Diverse Forms, Common Challenges

• Anatomy is the biological form of an organism

• Physiology is the biological functions an

organism performs
Basic Principles of Animal Form and Function
• Animals have diverse body forms: Those that
face common challenges may develop similar
forms
• Despite their amazing diversity
– All animals face a similar set of problems,
including how to nourish themselves

• The comparative study of animals

– Reveals that form and function are closely
correlated
• The body plan of an animal is programmed by
the genome, itself the product of millions of
years of evolution
• Natural selection can fit structure, anatomy, to
function, physiology
– By selecting, over many generations, what
works best among the available variations in a
population

• Physical laws and the environment

– constrain animal size and shape
 Physical Laws and Animal Form
• Physical laws and the need to
exchange materials with the
environment
Figure 40.2a–e
– Place certain limits on the range
of animal forms
• The ability to perform certain actions (a) Tuna

– Depends on an animal’s shape and (b) Shark

size
(c) Penguin
• Evolutionary convergence
– Reflects different species’ (d) Dolphin

independent adaptation to a similar

environmental challenge (e) Seal
Exchange with the Environment
• An animal’s size and shape
– Have a direct effect on how the animal
exchanges energy and materials (gases,
waste, nutrients… ) with its surroundings
– Rate of exchange is proportional to a cell’s
surface area while amount of exchange
material is proportional to a cell’s volume
• Exchange with the environment occurs as
substances dissolved in the aqueous medium
– Diffuse and are transported across the cells’
plasma membranes
• A single-celled protist living in water
– Has a sufficient surface area of plasma
membrane to carry out all necessary exchange
and to service its entire volume of cytoplasm.
(Cell level organization)
Diffusion

Figure 40.3a (a) Single cell

• Multicellular organisms with a sac body plan
– Have body walls that are only two cells thick,
facilitating diffusion of materials (tissue level
organization)
Mouth

Gastrovascular
cavity

Diffusion

epidermis
mesoglea
Diffusion
gastrodermis

Figure 40.3b (b) Two cell layers

• In flat animals such as tapeworms, the distance
between cells and the environment is minimized
• Organisms with more complex body plans have
highly folded internal structures to increase
exchange of material with the environment (organ
and organ system level organization)
– In vertebrates, the space between cells is filled with
interstitial fluid, which allows for the movement of
material into and out of cells
– A complex body plan helps an animal living in a
variable environment to maintain a relatively stable
internal environment
 Figure 40.4
A microscopic view of the lung reveals
that it is much more spongelike than External environment
balloonlike. This construction provides Mouth
an expansive wet surface for gas CO2 O2
Food
exchange with the environment (SEM).
Animal
body
Respiratory
d system

50 µm
oo
Bl

0.5 cm
Cells
Heart

Nutrients Circulatory 10 µm
system
Interstitial
Digestive fluid
system

Excretory
system

The lining of the small intestine, a diges- Anus

tive organ, is elaborated with fingerlike Unabsorbed Metabolic waste
projections that expand the surface area matter (feces) products (urine) Inside a kidney is a mass of microscopic
for nutrient absorption (cross-section, SEM). tubules that exchange chemicals with
blood flowing through a web of tiny
vessels called capillaries (SEM).
Animal form and function are correlated at all
levels of organization

• Most animals are composed of specialized

cells:
– Groups of cells with a common structure and
function
• Make up tissues with different functions

– Different tissues make up organs

• Which together make up organ systems

– Some organs, such as the pancreas, belong to

more than one organ system
Table 40.1
Types of tissues
• Overview of tissues - Different tissues have different structures that are
suited to their functions
– A tissue: group of similarly specialized cells that perform a
common function
– 4 major tissue types
• Epithelial-lines body surfaces and cavities
• Connective- supports and bonds body parts
• Muscular- moves the body and its parts
• Nervous - receives stimuli and conducts impulses
– Cancers-classified according to the type of tissue of origin
• Carcinomas- epithelial tissue
• Sarcomas- muscle or connective tissue
• Lymphomas – lymphoid tissue
• Leukemia - blood
• Tissues with high rate of cell division are most prone to
cancers
Epithelial tissue
– Covers the outside of the body and lines organs and cavities
within the body
– Contains cells that are closely joined (tight junction)
• Protective function
• Modifications
– secretion
– absorption
– excretion
– filtration
• Classification-number of cell layers and shape of outermost cells
• Single layer of cells-simple -
• Multiple cell layers-stratified
• Outer cells flattened-squamous
• Outer cells cube-shaped- cuboidal
• Outer cells rectangular- columnar
Examples
• Simple squamous – lungs and blood vessels

