Homeostasis

What’s it all about?

 Definition
• Defined by Claude Bernard (French physiologist)
• It is the ability to maintain a constant internal
environment despite a continually changing external
environment.
• “Steady state” – dynamic response; not designed to pre-
empt change but to cope or adapt to it
• Examples:
• temperature 37◦ C
• blood pH 7.4
• blood pressure 120/80
• heart beats 72-80/min
 Control Mechanism
• 3 components:
• Receptor – detects changes in the environment;
senses

• Control center (integrator) – processes information

to direct an appropriate response (2 systems)

• Effector – delivers response (motor); muscle and

glands
A homeostatic control system has three functional components

A receptor, a control center, and an effector

Response
No heat
produced

Heater
Room turned
temperature off
decreases
Too Set
hot point
Set point

Too Set
Control center: cold point
thermostat

Room
temperature Heater
increases turned
on
Response
Heat
produced
 Feedback Control
• 2 types : negative versus positive

• Negative – triggers response that

counteracts initial change (opposition);
fever and the cooling center

• Positive – triggers response that amplifies

the original change; labor response
 Thermoregulation
• Keep body temperature in a range to support life and
metabolic activities; is the process by which animals
maintain an internal temperature within a tolerable range

• What is metabolism? (reactions that involve changes in

energy)

• Role of heat - ^ rate of reaction in physical systems

• Biological systems have heat limitations imposed via the

fragility of the molecules (protein denaturation)
 Temperature limitations
• Species are adapted to a temperature
range which is optimum to support their
life processes.
• Generic range – between 0 and 50◦
• Extremes:
• Freezing – preserves chemistry; slows down rate
of metabolic activity
• Heating – increases rate of metabolism within life
range (ectotherms)
 Methods of Heat Transfer
• Conduction – direct transfer of heat
between environment and body surface;
metal cage, hot rock, cold pool

• Diffusion of heat from high to low

temperature

• Water is the better conductor and insulator

 Methods of Heat Transfer
Radiation is the emission of electromagnetic
waves by all objects warmer than absolute
zero. Radiation can transfer heat between
objects that are not in direct contact, as when
a lizard absorbs heat radiating from the sun.
Convection is the transfer of heat by the
movement of air or liquid past a surface,
as when a breeze contributes to heat loss
from a lizard’s dry skin, or blood moves
heat from the body core to the extremities.
Evaporation is the removal of heat from the surface of a
liquid that is losing some of its molecules as gas.
Evaporation of water from a lizard’s moist surfaces that
are exposed to the environment has a strong cooling effect.
Conduction is the direct transfer of thermal motion (heat)
between molecules of objects in direct contact with each
other, as when a lizard sits on a hot rock.
 Convection
• Movement of heat by current of air or
water over surface of the body

• Examples: fan, wing flapping, wind chill

factor
 Radiation
• Emission of electromagnetic waves (heat)
produced by all objects warmer than
absolute zero (not require contact)

• Example: polar bear fur (fiber optic); clear

fur directs heat to darker skin below
 Evaporation
• Loss of heat via evaporation of liquid such
as water to a gas (540 cal/gm)

• Examples: tepid bath, perspiration,

panting, saliva spreading

• ***saturation limits
 Organism Classification
• Definition based upon source of heat
absorption (body metabolism versus
external environment)
• Forms:
• Ectotherms – obtain heat from external
surroundings

• Endotherms – obtain heat as a by-product of living

metabolism (60% as by-product of respiration)
 Classification
• Ectotherms
– Include most invertebrates, fishes,
amphibians, and non-bird reptiles

• Endotherms
– Include birds and mammals

***warm versus cold blood (misnomer)

 Ectotherms
• Amphibians and reptiles other than birds
are ectothermic, meaning that

– They gain their heat mostly from external

sources
– They have lower metabolic rates

• ***What about plants?

