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Evolution of the earliest horses driven by climate change in the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Secord, R; Bloch, JI; Chester, SGB; Boyer, DM; Wood, AR; Wing, SL; Kraus, MJ; McInerney, FA; Krigbaum, J
Published in: Science (New York, N.Y.)
February 2012

Body size plays a critical role in mammalian ecology and physiology. Previous research has shown that many mammals became smaller during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), but the timing and magnitude of that change relative to climate change have been unclear. A high-resolution record of continental climate and equid body size change shows a directional size decrease of ~30% over the first ~130,000 years of the PETM, followed by a ~76% increase in the recovery phase of the PETM. These size changes are negatively correlated with temperature inferred from oxygen isotopes in mammal teeth and were probably driven by shifts in temperature and possibly high atmospheric CO(2) concentrations. These findings could be important for understanding mammalian evolutionary responses to future global warming.

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Published In

Science (New York, N.Y.)

DOI

EISSN

1095-9203

ISSN

0036-8075

Publication Date

February 2012

Volume

335

Issue

6071

Start / End Page

959 / 962

Related Subject Headings

  • Wyoming
  • Temperature
  • Oxygen Isotopes
  • Humidity
  • Horses
  • Global Warming
  • General Science & Technology
  • Fossils
  • Equidae
  • Climate Change
 

Citation

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Secord, R., Bloch, J. I., Chester, S. G. B., Boyer, D. M., Wood, A. R., Wing, S. L., … Krigbaum, J. (2012). Evolution of the earliest horses driven by climate change in the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Science (New York, N.Y.), 335(6071), 959–962. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1213859
Secord, Ross, Jonathan I. Bloch, Stephen G. B. Chester, Doug M. Boyer, Aaron R. Wood, Scott L. Wing, Mary J. Kraus, Francesca A. McInerney, and John Krigbaum. “Evolution of the earliest horses driven by climate change in the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.Science (New York, N.Y.) 335, no. 6071 (February 2012): 959–62. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1213859.
Secord R, Bloch JI, Chester SGB, Boyer DM, Wood AR, Wing SL, et al. Evolution of the earliest horses driven by climate change in the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Science (New York, NY). 2012 Feb;335(6071):959–62.
Secord, Ross, et al. “Evolution of the earliest horses driven by climate change in the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.Science (New York, N.Y.), vol. 335, no. 6071, Feb. 2012, pp. 959–62. Epmc, doi:10.1126/science.1213859.
Secord R, Bloch JI, Chester SGB, Boyer DM, Wood AR, Wing SL, Kraus MJ, McInerney FA, Krigbaum J. Evolution of the earliest horses driven by climate change in the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Science (New York, NY). 2012 Feb;335(6071):959–962.
Journal cover image

Published In

Science (New York, N.Y.)

DOI

EISSN

1095-9203

ISSN

0036-8075

Publication Date

February 2012

Volume

335

Issue

6071

Start / End Page

959 / 962

Related Subject Headings

  • Wyoming
  • Temperature
  • Oxygen Isotopes
  • Humidity
  • Horses
  • Global Warming
  • General Science & Technology
  • Fossils
  • Equidae
  • Climate Change