Investigating (a)symmetry in a small mammal's response to warming and cooling events across western North America over the late Quaternary
Abstract Many mammalian populations conform spatially and temporally to Bergmann's rule. This ecogeographic pattern is driven by selection for larger body masses by cooler temperatures and smaller ones by warming temperatures. However, it is unclear whether the response to warming or cooling te...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/qua.2019.13 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589419000139 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/qua.2019.13 2024-04-28T08:22:04+00:00 Investigating (a)symmetry in a small mammal's response to warming and cooling events across western North America over the late Quaternary Balk, Meghan A. Betancourt, Julio L. Smith, Felisa A. 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/qua.2019.13 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589419000139 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Quaternary Research volume 92, issue 2, page 408-415 ISSN 0033-5894 1096-0287 General Earth and Planetary Sciences Earth-Surface Processes Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) journal-article 2019 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2019.13 2024-04-09T06:55:40Z Abstract Many mammalian populations conform spatially and temporally to Bergmann's rule. This ecogeographic pattern is driven by selection for larger body masses by cooler temperatures and smaller ones by warming temperatures. However, it is unclear whether the response to warming or cooling temperatures is (a)symmetrical. Studies of the evolutionary record suggest that mammals evolve smaller body sizes more rapidly than larger ones, suggesting that it may be “easier” to adapt to warming climates than cooling ones. Here, we examine the potential asymmetrical response of mammals to past temperature fluctuations. We use the fossil midden record of the bushy-tailed woodrat, Neotoma cinerea , a well-studied animal that generally conforms to Bergmann's rule, to test the ability of populations to respond to warming versus cooling climate throughout its modern range in western North America over the late Quaternary. We quantified the response to temperature change, as characterized by the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 temperature record, using N. cinerea presence/absence and “darwins.” Our results show that populations within the modern range of N. cinerea show little difference between warming and cooling events. However, northern, peripheral populations are absent during older, cooler periods, possibly due to climate or taphonomy. Our study suggests adaptation in situ may be an underestimated response to future climate change. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Greenland Ice Sheet Project Ice Sheet Cambridge University Press Quaternary Research 92 2 408 415 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Earth-Surface Processes Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) |
spellingShingle |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Earth-Surface Processes Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) Balk, Meghan A. Betancourt, Julio L. Smith, Felisa A. Investigating (a)symmetry in a small mammal's response to warming and cooling events across western North America over the late Quaternary |
topic_facet |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Earth-Surface Processes Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) |
description |
Abstract Many mammalian populations conform spatially and temporally to Bergmann's rule. This ecogeographic pattern is driven by selection for larger body masses by cooler temperatures and smaller ones by warming temperatures. However, it is unclear whether the response to warming or cooling temperatures is (a)symmetrical. Studies of the evolutionary record suggest that mammals evolve smaller body sizes more rapidly than larger ones, suggesting that it may be “easier” to adapt to warming climates than cooling ones. Here, we examine the potential asymmetrical response of mammals to past temperature fluctuations. We use the fossil midden record of the bushy-tailed woodrat, Neotoma cinerea , a well-studied animal that generally conforms to Bergmann's rule, to test the ability of populations to respond to warming versus cooling climate throughout its modern range in western North America over the late Quaternary. We quantified the response to temperature change, as characterized by the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 temperature record, using N. cinerea presence/absence and “darwins.” Our results show that populations within the modern range of N. cinerea show little difference between warming and cooling events. However, northern, peripheral populations are absent during older, cooler periods, possibly due to climate or taphonomy. Our study suggests adaptation in situ may be an underestimated response to future climate change. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Balk, Meghan A. Betancourt, Julio L. Smith, Felisa A. |
author_facet |
Balk, Meghan A. Betancourt, Julio L. Smith, Felisa A. |
author_sort |
Balk, Meghan A. |
title |
Investigating (a)symmetry in a small mammal's response to warming and cooling events across western North America over the late Quaternary |
title_short |
Investigating (a)symmetry in a small mammal's response to warming and cooling events across western North America over the late Quaternary |
title_full |
Investigating (a)symmetry in a small mammal's response to warming and cooling events across western North America over the late Quaternary |
title_fullStr |
Investigating (a)symmetry in a small mammal's response to warming and cooling events across western North America over the late Quaternary |
title_full_unstemmed |
Investigating (a)symmetry in a small mammal's response to warming and cooling events across western North America over the late Quaternary |
title_sort |
investigating (a)symmetry in a small mammal's response to warming and cooling events across western north america over the late quaternary |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/qua.2019.13 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589419000139 |
genre |
Greenland Greenland Ice Sheet Project Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Greenland Greenland Ice Sheet Project Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Quaternary Research volume 92, issue 2, page 408-415 ISSN 0033-5894 1096-0287 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2019.13 |
container_title |
Quaternary Research |
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92 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
408 |
op_container_end_page |
415 |
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1797583974042697728 |