Item

Climate Change and Shrinkage of Small Mammals: Are Rodents Smaller Than They Were 100 Years Ago?

Madera, Sydney
Citations
Altmetric:
License
License
Abstract
If climate change is increasing national temperatures, then Bergmann’s rule reasons that it’s likely animals are shrinking in response. To test this hypothesis, I collected data for 4 different species using museum databases to compare rodent sizes within the past 100 years. I’ve found that the amount of change varies, but in states such as Colorado or California, rodents are significantly decreasing in size. Body size determines a lot of important characteristics for animals such as their lifespan, diet, and vulnerability to predation, so any changes in one species may lead to a cascade of effects for an entire ecosystem.
Description
Date
2024-01-01
Student Status
Undergraduate
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type of presentation
Poster Presentation
Collections
UVM Student Research Conference
Show all metadata
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Citation
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14849/8784
DOI
Advisor(s)
Sara Helms Cahan
Brent Lockwood
Department
Program/Major
Animal Science
College/School
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Patrick Leahy Honors College
Organization
item.page.researchcategory
Life Sciences
Embedded videos