• Cuboidal epithelium – kidney tubules

• Columnar epithelum- lining of digestive track

• Stratified squamous – nose, mouth, esophagus, anal

canal, outer layer of skin (also with keratin for strengh)
• Speudostratified – lining of windpipe, or trachea,
respiratory track
Epithelium, cont’d.
• Nonvascular
– Nourishment from deeper tissues
• Basement membrane -joins to tissue beneath
• Glandular epithelium (goblet cells)
– Secretes product
– Single cell or multiple
– Endocrine-secretes directly into blood
– Exocrine-secretes through duct
• Pancreas … an example – secrete insulin into
the blood and digestive juices into intestine via
ducts.
Fig. 11.1a
Fig. 11.1b
Junctions between epithelial cells

• Cellular junctions
– Tight-impermeable
barrier – intestine,
kidney
– Gap-adjacent
plasma channels
join – heart, smooth
muscles
– Adhesion-held
together by filaments

• Fig. 11.2
Figure 40.5aa

Epithelial Tissue
Stratified squamous
epithelium

Pseudostratified
Cuboidal Simple columnar Simple squamous columnar
epithelium epithelium epithelium epithelium
Connective tissue
• Connects structures, binds organs together, provide support
and protection, fills spaces, produces blood cells, stores fats.
• Contains sparsely packed cells scattered throughout an
extracellular matrix
• 3 components

– Matrix- non cellular material -- solid, semisolid, or liquid

– Fibers- The matrix can have them:
• collagen (flexibility and strengh),

• elastic (elastin protein which is elastic but not as strong as

collagen) ,
• reticulular (very thin collagen highly branched for
supporting network)

– Cells-various types: Fibroblasts, macrophages….

• Types of connective tissue

– Fibrous connective tissues that have cells called

fibroblasts separated semisolid matrix with fibers
• Dense fibrous connective tissue
– Tightly packed collagen fibers
– Tendons and ligaments

• Loose fibrous connective tissue (most common)

– Supports epithelium
– Collagen and elastic fibers

– Also in internal organs

– Lungs, arteries, urinary bladder for expansion
– Muscles, blood vessels and nerves for protective
covering
• Adipose tissue and reticular connective tissue

– Adipose tissue

• Fibroblasts modified for fat storage: adipose cells

that contain fat droplets that expand or shrink for
storage/use of fat
• Energy, insulation, protection

– Reticular connective tissue

• Fibroblasts

• Reticular fibers

• Supporting meshlike structure of lymphatic tissue

in limph nodes, the spleen, the thymus, the bone
marrow.
• Cartilage
– Cells- chondrocytes
• Lie in lacunae (or small chamber) separated by matrix
– Matrix-solid but flexible and separate cells made of protein-carbohydrate
comples: chondroitin sulfate.
– Fibers-collagen, elastic
• Types of cartilage
– Hyaline-collagen fibers
• Rigid, glossy white
• Nose, end of long bones and ribs, form ring in the walls of respiratory
passages.
– Elastic-more elastic fibers than hyaline
• Flexible, yellow
• ear
– Fibrocartilage-contain strong collagen fibers
• Compressible, can withstand pressure and tension
• Pads between the vertebrae in the backbone, wedges in the knee
joint
• Bone
– Rigid mineralized matrix

• Calcium salts (for rigidity), collagen fibers (for elasticity and

strengh)
– Cells: Osteocytes- lie in lacunae
– Types of bone

• Compact bone- shaft of long bone

– Functional units are osteons
– Osteon has central blood vessels connected to lacunae by
cannaliculi

• Spongy bone -ends of long bone

– Contain bony bars and plates separated by irregular spaces
filled with red marrow (cells in the process of becoming mature
cells)
 Examples of connective tissues

• Fig. 11.3
Figure 40.5ba

Connective Tissue
Loose connective tissue
Collagenous fiber Blood
Plasma
White
blood cells
120 m

55 m
Elastic fiber Red blood cells
Cartilage
Fibrous connective tissue
Chondrocytes

