Which vertebrates are ectothermic

In this regard, endothermic vertebrates are endowed with effective insulation, hairs and feathers, to prevent heat loss. Ectothermic vertebrates, on the other hand, clearly lack such features. However, heat loss to the environment can be decreased by the possession of larger body sizes that increase thermal inertia. This strategy is illustrated by leatherback turtles, Dermochelys coriacea , whose gigantic body size associated with relatively high rates of muscle metabolism allows for the maintenance of body temperature much warmer than the cold waters used for foraging.

National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Journal List Temperature Austin v. Temperature Austin. Published online Dec Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Catharines, ON, Canada. Received Oct 28; Accepted Oct The dissolved glucose lowers the freezing point of water, as antifreeze does in a car's radiator, preventing the formation of ice crystals and any consequent movement of water out of living cells.

Whereas the wood frog uses glucose as an antifreeze, the Asian salamander and the grey treefrog Hyla versicolor use glycerol, suggesting that this adaptation may have evolved independently in a number of amphibian species. Freeze tolerance allows these amphibians to survive freezing conditions for one or two weeks.

It is not their only adaptation for surviving the winter; in the wood frog, for example, breathing ceases and the heart stops beating at very low temperatures. Some ectothermic vertebrates rely on supercooling to survive short periods of cold temperature see Section 1.

For example, the spring lizard Sceloporus jarrovi , living in the Arizona desert, survives very cold nights by supercooling. This strategy is risky, however, and many lizards die as a result of becoming frozen.

Allowing its tissues to supercool is not a viable option for a frog or salamander; living in damp places, they are virtually certain to be in contact with ice crystals which act as nucleation points.

As well as enabling them to survive frosty conditions, the capacity to tolerate extreme cold confers other advantages on some amphibians.

Many breed in temporary ponds that dry up early in the spring or summer, making it advantageous for breeding adults to migrate to ponds as early as possible in the spring. Early breeding maximises the time available for the aquatic egg and larval stages to be completed before a pond dries up. Some species, such as the American blue-spotted salamander Ambystoma laterale migrate to breeding ponds while snow is still on the ground, giving them an advantage over other salamander species that do not start to breed until the weather is warm.

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