What are Endotherms and how do they regulate temperature?
Endotherms are animals that generate their own body heat and are able to maintain internal temperatures that are often stable within a few degrees (between 370C – 380C in mammals and about 400C for birds). This is achieved through elevated basal metabolism in conjunction with heat-conserving and heat dissipating mechanisms. At stable, moderate temperatures regulation is maintained by enough metabolic activity to exactly balance the heat that is lost to the environment. The range of temperatures in which an endotherm can maintain the basal rate of heat production is called the thermal neutral zone. As the temperature drops below the endotherms lower critical temperature (LCT), the basal metabolic rate is no longer sufficient to balance heat loss to the environment. The endotherm must increase heat production by means of thermogenesis, which is the production of heat through either shivering or non-shivering methods. Heat production will increase linearly as temperatures continue to decr