100 m
30 m

Chondroitin sulfate
Nuclei Bone Adipose tissue
Central
canal Fat droplets
700 m

Osteon 150 m
– Blood
• Connective tissue
• Matrix- plasma, not made by the cell
• Keep homeostasis in the body and chemicals and chemistry
within normal limits, distribute heat, maintains blood pH
• Cells – produced in bone marrow
– Red blood cells or erythrocytes-transport oxygen
• Biconcave discs
• No nuclei
– White blood cells or leukocytes- fight infection
• Nucleated
• Various types
– Platelets or thrombocytes-aid clotting
• Cell fragments
 Components of blood plasma

• Table 11.1
 Blood

• Fig. 11.4
Muscle tissue
• Is composed of long cells called muscle fibers capable of contracting in
response to nerve signals
• Cells are called muscle fibers (with actin & myosin fibers)
• 3 types
– Smooth muscle
– Uninucleate cells
– nonstriated
– involuntary
• Cardiac muscle
– Uninucleate cells with intercalated disks
– striated
– involuntary
• Skeletal muscle
– striated
– Voluntary
– Multinucleate cells
 Types of muscle tissue

• Fig. 11.5
Nervous tissue
• Senses stimuli and transmits signals throughout the animal:
• Cells
– Neurons – in brain and spinal cord
• conduct impulses
• Sensory input, integration, motor output
• Neuron structure- 3 parts
– Dendrites – conducts signals to the cell body
– Cell body
– Axon- nerve impulses move away from cell body
– Neuroglia- support and nourish neurons
• Microglia- phagocytic
• Astrocytes-provide nutrients and produces the glia-derived
growth factor
• Oligodendrocyte-form myelin
Figure 40.5d

Nervous Tissue

Neurons Glia 15 µm
Glia
Neuron:
Dendrites
Cell body
Axons of
Axon neurons
40 µm

Blood
(Fluorescent LM) vessel
(Confocal LM)
 Nervous tissue

• Fig. 11.6
Coordination and Control
• Control and coordination within a body depend
on the endocrine system and the nervous
system
• The endocrine system transmits chemical
signals called hormones to receptive cells
throughout the body via blood
• A hormone may affect one or more regions
throughout the body
• Hormones are relatively slow acting, but can
have long-lasting effects
Figure 40.6 (a) Signaling by hormones (b) Signaling by neurons

STIMULUS STIMULUS

Endocrine
cell
Cell body
of neuron
Nerve Axon
impulse
Hormone
Signal travels Signal travels
everywhere. to a specific
location.

Blood Nerve
vessel impulse

Axons

Response
Response
• The nervous system transmits information
between specific locations
• The information conveyed depends on a signal’s
pathway, not the type of signal
• Nerve signal transmission is very fast
Organs and Organ Systems
• In all but the simplest animals
– Different tissues are organized into organs
• In some organs
– The tissues are arranged in layers

Lumen of
stomach

Mucosa. The mucosa is an

epithelial layer that lines
the lumen.

Submucosa. The submucosa is

a matrix of connective tissue
that contains blood vessels
and nerves.
Muscularis. The muscularis consists
mainly of smooth muscle tissue.
Figure 40.6 Serosa. External to the muscularis is the serosa,
a thin layer of connective and epithelial tissue.
0.2 mm
Body cavities and body membranes
Cavities
1. Dorsal cavity
• Cranial cavity
– brain
• Spinal cavity
– Spinal cord
2. Ventral cavity- divided by diaphragm
• Thoracic cavity
– Lungs
– heart
• Abdominal cavity
– Visceral organs
– Bladder
– Reproductive organs
• Representing a level of organization higher
than organs
– Organ systems carry out the major body
functions of most animals
Organ systems

