As humans change the climate at an unprecedented rate, how species adapt to these novel conditions will fundamentally reshape the world’s ecosystems. Shifts in geographic range and changes in the timing of life history events have long been considered the two major ways species adapt to warming temperatures. However, my work seeks to understand a third universal axis of adaptation to global warming: morphological change. As temperatures warm, there have been broadly-consistent declines in body size, a fundamental trait, across a wide range of animals. My research is focused on understanding how temperature impacts the size of species, and how species are able to survive temperature-driven reductions in size. By understanding rapid morphological adaptation in response to environmental change, my work seeks to transform the field of climate change biology into a more predictive science.
Fellow