Seasonal warming leads to smaller animal body sizes

Changes in the body size of animals measured under controlled laboratory conditions have been shown to closely match changes in body size with seasonal warming in nature, according to research from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). Cold-blooded species rely on the temperature of their external environment to dictate their internal body temperature. When these species are reared in warmer conditions in the laboratory they usually develop faster, maturing at a smaller adult size. This biological phenomenon occurs in over 83 per cent of cold-blooded species. Despite the huge number of environmental factors than can vary seasonally, and the potential limitations of the study, the researchers found a statistically significant match between body size responses to temperature measured in the laboratory and in nature, which suggests that they share common drivers. The results, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences , are extracted from the largest ever analysis of data from studies on seasonal body size variation in arthropod species from locations around the globe. Climate change.