ArticleNature ecology & evolution2023
Increases in intraspecific body size variation are common among North American mammals and birds between 1880 and 2020.
Article in Nature ecology & evolution, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Ecological theory sheds light on plasmid diversity and dynamics.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Integrating animal tracking and trait data to facilitate global ecological discoveries.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Candidate genes under selection in song sparrows co-vary with climate and body mass in support of Bergmann's Rule.Nature communications · 2023Article
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5 authors.
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Abstract
Many studies have documented the average body size of animals declining over time. Compared to mean body size, less is known about long-term changes in intraspecific trait variation (ITV), which is also important to understanding species' ability to cope with environmental challenges. On the basis of 393,499 specimen records from 380 species collected in North America between 1880 and 2020, we found that body size ITV increased by 9.59% for mammals (n = 302) and 30.67% for birds (n = 78); human-harvested species had higher probability of ITV increase. The observed increasing ITV in many species suggests possible niche expansion and potential buffering effects against downsizing but it risks increased maladaptation to rapidly changing environments. The results demonstrate that trait mean and variance do not necessarily respond in similar ways to anthropogenic pressures and both should be considered.
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