Crest of a Wave (Free subscription) | 09/08/2009
On Saturday I travelled from Sunart to my new base at Ord on Skye. Having suffered immediate withdrawal symptoms Sunday had to be a paddling day. Fortunately the weather was superb and the trip I had in mind was one not to be undertaken lightly by someone traveling solo - Loch Scavaig and the isle of Soay. My launch spot was Elgol, a delightful village with a superb tea room and small harbour. I was...
Brainicane (Free subscription) | 23/07/2009
Photo via NickStenning Scotland’s sheep aren’t having the best time with climate change. Earlier this month we brought news that global warming was having a shrinking effect on the Soay sheep of Scotland. Today we hear it’s also making them lighter. …
Treehugger (Free subscription) | 23/07/2009
Photo via NickStenning Scotland's sheep aren't having the best time with climate change. Earlier this month we brought news that global warming was having a shrinking effect on the Soay sheep of Scotland. Today we hear it's also making them lighter. ...
Karen's Blog (Free subscription) | 13/07/2009
If this article can be believed then climate change is responsible for shrinking sheep. The article is based upon a study of Soay sheep in Scotland. It found that since 1985 sheep have decreased in size by 5%. In addition to this their legs have also got shorter. The change has been put down to the fact that milder winters help smaller sheep to survive resulting in a decline in size. Younger sheep...
BeMoreEco (Free subscription) | 06/07/2009
It’s true, but milder Scottish winters are causing Scotland’s wild breed of Soay sheep to get smaller, despite the evolutionary benefits of possessing a large body, according to new research. The new study provides evidence for climate change as the cause of the mysterious decrease in the size of wild sheep on the Scottish island of [...]
From On High (Free subscription) | 06/07/2009
This goes in the You Can't Make This Stuff Up category. According to a team (a team!) of researchers led by Tim Coulson of Imperial College, London, the abundance of food on Scotland's Soay Island has caused the sheep there to be smaller. Hmm. An abundance of food makes animals ... smaller? Now, to sane human beings, nutrition is a good thing. And a bountiful copiousness of food, to normal-thinking...
Cool Science News (Free subscription) | 05/07/2009
Milder winters are causing Scotland's wild breed of Soay sheep to get smaller, despite the evolutionary benefits of possessing a large body. (Credit: iStockphoto) From Science Daily: ScienceDaily (July 4, 2009) — Milder winters are causing Scotland's wild breed of Soay sheep to get smaller, despite the evolutionary benefits of possessing a large body, according to new research. The new study...
The Lone Voice (Free subscription) | 04/07/2009
Hat tip to an all seeing eye for this one. So, who would have figured that climate change is shrinking sheep in Scotland? 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,...
OneToRemember and EnergyBook (Free subscription) | 03/07/2009
Photo: Wikipedia , CC The Incredible Shrinking Sheep! Could the changing climate be shrinking animals? That seems to be the case for the Soay sheep of Scotland. "The island of Hirta, on the western coast of Scotland, is home to a special breed of sheep. Soay sheep, named after a neighbouring island, are the most primitive breed of domestic sheep and have lived on the isles of St Kilda for at...
Suburban Guerrilla (Free subscription) | 03/07/2009
I thought this was interesting in an “omigod we’re all gonna die” kind of way: Global warming seems to be shrinking sheep. On average, wild Soay sheep on Scotland’s island Hirta are 5 percent smaller today than they were in 1985, according to a team of researchers led by Tim Coulson of Imperial College London. “The decrease in [...]
Tom Nelson (Free subscription) | 03/07/2009
Climate vote threatens some Dems' careers - US Politics - NJ.com “Tom Perriello’s national energy tax vote was the defining moment of his short career,” NRCC spokesman Andy Seres said, adding that voters in his district who once thought of him as “that nice young man … is actually a smug globalist who cares more about his Daily Kos cred than the farmers, laborers and...
Metro.co.uk (Free subscription) | 03/07/2009
Global warming seems to be shrinking sheep, according to new research. On average, wild Soay sheep on Scotland's island Hirta are 5 percent smaller today than they were in 1985, according to a team of researchers.
The Eagle Nation (Free subscription) | 03/07/2009
Like the wool sweater that emerges from the dryer a size too small, global warming seems to be shrinking sheep.On average, wild Soay sheep on Scotland's island Hirta are 5 percent smaller today than they were in 1985, according to a study published i ...
Seattle Times (Free subscription) | 03/07/2009
On average, wild Soay sheep on Scotland's island Hirta are 5 percent smaller today than they were in 1985, according to a team of researchers led by Tim Coulson, of Imperial College London.
The Economist (Free subscription) | 03/07/2009
The mystery of Scotland’s shrinking sheep may have been solved ON THE remote island of Hirta, in the St Kilda archipelago beyond the Outer Hebrides, live hundreds of wild Soay sheep. Over the past 20 years biologists studying this primitive breed, which has not changed much since the Bronze Age, have noticed that the sheep are getting smaller. This was a puzzle because, in general, bigger animals...
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