All creatures small and smaller: Mammals ‘to shrink’

MAMMALS will shrink in size over the next 100 years as humans destroy larger animals’ habitats, a study suggests.

Experts at Southampton University experts say smaller, more adaptable creatures such as rodents and birds are likely to predominate. Rob Cooke, lead author of the study published in nature Communications, said: ‘By far the biggest threat to birds and mammals is humankind – with habitats being destroyed due to our impact on the planet, such as deforestation, hunting, intensive farming, urbanisation and the effects of global warming. The substantial “downsizing” of species which we forecast could incur further negative impacts for the long-term sustainability of ecology and evolution.’

The team focused on 15,484 land mammals and birds and considered how body mass, litter size, breadth of habitat, diet and length of time between generations affect their role. The study concludes that less adaptable animals such as the tawny eagle and black rhino were most likely to become extinct in the next century.

A university spokesman said: ‘Researchers predict the average (median) body mass of mammals specifically will collectively reduce by 25 per cent over the next century.’