Nature Communications (Aug 2022)

Thermal adaptation best explains Bergmann’s and Allen’s Rules across ecologically diverse shorebirds

  • Alexandra McQueen,
  • Marcel Klaassen,
  • Glenn J. Tattersall,
  • Robyn Atkinson,
  • Roz Jessop,
  • Chris J. Hassell,
  • Maureen Christie,
  • Victorian Wader Study Group,
  • Australasian Wader Studies Group,
  • Matthew R. E. Symonds

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32108-3
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

Read online

Global patterns in animal size and shape have been long observed, but their underlying drivers are not well understood. Here the authors suggest latitudinal patterns in shorebird size and shape are best explained by thermal adaptation to warm climates.