Red squirrels are developing differently depending on the region of the UK they live in.
Softer foods have been linked with weaker jaws in English squirrels, while their hardy Scottish counterparts have stronger bites due to their diet of pinecones.
Feeding peanuts to red squirrels may be altering the development of their jaws.
A population of the Endangered rodents living in Formby, Merseyside, have uniquely shaped lower jaws, possibly as the result of being fed softer foods. While the activity is now discouraged, the practice appears to have left a legacy in these squirrels, among the last to be living in mainland England.
While it is currently unclear if the changes in jaw structure are a result of evolution, or adaptations during its lifetime, the ability of researchers to track the changes is an indication of how isolated the squirrels are becoming.
Kim Chandler, a PhD student at the University of York, is conducting research into how red squirrels are changing as a result of their diet.
'I don't think these kinds of changes would have been observed if red squirrel populations were larger,' Kim explains. 'Without genetic mixing between them, British populations have become very isolated from one another. This means that populations in northern Scotland, Formby and elsewhere are effectively acting as their own evolutionary islands.'
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Posted On: 18/10/2022