Jordan Bean
Section 18
Comparative Effects of Cooled Environmental Temperatures on Metabolic Rate of Endotherms and Ectotherms
Abstract
The purpose of the experiment was to compare the metabolic rate of endothermic vetertebrates, using Mus musculus (laboratory mice), and ectothermic vertebrates, using Rana pipiens (leopard frogs), at room temperature (on average, 22.3 degrees Celsius), and at cooled body temperature (ten degrees lower than the room temperature recorded for each sample). We used a Qubits system, a system that measures CO2 exchange in parts per million, to test how much CO2 was consumed by our samples over varying body temperatures. We used similar materials and methods to record the CO2 concentration changes in both organisms, and in turn their metabolic rate, at room temperature as well as at the predetermined cooled …show more content…
We predicted that as the body temperature of the ectotherms decreased, so would their metabolic rate. As for endotherms, we predicted that as their body temperature decreased, their metabolic rate would increase. Endotherms depend on the heat produced from their metabolic processes to help maintain their stable body temperatures. Though this method requires a significant amount of energy, it allows for endotherms to maintain their body temperatures when in a cold environment. Overall, it can be seen through this information, as well as the results provided in this experiment, that maintaining a warm body is much more costly on an organism’s energy supply than a cold body (Clarke & Fraser 2004). Ectotherms cannot use the heat from their metabolic processes, and therefore must depend on an outside heat resource to maintain their temperature. So even though they refrain from exerting a great amount of energy to these processes, they cannot maintain a stable body temperature on their own when in a cold
Section 18
Comparative Effects of Cooled Environmental Temperatures on Metabolic Rate of Endotherms and Ectotherms
Abstract
The purpose of the experiment was to compare the metabolic rate of endothermic vetertebrates, using Mus musculus (laboratory mice), and ectothermic vertebrates, using Rana pipiens (leopard frogs), at room temperature (on average, 22.3 degrees Celsius), and at cooled body temperature (ten degrees lower than the room temperature recorded for each sample). We used a Qubits system, a system that measures CO2 exchange in parts per million, to test how much CO2 was consumed by our samples over varying body temperatures. We used similar materials and methods to record the CO2 concentration changes in both organisms, and in turn their metabolic rate, at room temperature as well as at the predetermined cooled …show more content…
We predicted that as the body temperature of the ectotherms decreased, so would their metabolic rate. As for endotherms, we predicted that as their body temperature decreased, their metabolic rate would increase. Endotherms depend on the heat produced from their metabolic processes to help maintain their stable body temperatures. Though this method requires a significant amount of energy, it allows for endotherms to maintain their body temperatures when in a cold environment. Overall, it can be seen through this information, as well as the results provided in this experiment, that maintaining a warm body is much more costly on an organism’s energy supply than a cold body (Clarke & Fraser 2004). Ectotherms cannot use the heat from their metabolic processes, and therefore must depend on an outside heat resource to maintain their temperature. So even though they refrain from exerting a great amount of energy to these processes, they cannot maintain a stable body temperature on their own when in a cold