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PHYSIOLOGICAL ECOLOGY

Body size shapes thermal stress

Body sizes have been declining in response to climate change, but an expected relationship between size and the hot temperatures organisms can tolerate has eluded detection. Now, research shows how body size and the duration of exposure to hot temperatures interact to determine the onset and consequences of thermal stress.

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Fig. 1: Body size changes in the ground beetle S. angusticollis alter thermal tolerance and thermal stress.

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Correspondence to Lauren B. Buckley.

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Buckley, L.B. Body size shapes thermal stress. Nat. Clim. Chang. 11, 5–6 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-00948-w

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