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Name: Khan
Status: student
Age: other
Location: KS
Country: N/A
Date: 7/8/2005
Question:
How do fish and other aquatic animals survive in the extremely cold water in rivers, lakes and seas?

Replies:
Fish are poikilothermic, or what most people call "cold blooded". This doesn't mean that their blood is cold necessarily, but that they don't "spend their energy" keeping their bodies warm. Instead, they take on the temperature of their environment. When body temperature goes down, metabolism slows down as well, so energy is conserved. Water doesn't get colder than 0 degrees C, so as long as its not frozen, fish slow their metabolism down so much that they can survive for long periods of time without eating.

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