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Yet another theory is that the heat helps protect against frost damage, allowing the plant to germinate and sprout earlier than otherwise. For example, the skunk cabbage generates heat, which allows it to melt its way through a layer of snow in early spring. [4] The heat, however, is mostly used to help spread its pungent odor and attract ...
Thermogenesis is the process of heat production in organisms.It occurs in all warm-blooded animals, and also in a few species of thermogenic plants such as the Eastern skunk cabbage, the Voodoo lily (Sauromatum venosum), and the giant water lilies of the genus Victoria.
Additionally, almost all eutherian mammals (with the only known exception being swine) have brown adipose tissue whose mitochondria are capable of non-shivering thermogenesis. [8] This process involves the direct dissipation of the mitochondrial gradient as heat via an uncoupling protein , thereby "uncoupling" the gradient from its usual ...
The honey bee, for example, does so by contracting antagonistic flight muscles without moving its wings (see insect thermoregulation). [ 18 ] [ 19 ] [ 20 ] This form of thermogenesis is, however, only efficient above a certain temperature threshold, and below about 9–14 °C (48–57 °F), the honey bee reverts to ectothermy.
Energetic Benefits: Homeothermy might have provided energetic advantages by allowing animals to exploit a wider range of ecological niches and food sources. Warm-blooded animals could have survived in habitats where cold-blooded competitors struggled due to temperature limitations.
The second is non-shivering, which occurs in brown adipose tissue. [19] Population studies have shown that the San tribe of Southern Africa and the Sandawe of Eastern Africa have reduced shivering thermogenesis in the cold, and poor cold-induced vasodilation in fingers and toes compared to that of Caucasians. [5]
When an organism reaches this stage the metabolic rate increases significantly and thermogenesis increases the T b (body temp.) If the T a continues to decrease far below the LCT hypothermia occurs. Alternatively, evaporative heat loss for cooling occurs when temperatures above the TNZ, the upper critical zone (UCT), are realized (Speakman and ...
Another example would be the case of the fairy prion (Pachyptila turtur) that forms a close association with a medium-sized reptile, the tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus). [16] These reptiles share the burrows made by the birds, and often stay when the birds are present which helps maintain a higher body temperature. [ 16 ]