Antechinus, the tiny Australian marsupial best known for its lethal love life, is going to face problems adapting to longer, hotter summers, new research predicts.
Supplied: Christine HoskingThe researchers think this indicates animals that spend their first few months in warmer temperatures may have less phenotypic plasticity — ability to respond to external environmental factors.They spend their first few months of life in summer and autumn.
And this may prove problematic for the species, according to lead researcher Clare Stawski from the University of New England and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. This makes their populations especially vulnerable to big disturbances, such as a heatwaves, according to Dr Stawski.
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