Key area 2.4 Flashcards
The ability of an organism to maintain its metabolic rate is affected by?
Abiotic factors in the external environment
The ability of an organism to maintain its metabolic rate is affected by?
Abiotic factors
What is a conformer
And give examples
Animals whose body conditions vary with the external environment
Example:
Reptiles like..
-geckos
-snakes
How do conformer a regulate their metabolism
And give an example
And where do they tend to live and example
Since they cannot regulate metabolism by physiological means they use behavioural responses
E.g. Geckos basking in the sun
Tend to live in stable environments like deserts
Disadvantage and advantage of conformers
Disadvantage:
Narrow ecological niche (limited range of places they can live)
Advantage:
Low metabolic energy cost (body’s don’t need to use energy to regulate body temperature)
What affects a conformers internal environment
The external environment
What is a regulator
Organism who can control their own internal environments using physiological mechanisms
What process do regulators use to control their internal conditions
Homeostasis
Advantage and disadvantage of regulators
Advantage:
Wider ecological niche
Disadvantage:
Higher metabolic energy cost
What is homeostasis
The maintainable of the body’s internal environment
What is the principle of negative feedback control
In negative feedback, when a condition changes, the opposite effect is produced by the body to return itself to normal.
What is thermoregulation
Process which regulates body temperature in mammals and other regulators
Why is it essential that body temperature is maintained within a narrow range
So the body can function properly
Enzymes and stuff
What is the hypothalamus
The body’s temperature regulatory system in the brain
What role does the skin play in temperature regulation
Acts as an effector to detect increases or decreases in temperature
Name the corrective mechanisms that take place when an increase in body temperature is detected
- increase in sweating
* vasodilation
Name the corrective mechanisms that take place when a decrease in body temperature is detected
- decrease in sweating
- vasoconstriction
- shivering
Describe vasodilation
1) arterioles leading to skin become dilated (larger)
2) a larger volume of blood can flow through capillaries near the skin surface where heat radiation can occur
3) loss of heat lowers body temperature
Describe vasoconstriction
1) arterioles leading to skin become constructed
2) less blood can flow through which minimises heat loss through the skin
3) this lowers body temperature
