The effects of changing climate on skull size in the common shrew

Skull measurements Sorex araneus were collected between 1953 and 2004 in Białowieża National Park, preserved in alcohol and stored in the zoological collection of the Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, in Białowieża. The skull height, length and width (mm) of 502 S. araneus were measured using X-ray images of the alcohol-preserved specimens, as described by Lázaro et al. (2017). Climate parameters in Białowieża between 1952 and 2004 Mean temperatures (degrees Celsius), rainfall (mm), and the number of days with snow cover are routine measurements from the meteorological station in Białowieża (52.7070 N, 23.8479 E). We computed the soil moisture deficit from monthly temperatures and precipitation using the Watbug program (Willmott 1977). Lazáro, J., Dechmann, D.K.N., LaPoint, S., Wikelski, M., & Hertel, M. (2017). Profound reversible seasonal changes of individual skull size in a mammal. Current Biology, 27, R1089-R1107. Willmott, C. J. (1977). WATBUG: a FORTRAN IV algorithm for calculating the climatic water budget. CW Thornthwaite Associates Laboratory of Climatology, Publications in Climatology, 30, 1-55.