By Susan Milius
While biologists worry primarily about global warming’s effects on life in the Arctic, a seemingly paradoxical result of climate change may be sneaking up on metabolically sensitive creatures in the tropics.
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Temperatures in the Arctic have climbed upward faster than in low latitudes. Yet a quirk of physiology could mean that slight upticks in the tropics are delivering a disproportionate jolt to some residents, says Michael Dillon of the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Insects, soil bacteria, frogs, salamanders, lizards, snakes and other animals that warm and cool with their surroundings could be getting a major kick in the metabolism from even slight rises in temperature.
For these organisms — the ectotherms — warming up more means speeding up the metabolic pace of life. And Dillon points out that temperature drives metabolism exponentially, delivering way more of a buzz at higher temperatures than at low ones.