 Characteristics of Ectotherms
• Majority do not have an advanced mechanism
for thermoregulation
• TB ∞ TA (ambient versus body temperature)

• Demonstrates van Hoff’s Principle – metabolic

activity doubles for every 10◦ C increase in TA

• Metabolism is directly related to temperature

• ****linear graph
 Endotherms
• Birds and mammals are mainly
endothermic, meaning that

– Their bodies are warmed mostly by heat

generated by metabolism
– They typically have higher metabolic rates
than ectotherms
 Characteristics of Endotherms
• Maintains internal body temperature
independent of ambient temperature

• Body temperatures typically higher than

habitat; efficient at heat conservation
• Mammals – 36-39◦ C (96.8-102.2◦F)
• Birds – 40-43◦C (104-109.4◦F)
 Metabolic Effects
• Ectotherms – metabolic rate varies with
ambient temperature (life range)

• Endotherms – metabolic rate remains

fairly high and consistent despite ambient
changes
Ectotherms v.Endotherms
40
River otter (endotherm)

30
Body temperature (°C)

20

Largemouth bass (ectotherm)

10

0 10 20 30 40
Ambient (environmental) temperature (°C)
 Advantages of Endothermy
Endothermy is more energetically expensive than
ectothermy (food requirement)

– effectively buffers animals’ internal temperatures

against external fluctuations
– enables the animals to maintain a high level of
aerobic metabolism
– able to live in a wide variety of habitats
– metabolism independent of seasonal changes**
– metabolism independent of day/night changes**
 An animal’s metabolic rate is the amount of energy an animal uses in
per unit of time

This rate can be measured in a variety of ways:

(a) This photograph shows a ghost crab in a

respirometer. Temperature is held constant in the
chamber, with air of known O2 concentration flow-
ing through. The crab’s metabolic rate is calculated (b) Similarly, the metabolic rate of a man
from the difference between the amount of O2 fitted with a breathing apparatus is
entering and the amount of O2 leaving the being monitored while he works out
respirometer. This crab is on a treadmill, running on a stationary bike.
at a constant speed as measurements are made.
 Factors that effect metabolic rate
Body size/mass (metabolic rate per gram)

– Is inversely related to body size among similar

animals

– Example tree shrew versus elephant

(surface/volume ratio)
 Thermoregulation Methods
• Thermoregulation involves physiological
and behavioral adjustments that balance
heat gain and loss
• Four basic methods:
• Structural
• Physiological – circulatory paths; thermogenesis
• Behavioral phenomena
• Evaporative cooling
 Structural Methods
• Insulation, which is a major
thermoregulatory adaptation in mammals
and birds
– Reduces the flow of heat between an animal
and its environment
– May include feathers, fur, blubber,scales,skin
– Oils and waxes may serve to insulate
 Human Skin Anatomy

Epidermis

Dermis

Hypodermis
 Physiological Methods
• Many endotherms and some ectotherms
– Can alter the amount of blood flowing between the
body core and the skin
• In vasodilation
– Blood flow in the skin increases, facilitating heat loss
• In vasoconstriction
– Blood flow in the skin decreases, lowering heat loss

• ***regional vasoconstriction/dilation
 Many marine mammals and birds
Have arrangements of blood vessels called countercurrent
heat exchangers that are important for reducing heat loss
1 Arteries carrying warm blood down the
legs of a goose or the flippers of a dolphin
are in close contact with veins conveying Pacific
cool blood in the opposite direction, back bottlenose
Canada toward the trunk of the body. This dolphin
goose arrangement facilitates heat transfer
from arteries to veins (black
arrows) along the entire length
of the blood vessels.

2 Near the end of the leg or flipper, where Blood flow

1
arterial blood has been cooled to far below
Artery Vein the animal’s core temperature, the artery Vein
can still transfer heat to the even colder Artery
blood of an adjacent vein. The venous blood 3
35°C 33° 3
continues to absorb heat as it passes warmer
and warmer arterial blood traveling in the
30º 27º opposite direction.

