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posted by azrael on Friday October 24 2014, @06:03PM   Printer-friendly
from the change-begets-change dept.

The Center for American Progress reports:

New research has found that climate change is causing mountain goats living in the Alps to shrink. The study, which was published Tuesday in the journal Frontiers in Zoology, found that adolescent Alpine chamois mountain goats are significantly smaller than their peers were 30 years ago, weighing about 25 percent less than goats in the 1980s did. The researchers called this change in body mass over 3 decades "striking". They also said the shrinking "appears to be strongly linked" with increased temperatures in the growing season of the goats' Alpine habitats.

The study noted that climate change has been linked to changes in body mass of other species before. But in those situations, the mass change was typically due to a change in the amount of food available or in the timing in which food was available--changes in bud burst timing in the spring, for instance. That wasn't the case in the goats' situation, however.

They have modified their behaviour and avoid foraging during the warmest part of the day so that they don't overheat.

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  • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday October 24 2014, @06:09PM

    by bob_super (1357) on Friday October 24 2014, @06:09PM (#109668)

    "They have modified their behaviour and avoid foraging during the warmest part of the day so that they don't overheat."

    Wait until they discover the SUV and A/Ced mall, and that weight will come right back.

  • (Score: 2) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Friday October 24 2014, @06:12PM

    by Jeremiah Cornelius (2785) on Friday October 24 2014, @06:12PM (#109670) Journal
    --
    You're betting on the pantomime horse...
  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 24 2014, @06:27PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 24 2014, @06:27PM (#109671)

    See? If you believe in evolution then you must admit that climate change will be no problem since animals will just evolve to match the changes. Everything will be just fine.

    • (Score: 2) by nitehawk214 on Friday October 24 2014, @07:29PM

      by nitehawk214 (1304) on Friday October 24 2014, @07:29PM (#109695)

      Their argument is closer to "God promised he wouldn't flood the world again, so we can produce as much CO2 as we want and the polar ice caps will never melt."

      --
      "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 24 2014, @09:07PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 24 2014, @09:07PM (#109723)

      People who use that word WRT Science obviously don't understand Science.
      Things don't have to actually exist to believe in them.
      OTOH, Science works whether you believe in it or not.

      Meanwhile, species populations worldwide have declined 52 percent since 1970. [panda.org]

      The northern white rhinoceros is one step closer to extinction with the death of Suni, one of only two breeding males left of his kind. [nationalgeographic.com]

      Earth becomes a less habitable, more bland place with each passing year.
      Count on the coming generations to curse the deniers and to defile their graves.

      -- gewg_

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 24 2014, @09:29PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 24 2014, @09:29PM (#109739)

      Evolution isn't a "thing", its a word used to describe a process observed to happen over many generations. Animals don't evolve, species do, and only because of changes occurring to their offspring. "Evolution" is the summation of all those little changes occurring over many generations.

      Claiming that evolution - an observed process - isn't real is like claiming gravity or electricity isn't real. You can deny it all you want, but you're only making yourself look like an idiot who's unable to cope with reality.

  • (Score: 2) by nitehawk214 on Friday October 24 2014, @07:28PM

    by nitehawk214 (1304) on Friday October 24 2014, @07:28PM (#109693)

    I want a fully grown 3 inch tall goat. Wait until they shrink that much before fixing global warming.

    --
    "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 25 2014, @05:33AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 25 2014, @05:33AM (#109821)

    _spewg_ do you ever do anything besides sit in your mom's basement reading left wing blogs?

  • (Score: 1) by KnightGhost on Saturday October 25 2014, @05:08PM

    by KnightGhost (4819) on Saturday October 25 2014, @05:08PM (#109992)

    Many other species have had the same thing happen but it was due to trophy hunting reducing the biggest genetic lines.

    I'm not against hunting in the least - most of my meat growing up was what we hunted and fished. Never understood hanging a dead animal on the wall though.