How Animals Survive in extreme Conditions, Science of the adaptation

_{The team resting durring a Walking Safaris with Camels in Northern Kenya
Source, Author: Karisiasafaris}

Even in the harshest conditions, animals are able to survive because of their unique adaptations. Camel is a good example. The hottest and driest regions on the planet are no match for these plants' ability to flourish. Due to large leathery patches on their knees, their legs don't get scorched when they kneel on the scorching sand. They can survive for a week without water, yet they can also consume 32 gallons of water in one sitting. To preserve water, they don't sweat as much because their body temperature fluctuates from 93°F to 107°F. It is because of the spongy bones in their noses that absorb any extra moisture that the air they exhale is dry. In addition to camels, the adaptations of other species are similarly impressive. What's their secret to making it look so effortless?
Animals' ability to control their body temperature is the most significant adaptation. Warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals exist.
Birds and mammals, the majority of warm-blooded creatures, must maintain a stable body temperature or face catastrophic repercussions. Regardless of what the weather is like, they must keep the same temperature inside. The average body temperature for humans is 98.6 °F (even though it may vary among individuals). Birds have an average body temperature of 105 °F, while other animals range from 97 °F to 103 °F.

Consistent body temperature is not maintained by cold-blooded organisms. Temperatures in the outer world affect their body temperature, hence they have a fluctuating temperature. Even if the temperature outside is 50 degrees Fahrenheit, their internal temperature will fall to that level. When it reaches 100 degrees Fahrenheit, their body temperature will be 100 degrees. Except for birds and mammals, most other animals are cold-blooded.

Warm-blooded or cold-blooded is usually determined by the size and form of an organism. Consider the likes of elephants, whales, and walruses as examples of huge creatures. It would be inefficient and risky to rely on the outside environment to heat them up because their volume is so enormous. As a result, most big animals are warm-blooded.

Isn't it time to think about all the little animals like sparrows and mice? This is where the other component, body form, enters in.

It's common for little warm-blooded creatures to be circular, which keeps the organism's innards warm for as long as feasible. The form of most cold-blooded species is either elongated or flat. It's common for fish to have flat bodies when seen from the front. It is common for snakes, lizards, and worms to be long and thin, as are their bodies. It's because of these forms that they may quickly heat up and cool down.

Bergmann's rule states that animals within a species tend to be bigger in colder regions and smaller in warmer climates. Whitetail deer in the southern portion of the United States tend to be smaller and lighter than whitetail deer in the far north.

There are several exceptions to this rule, but in general, it holds true. The surface area to volume ratio rises as an object's volume decreases. The smaller an animal is, the greater its surface area-to-volume ratio. Because they shed heat and cool down quickly, these creatures are more commonly seen in warmer areas. Animals that are smaller in size tend to be found in colder locations because they have lower surface-area-to-volume ratios and lose heat more slowly.

Creating a Source of Power

To maintain a stable body temperature, warm-blooded creatures use a lot of energy. In comparison to cold-blooded creatures of the same weight, mammals and birds require far more food and energy to maintain themselves. Warm-blooded creatures lose heat at a rate proportional to their surface area while producing heat at a rate proportionate to their mass. Because they can create more heat than they lose, bigger warm-blooded animals can better regulate their body temperatures. Warm-blooded animals with smaller bodies lose heat more rapidly. As a result, being bigger makes it simpler to maintain a comfortable body temperature. If a warm-blooded species is too little, it will lose heat quicker than it can generate it, thus it must be large enough.

Food is the primary source of energy for warm-blooded animals. When food is digested, the chemical energy it contains (potential energy) is transformed by the body into different types of energy. The term "metabolism" refers to all chemical processes in the body.

Internal combustion refers to the breakdown of food in the body, which produces carbon dioxide and water in the same way as a normal combustion process. Metabolic processes, like combustion reactions, are often exothermic, i.e. they generate heat.

Food is not only a luxury for a warm-blooded animal; it is a matter of life and death. The body's fat is used as a source of energy if food is unavailable. If a food source isn't identified before fat stores are depleted, death is certain. A warm-blooded animal's metabolism is fueled by the amount of food it consumes, hence the smaller the animal, the more food it consumes. Because of this, most songbirds migrate to warmer climes for the winter.

Because their metabolism relies on the energy provided by their environment, cold-blooded creatures require less energy to survive than warm-blooded species. Turtles are often seen sunbathing on rocks and logs. To burn calories, they're not aiming to gain a tan. They get a burst of energy from the sun. Chemical processes govern muscle activity in cold-blooded animals, which run swiftly when it's warm and slowly when it's cool (because the reacting molecules move faster when temperature increases).

They may live a year without eating since they don't rely on food for heat generation. As long as the animal is lying motionless, it will consume less food since it will be wasting less energy.

Animals with a cold blood type have a disadvantage over those with a warmblood type: their metabolism ceases to function below a particular temperature. Since all chemical processes slow down when temperatures are dropped, an organism's chemical reactions will also slow down at low temperatures.

In the winter, you may note that few cold-blooded creatures are active, and the further north you travel, the less common they are. Warm-blooded creatures, on the other hand, can be found throughout the year in more places and for longer periods of time than cold-blooded ones.

Hibernation Period

Sleeping during the winter is a viable option for warm-blooded creatures that do not migrate. When food is short, animals use hibernation as a fantastic energy-saving method. It is during hibernation that the body's temperature dips, respiration, and heart rate slow, and most metabolic activities are placed on pause.

