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Numerous Species Around the World on the Verge of Extinction
"Our collective actions are negatively affecting body sizes of many living species," said Roy.
It is well known that humans tend to hunt or fish larger animals, creating a selective pressure that favors the smaller ones that can reproduce while they are still small.
Several species of cod are smaller as a result of pressures of the fishing industry.
The degradation of natural environments around the world is having the same effect by limiting the amount of food available to animals, according to Roy, meaning smaller animals that need less food have a head start.
But, another factor threatens the world's most impressive animals.
"Global warming may reinforce this trend towards smaller sizes through the temperature-size rule," said Roy.
The temperature-size rule, also known as Bergmann's rule, says that species size increases with latitude: they tend to be smaller in the tropics, and larger closer to the poles.
Bergmann's rule is debated, but one explanation for it is that larger animals have a lower surface-area-to-volume ratio, allowing them to retain more heat and fare better in cooler climes.
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