Some of them are also associated with illnesses such as prostate cancer or characteristics such as small body size. (sciencedaily.com)
The island rule predicts that populations of small mammals evolve larger body size on islands than on the mainland, whereas island - bound large mammals evolve smaller body size than their mainland counterparts. (sciencedaily.com)
Smaller body size tends to mean a shorter lifespan and a shorter generation time. (newscientist.com)