Thermoregulation

Thermoregulation: Maintenance of a constant core body temperature to maintain optimum

enzyme activity

Physical Processes:

• Exothermic chemical reactions

• Latent heat of evaporation-objects cool down as water evaporates from a surface
• Radiation-the transmission of electromagnetic waves to and from the air/water/
ground
• Convection-the heating and cooling by currents of air or water, warm air rises, cools
then drops back down
• Conduction-heating as a result of the collision of molecules, the ground and water
are good conductors, water is not

Ectotherms:

• Use their surroundings to warm themselves up, core temperature is heavily

dependent upon their environment
• Examples: invertebrates, fish, amphibians and reptiles
• Ectotherms living in water do not need to thermoregulate as the high heat capacity
of water maintains the outside temperature
• Land ectotherms however need to thermoregulate as the outside environment
changes constantly

Endotherms:

• Examples: Mammals and birds

• Rely on their metabolic processes to warm them up and usually have stable core
temperature regardless of environment
• Have adaptations which help maintain body temperature and take advantage of
warmth from the outside environment
• Endotherms survive in a wider range of environments due to this adaptation
• Metabolic rate in endotherms is around 5x higher than that in ectotherms so a higher
food consumption is needed to meet metabolic needs