Distinct body-size responses to warming climate in three rodent species

In mammals, body-size responses to warming climates are diverse, and the mechanisms underlying these differentresponses have been little investigated. Using temporal and spatial datasets of three rodent species distributed across different climatic zones in China, we investigated temporal and spatial trends of body size (length and mass), identified the critical drivers of these trends, and inferred the potential causes underlying the distinct body-size responses to the critical drivers. We found that body mass of all species remained stable over time and across space. Body length, however, increased in one species over time and in two species across space. Generally, body-length variation was predicted best by minimum ambient temperature. Moreover, in two species, body length changed linearly with temperature differences between ancestral and colonisation areas. These distinct temperature–length patterns may jointly be caused by species-specific temperature sensitivities and experience...