Technologies

Scientists concerned climate change is causing animals to ‘shape-shift’

Wood mice have larger ears. Australian parrots have bulkier bills. And the shifts are happening very quickly, researchers say.

The climate crisis is sending natural selection into overdrive, a new study suggests, forcing animals to cope with rapidly warming temperatures by physically morphing, or «shape-shifting.» That raises a piercing question: Can evolution keep up with the result of human-driven carbon emissions?

In the last 150 years, Australian parrots, such as gang-gang cockatoos and red-rumped parrots, have shown up to a 10% average increase in bill size alongside rising temperatures in their natural habitats, according to research published Tuesday in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution.

«It’s alarming that we are seeing these responses so early on in the climate crisis,» said study author Sara Ryding, a researcher in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at Deakin University in Australia. «We don’t know if they’ll be able to keep up as the crisis worsens.»

The fluffy parrots streaked with bright colors aren’t the only victims of a warmer world. Several other species of birds in North America and Australia have seen an increase in bill size, wood mice have bigger ears, and some bats are flaunting an upgraded, larger set of wings.

Those larger appendages are expected to help the animals manage hot weather because they offer a greater surface area for releasing body heat. «This is not necessarily an increase that’s visible to the naked eye,» Ryding noted, «but it’s still functionally important.»

Though evolution has occurred since the beginning of life on Earth, Ryding worries that right now it’s happening far too quickly.

«I don’t want the takeaway to be that, ‘Oh, animals are evolving in response to climate change, that means they’ll be fine,’ because that simply isn’t true,» she said.

The team’s study, which scoured through tons of already published papers to compare trends in animal shape-shifting against climate change, recognized that the rampant adaptations are happening relatively early along the projected timeline of the climate crisis.

That timeline doesn’t taper off for a while.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change already calls many countries’ previous goal of limiting global warming in the next decades to 1.5 degrees, or even 2 degrees, as «beyond reach.» That’s unless there are «immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions,» reads the group’s report from August, which the panel deems a «reality check.»

«Climatic changes are happening at a faster rate than ever before,» Ryding said. «Although evolutionary changes can be a slow process, taking thousands — or more — years, we also know that strong selection can drive faster evolutionary change.»

By strong selection, Ryding is referring to the intensity with which natural selection occurs. If only one in 10 members of a species can survive in a warm climate due to their having a larger appendage, the other nine won’t live long enough to pass their genes onto the next generation.

That’s why we’re seeing new cohorts of species with bulkier appendages riding the trajectory of global warming.

«Seeing just how widespread this phenomenon is across geographic scales and across a broad range of animals — the unifying factor that we find is climate change,» Ryding said.

The correlation makes sense, because of a theory first developed in 1877 by American zoologist and ornithologist Joel Asaph Allen. It basically states that animals living in warmer climates will have larger, longer appendages than those in colder areas.

«Animals can let go of excess body heat through their appendages, so larger appendages allow them to let go of even more excess body heat, which is beneficial as the climate warms,» Ryding explained.

Allen’s rule has been widely studied by scientists, including in a paper from 2020 that aims to establish its benefit as a predictive tool for climate change outcomes. However, the sheer coverage of Ryding’s work solidifies the phenomenon of expedited evolution as a far-reaching issue.

«I hope that these findings really highlight how climate change is impacting animals,» Ryding said, «and how important it is that we work to reduce our emissions and avoid the climate crisis as much as possible.»

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Monday, April 28

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 28.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword isn’t too tough. I knew the 1990 Madonna hit (5-Across), but had no idea on the very next question involving tennis (6-Across). You win some, you lose some. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Chef’s creation
Answer: DISH

5A clue: Iconic Madonna hit of 1990
Answer: VOGUE

6A clue: Section of a tennis court used when playing doubles
Answer: ALLEY

7A clue: State of mind
Answer: MOOD

8A clue: Not amateur
Answer: PRO

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Rarely-used word meaning «sadness»
Answer: DOLOR

2D clue: Snow place like home?
Answer: IGLOO

3D clue: Went after in court
Answer: SUED

4D clue: «Yo»
Answer: HEY

5D clue: Fill time on stage
Answer: VAMP

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 28, #217

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 217, for April 28.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Connections: Sports Edition must be incredibly difficult to assemble. I’ve noticed numerous categories where the puzzle maker falls back in picking a certain athlete, and then listing that person’s past teams, often including college and national or Olympic teams. Hint: There’s one like that today. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta after making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: I want this one.

Green group hint: Win a medal here.

Blue group hint: Hoopster’s history.

Purple group hint: It’s also a hat.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Choose.

Green group: Last four Summer Olympics hosts.

Blue group: Teams Kevin Durant has played for.

Purple group: ____ Derby.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is choose. The four answers are draft, pick, select and take.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is last four Summer Olympics hosts. The four answers are London, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is teams Kevin Durant has played for. The four answers are Texas, Thunder, United States and Warriors.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ derby. The four answers are home run, Kentucky, Manchester and roller.

Technologies

We Love This Ugreen Tracker, and It’s Just $13 Right Now

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Why this deal matters

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