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Name: Mike
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Question:
How do cold blooded animals maintain a reasonable degree of homostasis?


Replies:
cold blooded animals get their body heat from their surroundings. Because of this their metabolic processes are very dependent on the temperature of their surroundings. In the cold, they move very slowly and metabolic processes take place slowly. When it is warmer they can move more quickly etc. This may seem primitive, but they don't have to spend so much of their energy bank on keeping a constant temperature. Much of the food we eat is burned to maintain our body heat. There are tradeoffs in both lifestyles.

Van Hoeck


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