Global warming is making the smaller salamanders

For many centuries were considered immune to fire but, after all, the heat is affecting the size of the salamanders. A new study has revealed that the wild salamanders of North America are getting smaller as their natural habitat is becoming hotter and drier, forcing a greater expenditure of energy to survive in this climate more austere.

Researchers at the University of Maryland concluded that the salamanders of the Appalachian mountains are almost one tenth smaller than its predecessors of the mid-twentieth century. The difference in sizes is sharper in the Appalachian South and the smaller highs â€" places where the data indicate that temperatures have risen more and more land dried up.

Previous studies indicated that some animals would get smaller as a result of global warming and this new study reinforces this assumption. According to Karen Lips, one of the main authors of the study, this is one of the larger and faster mutation rates ever recorded in any animal ". "We don't know exactly how and why that is happening, but our data clearly indicate that there is a correlation with climate change," said Lips.

There is also a simulation study that shows that the modern salamanders are so active as their ancestors were. However, to maintain this rate of activity, the contemporary animals need spend more 8% 7% of energy. To get this extra power, the salamanders must make choices. May have to spend more time looking for more food or resting in cooler locations than looking for potential partners.

Foto: GGL1/Creative Commons

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