• Integumentary System
– Skin, nails, hair, muscles that
move hair, oil and sweat glands,
blood vessels, nerves leading to
sensory receptors
– Epidermis
• Stratified squamous
epithelium
– Dermis
• Fibrous connective tissue
– Functions
• Protection
• Thermoregulation
• Vit. D production
• Collects sensory data
• Digestive system
– Consists of organs of digestive
tract: mouth, esophagus,
stomach, small intestine, large
intestine (Colon)
– Accessory structures
• Teeth
• Tongue
• Salivary glands
• Liver and gall bladder
• Pancreas
– Functions
• Receives food and digests
it
• Absorbs digested nutrients
• Eliminates wastes
• Cardiovascular system
– Heart, blood vessels
– Blood pumped through
vessels throughout body
• Delivers oxygen,
nutrients
• Removes carbon
dioxide, wastes
• Phagocytic white
blood cells engulf
pathogens
• Assists in
homeostasis: control
To, pH balance, fluids.
Lymphatic and Immune systems
• Lymphatic system
– Limophatic vessels, limph
nodes and other lymphatic
organs.
– Purifies lymph
– Stores lymphocytes- WBC’s
that produce antibodies
– Absorb fats and collect
excess tissue fluids
• Immune system
– All cells in the body:
lymphocytes…
– protects from disease
• Respiratory system
– Lungs and upper
respiratory
structures
– Brings oxygen into
body
– Removes carbon
dioxide
– Aids in pH
regulation
• Urinary system
– Kidneys, ureters,
bladder, urethra
– Removes metabolic
wastes
– Regulates fluid and
electrolyte balance
– Aids in pH
regulation
• Skeletal system
– Bones, ligaments

– Protect body parts

– Stores minerals

– Produces blood
cells
– Attaches muscles
• Muscular system
– Skeletal muscles-
locomotion
– Cardiac muscle-
composes heart
– Smooth muscle-
lines organs and
vessels
• Nervous system
– Brain, spinal cord,
nerves
– Nerves conduct
sensory and motor
impulses
– Brain integrates
incoming information
– Spinal cord connects
nerves and brain
• Endocrine system
– Endocrine glands
secrete hormones
• Chemical
messengers
– Many homeostatic
functions
• Regulate cell
metabolism
• Fluid and pH
regulation
• Stress responses
• Reproductive system
– Male

• Testes, accessory
glands, penis
– Female

• Ovaries, oviducts,
uterus, vagina,
external genitalia
– Production of gametes
Organ systems in mammals
• Animals use the chemical energy in food to
sustain form and function
• All organisms require chemical energy for
– Growth, repair, physiological processes,
regulation, and reproduction
Feedback control maintains the internal
environment in many animals

• Animals manage their internal environment by

regulating or conforming to the external
environment
Regulating and Conforming
• A regulator uses internal control mechanisms to
control internal change in the face of external
fluctuation
• A conformer allows its internal condition to vary
with certain external changes
• Animals may regulate some environmental
variables while conforming to others
Bioenergetics
• Bioenergetics is: The overall flow and
transformation of energy through an animal
– Ultimately limits the animal’size, activity,
behavior, growth, and reproduction
– Determines how much food it needs

• Studying an animal’s bioenergetics

– Tells us a great deal about the animal’s
adaptations
Energy Allocation and Use
• Organisms can be classified by how they
obtain chemical energy
• Autotrophs, such as plants, harness light
energy to build energy-rich molecules
• Heterotrophs, such as animals, harvest
chemical energy from food
Energy Sources and Allocation
• So, animals harvest chemical energy
– From the food they eat or produce…

• Once food has been digested, the energy-

containing molecules
– Are usually used to make ATP, which powers cellular
work

• After the energetic needs of staying alive are met,

remaining food molecules can be used in
biosynthesis…
• Biosynthesis includes body growth and repair, synthesis of
storage material such as fat, and production of gametes
Figure 40.18 Organic molecules
External in food
environment
Animal
body Digestion and
absorption Heat
Energy lost
in feces
Nutrient molecules
in body cells Energy lost in
nitrogenous
waste

Cellular
Carbon Heat
respiration
skeletons

ATP

Bio-
synthesi
s
Cellular Heat
work

Heat
Quantifying Energy Use
• An animal’s metabolic rate
– Is the amount of energy an animal uses in a
unit of time
– Can be measured in a variety of ways

• An animal’s heat loss

• The amount of oxygen consumed or carbon

dioxide produced
• Measuring energy content of food
consumed and energy lost in waste
products
 • One way to measure metabolic rate
– Is to determine the amount of oxygen consumed
or carbon dioxide produced by an organism