As the animal's body temperature decreases, it is almost as if it has turned cold-blooded. However, they are still alive and rely on their fat reserves to sustain themselves. Only creatures like bears, groundhogs, and chipmunks, which can store a lot of fat, can hibernate for long periods. During hibernation, a black bear loses 15%–30% of its body weight.

Hibernation isn't just for warm-blooded creatures. However, because they utilize less energy than warm-blooded animals, they have a smaller need to retain fat. For up to six months at a time, turtles and frogs bury themselves in the muck under lakes and ponds and appear to be dead. Externally, there are no indications of life to be found.

Something fascinating occurs in the cells of many cold-blooded animals during hibernation. There is a thin layer of liquid around the cells, but none of it is within. Water from within the cell gets drained out by osmosis while the cell's water freezes outside. One way water flows from one location with a low concentration of dissolved solutes to another is across a semipermeable membrane, like the cell membrane in this instance.

At the same moment, as water exits the cells, a large amount of glucose enters the cells as well. The concentration of dissolved solute in the cell increases significantly when water is removed and glucose is added. Natural antifreeze: The glucose functions as an antifreeze since any solute lowers the water's freezing point. Frogs, for example, can hibernate at temperatures below freezing because their cells contain large amounts of solutes. There is no frozen water in the cells despite what is happening around them. The cell membrane would burst if the water inside it became frozen, killing the cell.

Keeping Yourself Cozy

From Pixabay
You wear extra clothing when it's cold outside. Instead of keeping the cold out, your winter coat traps the heat. There is no such thing as cold—just it's a lack of heat. Insulation is essential for both birds and mammals to keep their bodies warm. Using air as an insulator is the most effective way to insulate. The coiled strands of wool help to trap air, which keeps you (and sheep) toasty warm. When birds desire to keep warm, they fluff up their feathers. Fluffing admits air.

Because fat can not transmit heat as easily as muscle and skin, blubber serves as an effective insulation layer for mammals without hair. Some whales have blubber as thick as two feet! Other warm-blooded marine species such as whales, tuna, dolphins, and porpoises also use a clever way to save heat. Aquatic animals use a "countercurrent heat-exchange method," in which the arteries carrying warm blood away from the heart are placed directly against the veins carrying cool blood back to the heart, to prevent excessive heat loss from extremities such as fins and flippers, which are not well insulated. In this way, the heart's warmer outgoing blood heats the heart's incoming blood as it flows into and out of the organ.

Cold-blooded creatures, such as lizards, frogs, and snakes, do not require insulation since it would merely slow down the rate at which heat is transferred into their bodies.

Maintaining a Cool Head

As soon as your body temperature rises, what do you instinctively do? You begin to feel nauseous. 3 million sweat glands are found in the typical human body. Sweating does not keep you cool; rather, it is the evaporation of that perspiration that does so. As an endothermic phase shift, evaporation needs energy absorption in order to proceed. You will feel colder as a result of this.

Your body will feel chilled if you are low on energy. When water transforms from a liquid to a gas, the intermolecular interactions that hold the molecules together must be destroyed. This needs energy during evaporation. Close proximity to one another and mutual attraction between molecules are the characteristics of liquid water. When water changes from a liquid to a gas, the intermolecular forces of attraction between the molecules must be overcome. This needs energy throughout the evaporation process. Your body is the source of the energy required to combat these alluring forces.

Is it possible for animals to perspire? Most of them don't, but a few do. When it comes to sweating, dogs' paw pads do most of the work. American hairless terrier is an exception in that they have sweat glands all over their bodies. This shows how hair might restrict sweating because it can't assist cool the body down.

In addition to the pads of their paws, cats also have sweat glands in their mouths! Liking one's fur can be an effective way for a cat to regulate body temperature when the saliva on its hair evaporates. For the same reason, kangaroos will lick their forearms.

Survival in hot areas requires not only keeping your body cool but also preventing the loss of water. Because water is scarce in the desert, animals that have evolved to desert life are not heavy sweaters. In addition, desert animals exhale dry air, reabsorbing water in their breath before it has a chance to be exhaled, reducing the amount of water they lose through respiration.

It's amazing how well animals can survive in such harsh conditions. Animals can always find a way to live, no matter where they are in the world, and how they do so never fails to awe us!

Refrrences

1. Rohrig Brian. Chilling Out, Warming Up: How Animals Survive Temperature Extremes - American Chemical Society. American Chemical Society. Published October 23, 2013. Accessed June 1, 2022. https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/past-issues/archive-2013-2014/animal-survival-in-extreme-temperatures.html#:~:text=Warm%2Dblooded%20animals%2C%20which%20are,maintain%20the%20same%20internal%20temperature

2. Don Vaughan. 8 Animals That Live in Extreme Environments | Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed June 1, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/story/8-animals-that-live-in-extreme-environments

3. James Venner. Too hot? Too cold? How animals survive in extreme temperatures. Zoo Portraits. Published June 22, 2018. Accessed June 1, 2022. https://www.zooportraits.com/hot-cold-animals-survive-extreme-temperatures/

4. How animals survive extreme cold conditions. How animals survive extreme cold conditions. Accessed June 1, 2022. https://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/science/cold_all_animals.php

5. Eric Mohrman. Animal Adaptations to Hot Climates | Pets on Mom.com. Pets on Mom.com. Accessed May 29, 2022. https://animals.mom.com/animal-adaptations-hot-climates-7805.html

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