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An ectotherm (from the Greek ἐκτός (ektós) "outside" and θερμός (thermós) "heat"), more commonly referred to as a " cold-blooded animal ", [1] is an animal in which internal physiological sources of heat, such as blood, are of relatively small or of quite negligible importance in controlling body temperature. [2]
Gigantothermy (sometimes called ectothermic homeothermy or inertial homeothermy) is a phenomenon with significance in biology and paleontology, whereby large, bulky ectothermic animals are more easily able to maintain a constant, relatively high body temperature than smaller animals by virtue of their smaller surface-area-to-volume ratio. [1]
Animals can be further categorized as endotherms, which regulate their temperature internally, and ectotherms, which regulate temperature by the use of external heat sources. "Warm-bloodedness" is a complex and rather ambiguous term, because it includes some or all of: Homeothermy, i.e. maintaining a fairly constant body temperature.
Insect thermoregulation. The pre-flight warm-up behavior of a moth. Insect thermoregulation is the process whereby insects maintain body temperatures within certain boundaries. Insects have traditionally been considered as poikilotherms (animals in which body temperature is variable and dependent on ambient temperature) as opposed to being ...
In biology, kleptothermy is any form of thermoregulation by which an animal shares in the metabolic thermogenesis of another animal. It may or may not be reciprocal, and occurs in both endotherms and ectotherms. [1] One of its forms is huddling. However, kleptothermy can happen between different species that share the same habitat, and can also ...
Poikilotherm. The common frog is a poikilotherm and is able to function over a wide range of body core temperatures. A poikilotherm (/ ˈpɔɪkələˌθɜːrm, pɔɪˈkɪləˌθɜːrm /) is an animal (Greek poikilos – 'various, spotted', and therme – 'heat) whose internal temperature varies considerably. Poikilotherms have to survive and ...
Elevation of body temperature via metabolic production of heat. Weak or absent metabolic control of a particular body temperature. The first trait distinguishes mesotherms from ectotherms, the second from endotherms. For instance, endotherms, when cold, will generally resort to shivering or metabolizing brown fat to maintain a constant body ...
In 1847, Carl Bergmann published his observations that endothermic body size (i.e. mammals) increased with increasing latitude, commonly known as Bergmann's rule. [9] His rule postulated that selection favored within species individuals with larger body sizes in cooler temperatures because the total heat loss would be diminished through lower surface area to volume ratios. [8]