Climate change could be shrinking species

New York Times : Plants and animals may be shrinking in size due to climate change, according to biologists at the National University of Singapore who published a paper describing the phenomenon in the journal Nature Climate Change. As some parts of the world become warmer and drier, plants there are growing smaller. Another factor is forest fires, which reduce the amount of nitrogen in the soil, a critical factor in plants’ growth. As plants become smaller, the animals that depend on them for food must also adjust—either by eating more of them or by growing smaller in size in turn. Size disparities can upset the overall balance of the ecosystem when some animals or plants are affected and others aren’t. Although the researchers caution that it’s too early to make any detailed predictions, they do want to call attention to potential problems so that ecologists can better monitor the situation.