News Animals

Just like humans, many animals get more aggressive in the heat

Hotter temperatures spark aggression in species from salamanders to monkeys

A dark, speckled black-bellied salamander with shiny skin rests on bright green moss in a forest setting.

Black-bellied salamanders can be fiercely territorial, and research shows this is especially true at warm temperatures.

ashleytisme/flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)

By Katarina Zimmer

Humans aren’t the only animals with hot tempers. 

In 2016, ecologist Kristen Cecala and a colleague watched black-bellied salamanders (Desmognathus amphileucus) from Appalachian streams lunge at one another inside a lab incubator.