Explain how ectothermic animals try to prevent their bodies from overheating?
Question by Najla: Explain how ectothermic animals try to prevent their bodies from overheating?
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2 Responses to Explain how ectothermic animals try to prevent their bodies from overheating?
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by living in a warm but mild climate and by sunning themselves.
Tyranno rex
May 5, 2013 at 2:47 am
An ectotherm, from the Greek εκτός (ektós) “outside” and θερμός (thermós) “hot”, refers to organisms that control body temperature through external means. As a result, organisms are dependent on environmental heat sources and have relatively low metabolic rates. For example, many reptiles regulate their body temperature by basking in the sun. The opposite of ectothermy is endothermy, where heat is primarily generated as a result of internal metabolic processes. Many ectotherms are also poikilotherms, meaning their temperature varies over a wider range than homeotherms. Ectotherms are animals that warm their bodies by absorbing heat from their surroundings. In most ectotherms, the body temperature fluctuates with changes in the surrounding temperature; these ectotherms are called poikilotherms. The body temperature of snakes, for example, cools in cold weather and warms up in hot weather. However, most marine fishes and invertebrates live in water that stays at constant temperature. Their body temperature, therefore, does not change, and these ectotherms are therefore considered homeotherms.
Certain ectotherm behaviors help regulate body temperature. To warm up, reptiles find sunny places, and stretch out for maximum exposure. If it gets too warm, lizards alternate between sun and shade. Amphibians warm up by moving into the sun or diving into warm water. They cool off by entering the shade. In cold weather, honey bees huddle together to retain heat. Butterflies and moths may orient their wings to maximize exposure to solar radiation in order to build up heat before takeoff. Many flying insects, such as honey bees and bumble bees, also raise their internal temperatures endothermically prior to flight, by contracting their flight muscles without moving their wings.
In addition to behaviors, physiological adaptations help ectotherms regulate temperature. Diving reptiles conserve heat because their blood circulates inward toward the body core during a dive. The skin of bullfrogs secretes more mucus when it is hot, allowing more cooling by evaporation. Many ectotherms exist at a lower temperature during torpor, a state of slowed metabolism. This helps them survive a food shortage. If the food supply increases, they come out of torpor in a few hours.
Sarah Negron
May 5, 2013 at 2:48 am