BIO120H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Heat Transfer, Smooth-Toothed Pocket Gopher, Gopher
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BIO120H1 Full Course Notes
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Document Summary
One limiting factor (selected from several possibilities): heat exchange. Ex. people transfer heat to water or air. Moisture evaporates from the skin and brings heat away rate. Circulatory system redistributes heat among body parts. Size matters to heat balance (and other balances of gains and losses) Surface area (increases as a square) determines equilibration. Volume (determine how much heat you should get; increases as a cubic) provides the inertia. Heat balance especially important to homeotherms (birds, mammals) Poikilotherms (most reptiles, amphibians, fish, inverts) lack physiological means to deviate from environment temperature (although they use behavioral means) Homeotherms must regulate heat balance to keep internal temperature within a narrow range. Homeotherms tend to be larger at higher latitudes (colder) Animals live in cold environment tend to be bigger than animals in tropical environment. The fur will also be longer in cold environment. Mammons have small ears and long fur. African elephants have big ears and almost hairless.
