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Subject: Climate change is shrinking sheep
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/03/09 at 12:10 pm
Full report on BBC News Online
Climate change is causing a breed of wild sheep in Scotland to shrink, according to research.
Scientists say milder winters help smaller sheep to survive, resulting in this "paradoxical decrease in size".
Classic evolutionary theory would predict that wild sheep gradually get bigger, as the stronger, larger animals survive into adulthood and reproduce.
Reporting in Science journal, the team says this shows the "subtle interplay" between evolution and the environment.
Scientists first began studying Soay sheep, on the island of Hirta in the St Kilda archipelago, in 1985.
Since then, the sheep have decreased in size by 5% - their legs getting steadily shorter and their body weight decreasing.
This strange phenomenon was first reported in 2007, but the reason for it remained under debate.