Endotherms generate heat internally while ectotherms rely on external heat sources.
Ectotherms use behaviour (basking), endotherms use metabolic heat, insulation, sweating, panting, vasodilation and countercurrent heat exchange. Endothermy costs high energy but allows activity in cold.
Behavioural thermoregulation is common in ectotherms. Heterotherms vary temperature. Insulation and countercurrent exchange reduce heat loss.
Example: lizards bask to warm up.
Endotherms generate heat internally while ectotherms rely on external heat sources.
Thermoregulation in Animals is one of the 53 topics in Zoology & Animal Diversity. It is rated Intermediate, so it suits learners who already know the core vocabulary. Related topics in this area include Hibernation and Torpor, Parental Care Evolution, Animal Respiration.
Penguin legs use countercurrent exchange to reduce heat loss.
Work through the Beginner topics in Zoology & Animal Diversity first, such as Animal Kingdom, Vertebrates and Invertebrates, Sponges, then return to Thermoregulation in Animals. Intermediate topics assume the Beginner vocabulary.
The closest topics to Thermoregulation in Animals are Hibernation and Torpor, Parental Care Evolution, Animal Respiration, Parasitism in Animals. Comparing them side by side is a good way to see how the ideas connect.
Read the summary and the in-depth section, then use the quick check on the interactive lesson for Thermoregulation in Animals. To practise the whole of Zoology & Animal Diversity, use the Zoology & Animal Diversity quiz.
Thermoregulation in Animals: Endotherms generate heat internally while ectotherms rely on external heat sources. Hibernation and Torpor: Reduced metabolism and body temperature allow animals to survive scarce winter food. Read both side by side and note what each one explains.
First, read the summary and write the definition in your own words. Second, read the in-depth section and note any example. Third, compare it with Hibernation and Torpor and explain the difference aloud. Finally, take the Zoology & Animal Diversity quiz and come back to this page for any question you miss.
Reduced metabolism and body temperature allow animals to survive scarce winter food.
🦁 Zoology & Animal DiversityCare by one or both parents evolves when benefits to offspring outweigh costs to parents.
🦁 Zoology & Animal DiversityGills, tracheae, book lungs and lungs exchange gases in aquatic and terrestrial animals.
🦁 Zoology & Animal DiversityParasites such as ticks and tapeworms live on or in hosts, harming them.
🦁 Zoology & Animal Diversity