20º 18º 2

10º 9º 3 As the venous blood approaches the

center of the body, it is almost as warm
as the body core, minimizing the heat lost In the flippers of a dolphin, each artery is
2 as a result of supplying blood to body parts surrounded by several veins in a
immersed in cold water. countercurrent arrangement, allowing
efficient heat exchange between arterial
and venous blood.
 Countercurrent Heat Exchange
Bluefin tuna. Unlike most fishes, the bluefin tuna maintains
temperatures in its main swimming muscles that are much higher
than the surrounding water (colors indicate swimming muscles cut
21º
in transverse section). These temperatures were recorded for a tuna 25º 23º
27º
in 19°C water.
29º
31º

Body cavity

b) Great white shark. Like the bluefin tuna, the great white shark
has a countercurrent heat exchanger in its swimming muscles that Skin
reduces the loss of metabolic heat. All bony fishes and sharks lose Artery
heat to the surrounding water when their blood passes through the Vein
gills. However, endothermic sharks have a small dorsal aorta,
and as a result, relatively little cold blood from the gills goes directly
to the core of the body. Instead, most of the blood leaving the gills
is conveyed via large arteries just under the skin, keeping cool blood Blood
away from the body core. As shown in the enlargement, small vessels Capillary
arteries carrying cool blood inward from the large arteries under the in gills network within
skin are paralleled by small veins carrying warm blood outward from Heart muscle
the inner body. This countercurrent flow retains heat in the muscles.
Artery and
vein under Dorsal aorta
the skin
Some endothermic insects have countercurrent
heat exchangers that help maintain a high
temperature in the thorax
 Thermogenesis
• Heat production can occur via 2 methods:

• Shivering thermogenesis – piloerection; wing

flapping

• Non-shivering thermogenesis – hormonal; white

versus brown fat metabolism
 Many species of flying insects
Use shivering to warm up before taking flight

PREFLIGHT PREFLIGHT FLIGHT

WARMUP
40
Thorax
Temperature (°C)

35

30
Abdomen

25

0 2 4
Time from onset of warmup (min)
 Behavioral Methods
• Huddling
• Burrowing
• Migration (land/water)
• Hibernation (food versus temperature)
• Nocturnal life style (predatory)
• Surface area (sprawl)
• Basking
 Evaporative Cooling Methods
Heat of vaporization
• Perspiration
• Transpiration
• Panting
• Saliva spreading
• Bathing
• Urination
 Evaporative Cooling
Bathing moistens the skin (heat of vaporization)
 Long term temperature control
• In a process known as acclimatization
– Many animals can adjust to a new range of
environmental temperatures over a period of
days or weeks
• Acclimatization may involve cellular
adjustments (molecular optimums)
– Or in the case of birds and mammals,
adjustments of insulation and metabolic heat
production (fat bodies; degree of saturation –
cell membranes)
 Torpor

– Is an adaptation that enables animals to save

energy while avoiding difficult and dangerous
conditions
– Is a physiological state in which activity is low
and metabolism decreases (decrease in heart
and respiratory rate, decrease in body
temperature) ***conserves food and energy
 Torpor (decreased metabolic state)
• Estivation, or summer torpor
– Enables animals to survive long periods of
high temperatures and scarce water supplies
• Daily torpor
– Is exhibited by many small mammals and
birds and seems to be adapted to their
feeding patterns (bats, shrews,
hummingbirds)
 Hibernation is a form of long-term torpor

That is an adaptation to winter cold and food scarcity during which the
animal’s body temperature declines

Additional metabolism that would be

necessary to stay active in winter

Actual
metabolism
 Anatomy of Heat Control
• In humans, a specific part of the brain, the
hypothalamus

– Contains a group of nerve cells that function

as a thermostat
– Contains heating and cooling centers
Hypothalmic Regulation
Thermostat in Sweat glands secrete
hypothalamus sweat that evaporates,
activates cooling cooling the body.
mechanisms.

Blood vessels
in skin dilate:
capillaries fill
with warm blood;
Increased body Body temperature
heat radiates from
temperature (such decreases;
skin surface.
as when exercising thermostat
or in hot shuts off cooling
surroundings) mechanisms.
Homeostasis:
Internal body temperature
of approximately 36–38°C
Body temperature Decreased body
increases; temperature
thermostat (such as when
shuts off warming in cold
mechanisms. Blood vesselssurroundings)
in skin
constrict, diverting blood
from skin to deeper tissues
and reducing heat loss
from skin surface.

Thermostat in
hypothalamus
Skeletal muscles rapidly activates
contract, causing shivering, warming
which generates heat. mechanisms.