Publication: USA Today

UCLA Expert: Morgan Tingley: Associate Professor, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability; Associate Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
 

Casey Youngflesh: Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Synopsis: Climate change is shrinking birds. According to a study led by Youngflesh and Tingley, over the past three decades, the body mass of 105 bird species analyzed declined by an average of 0.6%, and by as much as 3% in some species. 

UCLA News: The birds' bodily changes were closely linked to the rising temperatures and shifts in precipitation caused by climate change. The study found that tree swallows, for example, got 2.8% smaller, American robins got 1.2% smaller, and downy woodpeckers got 2.2% smaller.

Read more at USA Today.