(a) This photograph shows a ghost crab in a

respirometer. Temperature is held constant in the
chamber, with air of known O2 concentration flow-
ing through. The crab’s metabolic rate is calculated (b) Similarly, the metabolic rate of a man
from the difference between the amount of O 2 fitted with a breathing apparatus is
being monitored while he works out
entering and the amount of O 2 leaving the
on a stationary bike.
respirometer. This crab is on a treadmill, running
Figure 40.8a, b at a constant speed as measurements are made.
Bioenergetic Strategies
• An animal’s metabolic rate is closely related to
its bioenergetic strategy
• Birds and mammals are mainly endothermic,
meaning that
– Their bodies are warmed mostly by heat
generated by metabolism
– They typically have higher metabolic rates
Stem Elongation
• Amphibians and reptiles other than birds are
ectothermic, meaning that
– They gain their heat mostly from external
sources
– They have lower metabolic rates
Influences on Metabolic Rate
• The metabolic rates of animals
– Are affected by many factors: size, activity,
genetic background…

Size and Metabolic Rate

• Metabolic rate per gram

= metabolic rate 1/ body size among similar
animals
Activity and Metabolic Rate
• The basal metabolic rate (BMR)
– Is the metabolic rate of an endotherm at rest

• The standard metabolic rate (SMR)

– Is the metabolic rate of an ectotherm at rest

• Both rates assume a nongrowing, fasting, and

nonstressed animal
• Ectotherms have much lower metabolic rates than
endotherms of a comparable size

• For both endotherms and ectotherms

– Activity has a large effect on metabolic rate
Influences on Metabolic Rate
• Metabolic rates are affected by many factors
besides whether an animal is an endotherm or
ectotherm
• Some key factors are age, sex, size, activity,
temperature, and nutrition
• In general, an animal’s maximum possible
metabolic rate
– Is inversely related to the duration of the activity
500
A = 60-kg alligator
AH

Maximum metabolic rate

100
AH

(kcal/min; log scale)

50 H = 60-kg human

H
10
H
5 H

A
1
A
0.5 A

0.1
1 1 1 1 1
second minute hour day week
Time interval
Key
Existing intracellular ATP
ATP from glycolysis
Figure 40.9 ATP from aerobic respiration
Energy Budgets
• Different species of animals
– Use the energy and materials in food in
different ways, depending on their environment

–
• An animal’s use of energy
– Is partitioned to BMR (or SMR), activity,
homeostasis, growth, and reproduction
Endotherms Ectotherm

Annual energy expenditure (kcal/yr)

800,000 BasalReproduction Temperature
metabolic regulation costs
rate Growth
Activity 340,000
costs

8,000
4,000
60-kg female human 4-kg male Adélie penguin 0.025-kg female deer mouse 4-kg female python
from temperate climate from Antarctica (brooding) from temperate from Australia
(a) Total annual energy expenditures North America

438
Energy expenditure per unit mass

Human
233

Python
Deer mouse
(kcal/kg•day)

Adélie penguin

36.5
5.5

Figure 40.10a, b (b) Energy expenditures per unit mass (kcal/kg•day)

• Animals regulate their internal environment
within relatively narrow limits
• The internal environment of vertebrates
– Is called the interstitial fluid, and is very
different from the external environment

• Homeostasis is a balance between external

changes
– And the animal’s internal control mechanisms
that oppose the changes
Regulating and Conforming
• Regulating and conforming
– Are two extremes in how animals cope with
environmental fluctuations

An animal is said to be a regulator

– If it uses internal control mechanisms to

moderate internal change in the face of
external, environmental fluctuation

• An animal is said to be a conformer

– If it allows its internal condition to vary with

certain external changes
Mechanisms of Homeostasis
• Mechanisms of homeostasis
– Moderate changes in the internal environment

– In humans, body temperature, blood pH, and

glucose concentration are each maintained at
a constant level
– homeostasis
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/bc/bc_audesirk_
bloe_8/web_animations/31_A01_Homeostasis/
31_A01.swf
Mechanisms of Homeostasis

• Mechanisms of homeostasis moderate changes

in the internal environment
• For a given variable, fluctuations above or below
a set point serve as a stimulus; these are
detected by a sensor and trigger a response
• The response returns the variable to the set point
• A homeostatic control system has three
functional components
– A receptor, a control center, and an effector
Response
No heat
produced

Heater
Room turned
temperature off
decreases
Too Set
hot point
Set point

Too Set
Control center: cold point
thermostat

Room
temperature Heater
increases turned
on
Response
Heat
Figure 40.11 produced
• Most homeostatic control systems function by
negative feedback
– Where buildup of the end product of the
system shuts the system off

