Climate change has long been thought to shrink all animals such as birds, fish and even insects, but due to all free food from humans, urban animals are larger than rural animals. You may be fat.
For over 80 years, researchers have examined records of over 140,000 body sizes in 100 North American mammal species and found that urban animals are growing. This twists the long-standing belief known as Bergmann’s rule, despite rising temperatures due to climate change.
Bergmann’s rule states that animals in warm climates are smaller than animals in cold climates.
“Theoretically, the effects of these heat islands should make the animals in the city smaller, but we couldn’t find any evidence that this was happening in mammals,” said a postdoctoral fellow at the Florida Museum. Maggie Huntaku said in a statement.
“This treatise is a good discussion of why Bergmann’s rule and climate alone cannot be assumed to be important in determining animal size.”
New studies suggest that urban animals can grow and become fat due to free food from humans
Researchers have analyzed about 140,000 body sizes from 100 mammalian species in 80 years.Experts have discovered that mammals in cities tend to grow regardless of temperature.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the aforementioned “heat island effect” is due to the fact that urban buildings and roads trap heat and at the same time release more heat.
Daytime temperatures are 1-7 degrees higher than the surrounding area, and nighttime temperatures are 2-5 degrees higher.
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