insulation
In the cold weather or the extremes of the artic animals
have survived by using a number of different strategies, some animals are ectotherm’s
and their bodies do not need to have a high temperature, and some animals are endotherms
and need to stay warm in the cold waters of the arctic.
Heat transported from the bodies core to the skin, will past through layers of adipose tissue, demise, and then the epidermis after this it will be lost without some kind of insulation to prevent heat loss. Animals with hair coat and feathers can fluff out the fur and feathers creating an insulating blanket of trapped warm air, the degree of the insulation offered by the hair coat or feathers can be altered by increasing or decreasing the thickness of the air layer. This is achieved by the erector pili muscles in the dermis. If this insulating layer is lost and replaced by water the heat is lost quickly from the surface of the skin resulting in a decrease in core temperature and eventually hyperthermia and death. The insulating layer is protected in the bird via a secretion which they produce from there uropyial gland it has water repellent properties and must be applied to the plumage regularly to maintain the water repellent properties. (Schmidt-Nielsen, n.d.)
Others like the seals and the wales a thick layer of subcutaneous adipose tissue (blubber), a very thick layer of fat or insulation which acts like a buffer between the cold and the internal body temperature. This layer of fat insulates the body’s internal organs and prevents them from freezing, an insulator is something that does not allow heat to escape easily some marine animals the smaller ones seals, and small whales only have a few inches of blubber but he larger whales can have up to a foot thick of insulating blubber, the added benefit to this blubber is if food becomes scares it can act as an energy store (Edgar, 2006)
To regulate the loss of heat birds and animals with fur will flatten the fur and feathers via the erector pili muscles in the dermis, and they will sometimes submerge in water to loose heat additionally some animals use a physiological response to the heat for the sheep is the network of small blood vessels called the carotid rete and this is located in the hypothalamus, its function is to cool the blood before it reaches the brain of the sheep, this carotid artery carries hot blood from the heart to the and branches many times throughout the rete. Cooled blood leaving the brain and the sinus cavity also passes through the rete, heat is transferred from the hot blood to the cool blood ensuring the correct blood temperature before entering the brain. (Jones, 2007)
The Camels, who lives in very hot countries, must insulate itself from the heat, it does this by increasing the thickness of their fur for, since their body temperature exceeds that of the air, they don’t take in so much heat, it will also develop very thick skin on the knees and a patch on the underside of its abdomen where it lays down this is to insulate the animals from the hot sand when it comes to rest, additionally the camel will not lay down with its body on completely on the floor in very hot weather as its body temperature will be less than the air so it does not want to gain any more heat from contact with the floor, furthermore by not touching the floor air can circulate around the camel as a way of cooling it. (ADAPTIVE THERMOREGULATION IN DIFFERENT SPECIES OF ANIMALS , n.d.). additionally as with most furred mammals they will grow a seasonal coat, it will be very thick in the winter to trap more warm air and insulate against the cold, but it will fall out in the spring leaving behind a less dense coat, enabling the heat from the animal to escape the body.
Heat transported from the bodies core to the skin, will past through layers of adipose tissue, demise, and then the epidermis after this it will be lost without some kind of insulation to prevent heat loss. Animals with hair coat and feathers can fluff out the fur and feathers creating an insulating blanket of trapped warm air, the degree of the insulation offered by the hair coat or feathers can be altered by increasing or decreasing the thickness of the air layer. This is achieved by the erector pili muscles in the dermis. If this insulating layer is lost and replaced by water the heat is lost quickly from the surface of the skin resulting in a decrease in core temperature and eventually hyperthermia and death. The insulating layer is protected in the bird via a secretion which they produce from there uropyial gland it has water repellent properties and must be applied to the plumage regularly to maintain the water repellent properties. (Schmidt-Nielsen, n.d.)
Others like the seals and the wales a thick layer of subcutaneous adipose tissue (blubber), a very thick layer of fat or insulation which acts like a buffer between the cold and the internal body temperature. This layer of fat insulates the body’s internal organs and prevents them from freezing, an insulator is something that does not allow heat to escape easily some marine animals the smaller ones seals, and small whales only have a few inches of blubber but he larger whales can have up to a foot thick of insulating blubber, the added benefit to this blubber is if food becomes scares it can act as an energy store (Edgar, 2006)
To regulate the loss of heat birds and animals with fur will flatten the fur and feathers via the erector pili muscles in the dermis, and they will sometimes submerge in water to loose heat additionally some animals use a physiological response to the heat for the sheep is the network of small blood vessels called the carotid rete and this is located in the hypothalamus, its function is to cool the blood before it reaches the brain of the sheep, this carotid artery carries hot blood from the heart to the and branches many times throughout the rete. Cooled blood leaving the brain and the sinus cavity also passes through the rete, heat is transferred from the hot blood to the cool blood ensuring the correct blood temperature before entering the brain. (Jones, 2007)
The Camels, who lives in very hot countries, must insulate itself from the heat, it does this by increasing the thickness of their fur for, since their body temperature exceeds that of the air, they don’t take in so much heat, it will also develop very thick skin on the knees and a patch on the underside of its abdomen where it lays down this is to insulate the animals from the hot sand when it comes to rest, additionally the camel will not lay down with its body on completely on the floor in very hot weather as its body temperature will be less than the air so it does not want to gain any more heat from contact with the floor, furthermore by not touching the floor air can circulate around the camel as a way of cooling it. (ADAPTIVE THERMOREGULATION IN DIFFERENT SPECIES OF ANIMALS , n.d.). additionally as with most furred mammals they will grow a seasonal coat, it will be very thick in the winter to trap more warm air and insulate against the cold, but it will fall out in the spring leaving behind a less dense coat, enabling the heat from the animal to escape the body.