• A second type of homeostatic control system is

positive feedback
– Which involves a change in some variable that
triggers mechanisms that amplify the change
• Thermoregulation contributes to homeostasis
and involves anatomy, physiology, and
behavior
• Thermoregulation
– Is the process by which animals maintain an
internal temperature within a tolerable range

• Thermoregulation involves physiological and

behavioral adjustments
– That balance heat gain and loss
Alterations in Homeostasis

• Set points and normal ranges can change with

age or show cyclic variation
• In animals and plants, a circadian rhythm
governs physiological changes that occur roughly
every 24 hours
Figure 40.9
• Homeostasis can adjust to changes in external
environment, a process called acclimatization
Ectotherms and Endotherms
Thermoregulation is the process by which
animals maintain an internal temperature
within a tolerable range
• Ectotherms
– Include most invertebrates, fishes, amphibians,
and non-bird reptiles

• Endotherms
– Include birds and mammals
• In general, ectotherms
– Tolerate greater variation in internal temperature
than endotherms
40
River otter (endotherm)

Body temperature (°C)

30

20

Largemouth bass (ectotherm)

10

0 10 20 30 40
Figure 40.12 Ambient (environmental) temperature (°C)
• Endothermy is more energetically expensive
than ectothermy
– But buffers animals’ internal temperatures
against external fluctuations
– And enables the animals to maintain a high
level of aerobic metabolism
 Modes of Heat Exchange
• Organisms exchange heat by four physical
processes
Radiation is the emission of electromagnetic
waves by all objects warmer than absolute Evaporation is the removal of heat from the surface of a
zero. Radiation can transfer heat between liquid that is losing some of its molecules as gas.
objects that are not in direct contact, as when Evaporation of water from a lizard’s moist surfaces that
a lizard absorbs heat radiating from the sun. are exposed to the environment has a strong cooling effect.

Convection is the transfer of heat by the Conduction is the direct transfer of thermal motion (heat)
movement of air or liquid past a surface, between molecules of objects in direct contact with each
as when a breeze contributes to heat loss other, as when a lizard sits on a hot rock.
from a lizard’s dry skin, or blood moves
Figure 40.13
heat from the body core to the extremities.
Insulation
• Insulation, which is a major thermoregulatory
adaptation in mammals and birds
– Reduces the flow of heat between an animal
and its environment
– May include feathers, fur, or blubber
• In mammals, the integumentary system
– Acts as insulating material

Hair

Epidermis
Sweat
pore
Muscle
Dermis
Nerve
Sweat
gland
Hypodermis

Adipose tissue

Blood vessels Oil gland

Figure 40.14 Hair follicle
• Heat regulation in mammals often involves the
integumentary system: skin, hair, and nails
• Five adaptations help animals thermoregulate
– Insulation

– Circulatory adaptations

– Cooling by evaporative heat loss

– Behavioral responses

– Adjusting metabolic heat production

Circulatory Adaptations
• Many endotherms and some ectotherms
– Can alter the amount of blood flowing between
the body core and the skin

• In vasodilation
– Blood flow in the skin increases, facilitating
heat loss

• In vasoconstriction
– Blood flow in the skin decreases, lowering
heat loss
Feedback Mechanisms in Thermoregulation
• Some animals can regulate body temperature
– By adjusting their rate of metabolic heat
production
– Thermogenesis is increased by muscle activity
such as moving or shivering
– Nonshivering thermogenesis takes place when
hormones cause mitochondria to increase their
metabolic activity
– Some ectotherms can also shiver to increase body
temperature
• Many marine mammals and birds
– Have arrangements of blood vessels called
countercurrent heat exchangers that are important
for reducing heat loss1
Arteries carrying warm blood down the
legs of a goose or the flippers of a dolphin
are in close contact with veins conveying Pacific
Canada
cool blood in the opposite direction, back bottlenose
toward the trunk of the body. This
goose arrangement facilitates heat transfer
dolphin
from arteries to veins (black
arrows) along the entire length
of the blood vessels.

