animal world is diverse and surprising.They differ from each other in many biological characteristics.I would like to dwell on the relation of animals to ambient temperature and find out: cold-blooded animals - is what?
General concepts
In biology, there are concepts of cold-blooded (poikilothermic) and warm-blooded (homeothermic) organisms.It is believed that cold-blooded animals - those whose body temperature is not constant and depends on the environment.Warm-blooded not have such dependence and persistence are different in body temperature.So what are called cold-blooded animals?
Variety of cold-blooded animals in zoology
cold-blooded animals - these are examples of lower organized classes wildlife.These include all of the invertebrates and vertebrates: fish, amphibians, reptiles.Exceptions are crocodiles, which are also reptiles.Currently, for this type also include another type of mammal - a naked mole rat.Studying evolution, many scientists until recently attributed to the cold-blooded, and dinosaurs.However, at the present moment it is believed that they were warm-blooded type of inertial thermoregulation.This means that the ancient giants have the ability to accumulate and hold due to the great mass of the sun's heat, allowing them to maintain a constant temperature.
Features livelihoods
Cold-blooded animals - those who, because of a poorly developed nervous system have an imperfect system of regulation of basic vital processes in the body.Consequently, the metabolism of cold-blooded animals is also low.Indeed, it is much slower than the warm (20-30 times).The body temperature is higher than 1-2 ° C ambient temperature or is equal to it.This dependence is limited in time and is associated with the ability to store heat from the sun or the objects and warm up as a result of muscular work if supported around the outside of the constant parameters.In the same case, when the outside temperature falls below the optimum, all cold-blooded metabolism slows down.Reactions animals are inhibited, remember sleepy flies, butterflies and bees in the fall.When there is a drop in temperature to two degrees or more in the nature of these organisms fall into torpor (hibernation), are experiencing stress, and sometimes even die.
Seasonality
In inanimate nature, there is the concept of changing seasons.These phenomena are expressed particularly in the northern and temperate latitudes.Absolutely all organisms respond to these changes.Cold-blooded animals - examples of adaptations of living organisms to environmental temperature changes.
adaptation to the environment
Peak activity cold-blooded and fundamental life processes (mating, reproduction, breeding) falls on the warm period - spring and summer.At this time, we can see everywhere a lot of insects and observe their life cycles.The riparian and aquatic areas you can find a lot of amphibians (frogs) and fish at different stages of development.
The forests and meadows are quite common reptiles (lizards, snakes, snakes) of different generations.
With the advent of autumn or late summer the animals begin intensive preparations for the winter, which most of them carried out in suspended animation.In order not to die in the cold period, the preparatory process for the supply of nutrients in their bodies take place well in advance during the summer.At this time, the cell structure is changed, it becomes less water and more dissolved components which will provide the process of feeding the whole winter.With decreasing temperature, the level of metabolism also slows down, the power consumption is reduced, which allows the cold-blooded spend the whole winter in hibernation, without worrying about food production.It is also an important step in preparation for adverse temperature conditions is the construction of closed "space" for the winter (pits, holes, houses and so on. D.).All of these phenomena of life are cyclical and are repeated from year to year.
These processes also are unconditional (congenital) reflexes inherited from generation to generation.Animals that undergo certain mutations in the genes responsible for the transmission of this information, die within the first year of life, as well as their offspring can inherit these violations and to be nezhiznesposbnym.
impetus to awakening from hibernation becomes increase in air temperature to the required level, which is characteristic for each class, and sometimes kind.
According to evolutionary theory, cold-blooded animals - is inferior beings, who because of the weak development of the nervous system mechanisms of thermoregulation is not perfect, too.
