent appendages such as ears are predicted to increase – so we might end up with a live-action Dumbo in the not-so-distant future.”
Although animals have begun to shape-shift in order to keep up with climate change, this doesn't mean they're doing well. The keyword is survival.
“It just means they are evolving to survive it ?– but we’re not sure what the other ecological consequences of these changes are, or indeed that all species are capable of changing and surviving," Ryding warned.
However, it's important to note that more research needs to be done in order to determine just which animal species will successfully adapt, and which will perish.
Read the full study here.
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Cover image sourced from The Wildlife Trusts and WWF.