2 Blood flow
Near the end of the leg or flipper, where 1
arterial blood has been cooled to far below
Artery Vein the animal’s core temperature, the artery Vein
can still transfer heat to the even colder Artery
1 blood of3 an adjacent vein. The venous blood
3
35°C 33° continues to absorb heat as it passes warmer 3
and warmer arterial blood traveling in the
opposite direction.
30º 27º

20º 18º 2

10º 9º 3 As the venous blood approaches the

center of the body, it is almost as warm
as the body core, minimizing the heat lost In the flippers of a dolphin, each artery is
Figure 40.152 as a result of supplying blood to body parts
immersed in cold water.
surrounded by several veins in a
countercurrent arrangement, allowing
efficient heat exchange between arterial
and venous blood.
 • Some specialized bony fishes and sharks
– Also possess countercurrent heat exchangers
21º
25º 23º
27º
(a) Bluefin tuna. Unlike most fishes, the bluefin tuna maintains
temperatures in its main swimming muscles that are much higher 29º
31º
than the surrounding water (colors indicate swimming muscles cut
in transverse section). These temperatures were recorded for a tuna
in 19°C water. Body cavity

(b) Great white shark. Like the bluefin tuna, the great white shark
has a countercurrent heat exchanger in its swimming muscles that
reduces the loss of metabolic heat. All bony fishes and sharks lose Skin
heat to the surrounding water when their blood passes through the Artery
gills. However, endothermic sharks have a small dorsal aorta, Vein
and as a result, relatively little cold blood from the gills goes directly
to the core of the body. Instead, most of the blood leaving the gills
is conveyed via large arteries just under the skin, keeping cool blood Blood
away from the body core. As shown in the enlargement, small vessels Capillary
arteries carrying cool blood inward from the large arteries under the in gills network within
Heart muscle
skin are paralleled by small veins carrying warm blood outward from
the inner body. This countercurrent flow retains heat in the muscles.
Artery and
vein under Dorsal aorta
Figure 40.16a, b the skin
• Many endothermic insects (flying insects: bees,
moths)
– Have countercurrent heat exchangers that help
maintain a high temperature in the thorax, heat
comes from flight muscles, shivering before
flight…
PREFLIGHT PREFLIGHT FLIGHT
40 WARMUP
Thorax

Temperature (°C)
35

30
Abdomen

25

0 2 4
Time from onset of warmup (min)
Cooling by Evaporative Heat Loss
• Many types of animals
– Lose heat through the evaporation of water in
sweat
– Use panting to cool their bodies
• Bathing moistens the skin
– Which helps to cool an animal down

Figure 40.18
Behavioral Responses
• Both endotherms and ectotherms
– Use a variety of behavioral responses to
control body temperature

• Some terrestrial invertebrates

– Have certain postures that enable them to
minimize or maximize their absorption of heat
from the sun
Acclimatization in Thermoregulation
• Birds and mammals can vary their insulation to
acclimatize to seasonal temperature changes
• When temperatures are subzero, some
ectotherms produce “antifreeze” compounds to
prevent ice formation in their cells
• Mammals regulate their body temperature
– By a complex negative feedback system that
involves several organ systems
Physiological Thermostats and Fever
• Thermoregulation in mammals is controlled by a
region of the brain called the hypothalamus
• The hypothalamus triggers heat loss or heat
generating mechanisms
• Fever, a response to some infections, reflects an
increase in the normal range for the biological
thermostat
• Some ectothermic organisms seek warmer
environments to increase their body temperature
in response to certain infections
• In humans, a specific part of the brain, the
hypothalamus
– Contains a group
of nerve cells that
function as a
thermostat
Adjustment to Changing Temperatures
• In a process known as acclimatization
– Many animals can adjust to a new range of
environmental temperatures over a period of
days or weeks

• Acclimatization may involve cellular

adjustments
– Or in the case of birds and mammals,
adjustments of insulation and metabolic heat
production
Torpor and Energy Conservation
• Torpor
– Is an adaptation that enables animals to save
energy while avoiding difficult and dangerous
conditions
– Is a physiological state in which activity is low
and metabolism decreases
• Hibernation is long-term torpor
– That is an adaptation to winter cold and food
scarcity during which the animal’s body
temperature declines
Additional metabolism that would be
200 necessary to stay active in winter
Actual
metabolism

Metabolic rate
(kcal per day)
100
Figure 40.22
0
Arousals
35 Body
30 temperature
Temperature (°C)

25
20
15
10
5
0 Outside
temperature Burrow
-5
temperature
-10
-15
June August October December February April
• Estivation, or summer torpor
– Enables animals to survive long periods of
high temperatures and scarce water supplies

• Daily torpor
– Is exhibited by many small mammals and birds
and seems to be adapted to their feeding
patterns