Lecture 3: Physiological ecology: animals

Question 1

Animals that live in cold places tolerate which type of temperatures?Animals that live in warm places tolerate which type of temperatures?

Answer 1

Animals that live in cold places tolerate colder temperatures and animals that live in warm places tolerate warmer temperatures

Question 2

Latitude definition

Answer 2

Distance away from the equator

Question 3

Why have mechanism of Homeostasis evolved?

Answer 3

To challenge hostile environments

Question 4

What is required to maintain homeostasis?

Answer 4

Energy

Question 5

What is homeostasis limited by?

Answer 5

Constraints and trade offs

Question 6

Surface area and volume ratio meaning of each

Answer 6

Surface area determines equilibrium rate

Volume determine inertia

Question 7

Bergman’s rule

Answer 7

Homeotherms tend to be bigger at higher latitudes (colder weather) to conserve heat

Question 8

Allen’s rule

Answer 8

Homeotherns tend to have smaller appendages or shorter and thicker limbs at higher latitudes (colder weather) to better conserve heat

Question 9

What is Insulation with fur/fat/feathers more important than and why?

Answer 9

Size and shape

Helps arm blooded animals keep their warmth

Question 10

Why are arteries and veins appressed in appendages?

Answer 10

To conserve heat

Question 11

Evaporative cooling

Answer 11

Water evaporates (liquid become vapour) so the air around it cools down

Question 12

Behavioural thermal regulation

Answer 12

The maintenance of a constant body temperature by means of basking, sheltering, shivering

Question 13

What are phenotypes of organisms riddled with?

Answer 13

Compromises dictated by trade offs

Question 14

Two reason why natural selection produced deeply imperfect organism

Answer 14

Trade offs

Constraints

Question 15

What are tradeoffs

Answer 15

when a beneficial change in one trait is linked to a detrimental change in another trait

Question 16

What is an example of a trade off for a weasel

Answer 16

Weasels live in cold temperatures however they’ve traded off being bigger to conserve warmth for being able to catch prey faster because of their skinny bodies

Question 17

What does constraint mean in biology?

Answer 17

Selection build on what already there

In other words it does no redesign attributes of an organism but rather enhances it

Question 18

What are the optimal conditions for a reaction to occur best?

Answer 18

Optimal temperature and osmotic conditions

Question 19

What are organisms like?

Answer 19

Complex chemical reactions

Question 20

What is the idea that similar environments lead to similar adaptations called?

Answer 20

Convergent evolution

Question 21

What type of temperature do temperate animals withstand

Answer 21

Colder temperatures

Question 22

What is seasonality of temperature like near the equator?

Answer 22

Low

Question 23

What are poikilotherms?

Answer 23

Organism that lack the psychological means to deviate from their environment

Question 24

What are homeotherms?

Answer 24

Organism that must regulate heat balance to keep an internal temperature close to the environments

Question 25

What are the energy requirements of poikilotherms compared to homeotherms?

Answer 25

Because maintaining a constant internal temperature requires more energy, poikilotherms have a lower energy requirements than similarly sized homeotherms

Question 26

What is radiation?

Answer 26

Heat transfer by electromagnetic radiation

Question 27

What is conduction?

Answer 27

Transfer of heat by direct contact with substrate

Question 28

What is convection?

Answer 28

Heat transfer mediated by moving fluid