Environment (non-mammalian) Flashcards
Name 4 mechanisms to conserve heat in birds
Insulation (down and feathers).
Behaviour (nest building, huddling and perching).
Large volume to surface area ratio in colder climates.
Countercurrent heat exchange.
Name some behavioural adaptions to keep cool in birds
Panting Ruffling feathers Soaring Bathing Restricting activity Shade Migration.
Name some physical adaptations to keep cool in birds
Respiration rate
Bare skin
Beak size
Describe north-south migration in birds
Breeding and feeding in north and overwintering in the south.
Name 2 physiological changes that birds show just before migration.
Increased fat levels for energy
Increased flight muscle size
Name some adaptations for flight
Large keel bone
Hollow bones
barbules connecting feathers
Name some physiological adaptions of birds that enter water.
- Webbed feet
- Waterproof feathers for insulation and buoyancy
- Salt glands, allows excretion of excess salt from drinking sea water.
- Countershading.
- Vision, flexible lenses or red oil droplets in cones.
What is the ‘rete mirable’?
the “wonderful net” interlinked network of veins and arteries in the body periphery of tuna.
What body temps are tuna able to maintain even in waters of 6 degrees?
24-35 degrees.
TMAO in greenland sharks
Helps protect sharks enzymes and structural proteins against cold and extreme pressure by preventing the formation of ice crystals.
Describe the state that the antarctic cod enters that is similar to hibernation
6 months during winter
Reduces metabolic rate by up to 60%
Growth stops
Unresponsive to stimuli
Inter-bouts every 4-12 days lasting 1-3 hours.
Triggered by change in daylight hours and change in melatonin levels.
How are the gills of freshwater fish involved in osmoregulation?
Have chloride cells which take up chloride and calcium ions and pavement cells which take up sodium ions.
How do gills change in Pacific salmon?
Chloride cells adapt for freshwater and saltwater.
Name a species of fish that aestivates.
African lungfish.
Name the receptors involved in thermoregulation in snakes and crocodiles
Snakes- Pit organs
Crocodiles- Integumentary sensory organs
Name two behavioural responses to environmental temperatures in reptiles
Basking
Burrowing
Name 3 metabolic/long term response to environmental temperatures in reptiles
Brumation (reduced metabolic state in response to cold temperatures)
Hibernation
Aestivation.
How do lizards excrete excess water?
Through lymphatic spaces below the eyes.
Name some methods reptiles use to catch prey
Camouflage
Venom and constriction
Long tongues
Deceptive tactics (tongue looks like worm)
What are the functions of colour change in reptiles?
Camouflage, communication and thermoregulation.
Explain ‘super cooling’ in the Red Flat beetle
Produce antifreeze proteins which bind to sites where ice may form. They produce glycerol which drives the freezing point down.
What is diapause? what induces it?
A state where development is halted, mediated by hormones produced in the brain.
In most cases day length induces it.
What internal temperature must bees maintain?
35 degrees.
How do bees prepare for flight?
Shivering, abdominal or thoracic muscle vibrate.
What is cutaneous respiration in amphibians?
Gas exchange takes place across the skin, aiding respiration whilst submerged.
Give an example of an amphibian where the skin is the only respiratory organ
Lungless salamander.
What adaptations do amphibians have for gas exchange through the skin?
Highly vascularised skin
Mucous on skin to allow efficient gas exchange
Counter current system.
How do tadpoles thermoregulate?
Metabolic compensation
Thermal selection.
How do adult frogs thermoregulate?
Hibernation Colour change Freeze tolerance Retreat to water shelter in shade evaporative cooling
How does the water-holding frog aestivate?
Stays in a watertight mucous cocoon.
