Textbook - Chapter 7: Animal Adaptations Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Textbook - Chapter 7: Animal Adaptations Deck (36)
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1
Q

Biological clock

A

The internal mechanism of an organism that controls circadian rhythms iwhtout external time cues

2
Q

Critical temperature

A

Range of ambient temperature outside the thermoneutral zone in which metabolic rate increases with changes in temperature

3
Q

Critical day length

A

The period of daylight, specific for any given species that triggers a long-day or a short-day response in organisms

4
Q

Countercurrent heat exchange

A

An anatomical and physiological arrangement by which heat exchanges takes place between outgoing warm arterial blood and cool venous blood returning to the body core; important in maintaining temperature homeostasis in many vertebrates

5
Q

Carnivore

A

Organism that feeds on animal tissue; taxonomically, a member of the order Carnivora (Mammalia)

6
Q

Circadian rhythm

A

Endogenous rhythm of physiological or behaioral activity of approximately 24 hours duration

7
Q

Convection

A

Transfer of ehat by the circulation of a liquid or gas

8
Q

Conductivity

A

Ability to exchange heat with the surrounding environment

9
Q

Diapause

A

A period of dormancy, usually seasonal, in the life cycle of an insect, in which growth and development cease and metabolism greatly decreases

10
Q

Day neutral plant

A

A plant that does not require any particular photoperiod to flower

11
Q

Detrivore

A

Organism that feeds on dead organic matter; usually applies to detrius-feding organisms other tahn bacteria and fungi

12
Q

Endothermy

A

Regulation of body temperature by internal heat production; allows maintenance of appreciable difference between body temperature and external temperature

13
Q

Ectothermy

A

Determination of body temperature primarily by external thermal conditions

14
Q

Fermentation

A

Breakdown of carbohydrates and other organic matter under anaerobic conditions

15
Q

Hypoosmotic

A

Having a lower concentration of salts in the body tissue than does the surrounding water

16
Q

Hyperosmotic

A

Having a higher concentration of salts in the body tissue than does the surrounding water

17
Q

Homeothermy

A

Regulation of body temperature by physiological means

18
Q

Homeotherm

A

Animal with a fairly constant body temperature; also spelled homoiotherm and homotherm

19
Q

Homeostatic plateau

A

Limited range of maximum and minimum values of physiological tolerances within which an organism operates

20
Q

Homeostasis

A

Maintenance of a nearly constant internal environment in the midst of a varying external environment; more generally, the tendency of a biological system to maintain itself in a state of stable equilibrium

21
Q

Hibernation

A

Winter dormancy in animals, characterized by a great decrease in metabolism

22
Q

Heterotherm

A

An organism that during part of its life history becomes either endothermic or ectothermic; hibernating endotherms become ectothermic; and foraging insects such as bees become endothermic during periods of activity; they are characterized by rapid, drastic, repeated changes in body temperature

23
Q

Herbivore

A

Organism that feeds on plant tissue

24
Q

Isosmotic

A

A characteristic describing an organism with body fluids that have the same osmotic pressure as seawater

25
Q

Long-day organism

A

Plant or animal that requires long days, days with more than a certain minimum of daylight to flower or come into reproductive condition

26
Q

Omnivore

A

An animal (heterotroph) that feeds on both plant and animal matter

27
Q

Operative temperature range

A

Range of body temperatures at which poikilotherms carry out daily activity

28
Q

Poikilotherm

A

An organism whose body temperature varies according to the temperature of its surrounding

29
Q

Poikilothermy

A

Variation of body temperature with external conditions

30
Q

Rete

A

A large network or discrete vascular bundle of intermingling small blood vessels carrying arterial and venous blood that acts as a heat exchanger in mammals and certain fish and sharks

31
Q

Scaling

A

The process by which most morphological and physiological features change as a function of body size in a predictable way

32
Q

Short-day organisms

A

Plants and animals that come into reproductive codition under conditions of short days, days with less than a certain maximum length

33
Q

Supercooling

A

In ectotherms, lowering body temperature below freezing without freezing body tissue, by means of solutes

34
Q

Torpor

A

Temporary great reduction in an animal’s respiration, with loss of moton and feeling; reduces energy expenditure in response to some unfavorable environmental condition, such as heat or cold

35
Q

Thermoneutral Zone

A

Range of environmental temperatures within which the metabolic rates are minimal

36
Q

Thermal conductivity

A

Ability to conduct or transmit heat