My first reaction was disbelief, but then after reading the article, I now wonder if the relationship may indeed be true. The cause and effect is made primarily through changes in weather, with less rainfall occurring in many parts of the world, leading to smaller plant species, followed by smaller herbivores, followed by smaller carnivores. Shrinking species size is supported by fossil records from times when the Earth warmed.
From the NY Times linked article: "Dr. Bickford said the paper was intended as an non-alarmist appeal to the world’s ecologists to take notice. “No matter what else they’re doing in the field, we want more ecologists to pay attention to body size and take these measurements,” he explained."
From the NY Times linked article: "Dr. Bickford said the paper was intended as an non-alarmist appeal to the world’s ecologists to take notice. “No matter what else they’re doing in the field, we want more ecologists to pay attention to body size and take these measurements,” he explained."
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