Contact: Joanne Guilmette
Phone: 518/474-8730
Fax: 518/486-3696
E-Mail: jguilmet@mail.nysed.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STATE MUSEUM SCIENTIST REPORTS ON EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Albany, New York -- 04/01/08
ALBANY, NY – A New York State Museum scientist has participated in a study measuring body mass changes in squirrels over the last 20,000 years, which has led to some surprising conclusions that may help scientists better understand the effect global warming and other environmental factors could have on various animal species in the future.
A paper about the study, published in the April issue of the Journal of Biogeography, reports that body size in squirrels changed significantly over the last 20,000 years – from the peak of the last Ice Age to today. But, they determined that precipitation, rather than temperature, was the main factor affecting the change. Scientists generally have believed that temperature was one of the most significant factors explaining body size variations in mammals.
Dr. Robert S. Feranec, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the State Museum, co-authored the paper, along with main author Jessica Blois, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University, and Elizabeth Hadly, an associate professor in the same department.
Their study measuring fossil and modern ground squirrel populations in California focused on change in body size because that is a common way in which species, particularly mammals, respond to environmental variations. California ground squirrels (Spermophilius beecheyi) were chosen because their geographical distribution spans a large latitudinal range and includes a wide variety of habitats and climates. The variation in the squirrels’ environment is also reflected by behavioral variability since not all of them hibernate each year in some parts of the range. Also, the S. beecheyi species is well represented in the fossil record at one location in northern California, giving the scientists the opportunity to investigate body-size variation through both time and space.
After determining that the body size of California ground squirrels in northern California is significantly larger today than it was 20,000 years ago, the scientists compared those measurements to local temperature, precipitation, vegetation type, sex and the number of similar species in the area.
Creating a model of the relationship between body size and the environmental and other factors, the scientists discovered that the ground squirrels are affected more by the amount of precipitation, than temperature or other factors.
“This study shows the power of integrating fossil and modern data,” said Jessica Blois. “Both modern and fossil data were needed to get an accurate picture of population dynamics in this species.”
“This study is important not only because it integrates the study of animals over space and time,” said Dr. Feranec, “but it helps us to understand what may happen to different species subjected to global warming. Precipitation and other factors may be more significant than just temperature change.”
The Journal of Biogeography paper is available online at http://www.blackwell-
synergy.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2007.01836.x
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