He's a cold-hearted snake (OOO) look in to his eyes.
Uh-oh.
He's been lying on a rock to get warmth from his environment.
Sup meatbags, Trace here for DNews to talk about why you're all SO HOT.
But really, you're hot.
Have you ever thought about why?
Thermoregulation.
Science divides thermoregulation into endothermic or ectothermic; homeothermic or poikilothermic
(poiˈkēləˌTHərmic).
Endo and ecto thermic describe an animal that either makes it's own heat or gets it from
the environment.
Homeo and Poikilo describe whether the temperature is constant.
A cute siamese cat is an endotherm and homeotherm, it makes it's own heat, and maintains a constant
body temperature; most mammals and birds are endothermic homeotherms -- what elementary
school would call warm-blooded.
Fish, amphibians, reptiles and most invertebrates are ectothermic poikilotherms; they get heat
from the environment and let their body temperature fluctuate -- what the youths would call cold-blooded.
But that's only part of the picture!
They make their own heat, but don't always maintain it.
Some fish maintain a constant temperature and create heat by swimming from cold to warmer
water, but can't generate it themselves; leatherback turtles and lamnid sharks do this too!
All I'm saying is, it's a wider world than the black-and-white of cold versus warm blood!
But that's not all!
Dinosaurs used to be thought of as cold-blooded terror lizards that would obviously make AMAZING
PARK ATTRACTIONS DON'T WORRY NOTHING COULD GO WRONG.
// But a study in Science found dinosaurs were likely mesotherms -- they used a combination
of internal processes and environmental factors to adjust their overall body temperature!
Plus, animals that hibernate like chipmunks and some bats are heterothermic!
Whew.
Yeah, It gets confusing,.
The reason we simplify it to warm and cold blooded is because temperature, which is mainly
circulated by the blood, affects things like muscle function and brain size.
Colder muscles react slower, meaning ectothermic animals have to behave sluggishly when the
environment is cooler.
They have no choice!
Even if a predator is around.
According to Spring and Holley's Introduction to Zoology, with a 18 degree F (10C) change
in temperature, muscles contract three times faster, pulling three times the power.
Knowing this, you can understand why yellowfin tuna evolved to be poikilotherms!
Warmer muscles react better, allowing them to keep their bodies at a slightly higher
temperature than the surrounding water; thus they maximize their power and catch prey.
Mammals and birds range in temperature from 97 to 104F (37-40C) and that has a cost; we
have to eat to live and regulate metabolism!
Pandas spend 10 to 16 hours a day eating, and the British Medical Journal recorded hunger
strikers who lasted 40 days without food.
But that's child's play; pythons can go a year between meals.
So why aren't we just SLIGHTLY regulating our temperatures like tuna?
Seems like a big waste to burn all that energy and stay hot all the time, right?
All that heat keeps our muscles ready for action.
Endothermic animals can almost always outrun ectothermic animals; assuming they survive
the initial strike.
Ectothermic animals are better at that initial attack… think a snake or fast-fish!
Insects with cold muscles can't fly, the Sphinx Moth vibrates its muscles before takeoff to
get them warm.
Plus, cold animals may miss opportunities to use their muscles to get all up ons and
mate!
Warm-blooded animals can mate ANYTIME.
Which…
you know.
That's fun.
PLUS all that energy and heat allows for the evolution of more complex brain structures,
which allowed me learn to talk to you right now!
That being said, it's hot.
It's real hot.
And sometimes it's just TOO hot…
or too cold!
So animals that evolved to be homeothermic -- maintaining temperature -- had to ALSO
evolve fur or blubber to stay warm and sweat glands or panting to cool off.
But that's a whole other video.
Want to know why we sweat and how AWESOME we are at it?
Check out this video Do you have a science question you want us to answer?
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Maybe try that?
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