As climate change messes with temperature and precipitation, California newts suffer

A study led by Gary Bucciarelli, and published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, examined body condition of newts across their entire range, from San Diego to Mendocino. In the south, researchers discovered that body condition — a measure of health that compares weight to length — decreased by an average of 20% from 2008–2016.

The study is part of a larger effort to try to understand how climate change will affect amphibians across the state, including California and Pacific tree frogs and western toads.