Thermoregulation in Ectothermic Animals Abstract This study was conducted to investigate the effects of various factors such as colour, body size, orientation and radiation on the thermoregulatory abilities of ectotherms. The animals were substituted with pipes, and the experiment found that colour, body size, orientation and radiation all affect thermoregulation. Introduction Animals have the ability to regulate their internal body temperature by controlling heat flow, through morphological and behavioural adaptations. This is an essential part of their survival (McConnachie, et al., 2011). This can result in body temperatures that are different to their surroundings, meaning that they are able to maintain a relatively stable internal body …show more content…
The pipes were copper and had a rubber bung on one end with a thermometer in it to read the internal temperature of the pipe. The small copper pipes (black and white) were filled with water and placed in a water bath set to 4°C until their internal temperature was also 4°C. They were then dried and placed approximately 25cm from a 150W lamp and the change in temperature was recorded every minute until one of the pipes reached 35°C. Once one of the ‘animals’ had reached 35°C, the final temperature of both pipes was recorded. The aim of this was to determine the effect of unvarying direct radiation on the rate of heating, especially as the internal temperature approaches equilibrium with the external temperature. This experiment was repeated using the large animals, to determine the effect of size on rate of temperature change. The next experiment immediately followed on from the first. The pipes which were at 35°C were then allowed to cool until one of them reached 25°C, slightly warmer than room temperature of about 22°C, with the change in internal temperature still being recorded at one minute intervals. The third experiment focussed on the orientation of the pipes to the light/heat source. In this experiment the same pipe (in this case the large black pipe) at 4°C was placed in front of the heat source …show more content…
This aims to demonstrate how convection affects cooling in animals. In this case, the animal cooled to 25°C within nine minutes. Figure 6: Effect of convection on the rate of cooling of the large black pipe Experiment 5 The graph depicted in figure 6 below shows how a wet coat can affect the body temperature of an animal. The wet paper towel causes the animal to cool even faster with evaporative cooling. Discussion The aim of these experiments was to show that animals, specifically ectotherms, are able to regulate their internal body temperature in various conditions, and through various methods. Experiment 1 showed that the darker ‘animals’ gained heat faster than the lighter ones. This is because animals with a darker fur absorb more radiation (Ganslosser, 2008). It also investigated the effect of size. For the larger ‘animals’ a similar rate of increase in temperature was observed between the different colours, although the black was slightly faster in its uptake of energy. This shows that the darker colours absorb more radiation than lighter colours, and that darker ectotherms would do the same, meaning that their climatic environment would differ from that of the lighter coloured species (Ganslosser,