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#ectotherms

2 public questions tagged with this topic.

Adaptation

Which is a characteristic of poikilotherms?

Poikilotherms experience substantial fluctuations in body temperature, often because their heat exchange is strongly coupled to ambient conditions. Most are ectothermic and obtain heat from sunlight, warm surfaces, air, or water rather than sustaining high internal heat production. Their metabolic, locomotor, digestive, and developmental rates consequently change with temperature. Many compensate behaviourally by basking, entering shade, burrowing, or shifting activity time, so a fluctuating temperature does not imply absence of all regulation. Energy efficiency can also characterize ectotherm

Ref: Evolutionary Analysis, Herron & Freeman, 5th Ed., Ch. 10

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Ecosystem Ecology

Ectotherms vs endotherms: efficiency pairing:

“Endo high DE, Ecto high EE” for ectotherms vs endotherms: efficiency pairing. This relationship follows from the ecological mechanism represented by the terms in the item, not merely from an association between their names. Rates depend on temperature, moisture, substrate quality, consumer physiology, and the elemental balance between organisms and their food. These controls explain why the same process can differ among terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems without changing its definition. The remaining alternatives—“Endo low DE, Ecto high EE”, “Endo high DE, Ecto low EE”, “Endo low DE,

Ref: Ecology: From Individuals to Ecosystems, Begon et al., 5th Ed., Ch. 17-19

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