Thermoregulation

Hello students!  Today is going to look a little different than our usual classes.  We are learning about how different animals regulate their body temperature through physiological and behavioral mechanisms.  For each example below, examine the resources, decide if the mechanism is behavioral and/or physiological, and explain the response on your table.  If a mechanism does not have resources, skip it for now and come back to it.

Honeybees

Honeybees use their wings to fan the hive on hot days to keep it cool.

Arctic Fish

Trees

Reptile Fins

Leaf Colors

Feathers

Birds puff out their feathers to trap cold air and keep their skin warm underneath.

Basking

Reptiles are cold-blooded, which means that the temperature of their body is the same as the temperature of their surroundings. In order to warm up, reptiles, like this Tiger Snake, bask in a sunny place to gain body heat.

Panting

Burrowing

Animals burrow for many reasons: Living underground allows them to stay away from predators, or to look for food that is unavailable to predators that live above ground. In the hot summer months, animals use their burrows to stay cool. In the cold winter months, animals use their burrows to stay warm and to save energy by hibernating or "napping" instead of looking for food.

Elephant Ears

Shivering

Goose Bumps

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgU2T8KqFhY&list=PLpXkTBGeWUuO9YmSBeaYu3TzbRz05MRf8&index=1

Blood Vessels

Hibernation

Blubber

Sweating

Torpor

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpXkTBGeWUuO9YmSBeaYu3TzbRz05MRf8

"When hummingbirds sleep, they go into a hibernation-like state called Torpor (pronounces TOR-per). This is a really deep sleep. Their metabolism will lower to one-fifteenth (1/15) of normal. Their body temperature will drop to the point of becoming hypothermic. Their heart rate will drop to about 50 beats per minute. Their breathing will slow to the point that it looks like they have stopped breathing. By sleeping like this, hummingbirds can save up to 60% of their available energy." (from http://www.worldofhummingbirds.com/sleep.php)

Gigantothermy

Licking

Visit this website, look at the second image of kangaroos, and read the two paragraphs that follow the image.

Huddling

For the advanced thermoregulation connoisseur:

http://books.google.com/books?id=NHYuT94xvWYC&lpg=PA1&ots=mkaGVTHtKQ&dq=thermoregulatory%20mechanisms%20in%20insects&lr&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=thermoregulatory%20mechanisms%20in%20insects&f=false