In a desert seared by climate change, burrowers fare better than birds
In the Mojave Desert, small mammals are weathering the hotter conditions triggered by climate change much better than birds, finds a new study. Using computer models, the study team showed that small mammals’ resilience is likely due to their ability to escape the sun in underground burrows and their tendency to be more active at night. This gives small mammals lower ‘cooling costs’ than birds, which have less capacity to escape the heat. …read more
