2.2 How animals interact with the environment is affected by their body size Willmer et al. (2000) classify desert animals in terms of the range of body sizes and the rate of evaporation (Figure 8). Acknowledgements The content acknowledged below is Proprietary (see terms and conditions) and is used under licence. Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit: Figure 2 Michael and Diane Porter, American Goldfinch, Ideaform Inc.; Figure 3 Tom and Cathy Saxton, Hummingbird, Saxton.org.; Fig References 6.2 The hypothalamus as central regulator Research in the past 30–40 years has established that the hypothalamus, which lies below the thalamus and above the optic nerve chiasma and the pituitary gland in the brain, fulfils all of the functions listed above, at least in part. The main function of the hypothalamus is homeostasis. Factors such as blood pressure, body temperature, fluid and electrolyte balance, and body weight are held to constant values called the set-points. Although set-points can vary over time, from day to 3.5 Arousal (continued)
What alternatives to shivering might act as a source of heat? BMR is maintained mainly by a number of tissues with high metabolic activity. One of Learning outcomes By the end of this unit you should be able to: define and use, or recognize definitions and applications of, each of the bold terms; give definitions of the terms ‘hibernation’, ‘torpor’ and ‘adaptive hypothermia’, and the three physiological processes that underlie them; give examples of the diversity of the major groups of mammals and birds that contain hibernating species; describe the physiological changes occur 4.1 Insulation in terrestrial endotherms For organisms of similar size and shape in a similar thermal gradient, the rate of heat loss from convection is up to 90 times as fast in water as in air, so in temperate climates, aquatic endotherms need much more efficient insulation than terrestrial species. Since seawater freezes at −1.9° C, but the temperature of the air around the Poles can fall below −50° C, the insulation requirements of aquatic and terrestrial polar animals are not very different. Nonetheless, there are impor 3.3.1 Dormancy in black and brown bears The dormant state of bears differs from true hibernation in that the body temperature does not fall below 31–35° C and a major disturbance (such as an intruding biologist) can arouse them to full activity in a few minutes. Dormant bears do not eat, drink, urinate or defaecate, the heart rate drops from 50–60 beats min−1 to 8–12 beats min−1, and oxygen consumption is only 32% of that of actively foraging bears. Nonetheless, the rate of protein turnover, as mea 4.5.4 Phosphorus Phosphorus is recognised as a potential poison for automotive catalysts. The phosphorus level in fuel is generally very low (2×10−5 g l−1), but it is present in higher concentrations in engine oils (1.2 g l−1). Phosphorus derived from the engine oil is believed to react with the alumina support, and also to reduce the activity of the noble metal component. This deactivation is particularly important for Pd, with which phosphorus may form an all 4.5.3 The effect of poisons The use of catalytic converters was one of the major contributors to the phasing-in of unleaded petrol. Lead in petrol is a severe poison for the catalyst, and there have been many stories, particularly in the early days of the converter, of people disabling the catalyst by misfuelling. Figure 25 shows how the activity 4.3.4 Removal of NO Laboratory experiments have shown that, under the conditions in the catalytic converter, the decomposition of NO to O2 and N2 over noble metal catalysts is too slow to be significant. When the A/F ratio is stoichiometric (or below stoichiometry), NO can be removed by reduction with CO and/or hydrocarbons. For simplicity we shall consider only reduction with CO, as with the oxidation reaction, the situation with hydrocarbons is considerably more complicated. In prin 4.4.1 Introduction Since its development, the three-way catalyst has been exposed to the full spectrum of techniques available for the characterisation of catalytic materials. The data provided can be correlated with the results of activity tests and kinetic measurements, which provide information on the performance of the catalyst. This reveals that although the catalyst functions as a composite material, it can be divided into distinct groups of catalytic centres that provide several different types of site, 4.3 Exhaust emission characteristics Before we consider how the three-way catalyst functions in any detail, it is important to understand how the emissions of CO, HC and NOx, from the engine depend on the ratio of air (A) to fuel (F) – the air/fuel ratio (or A/F ratio). The significance of this will become clear when we see that the ratio at which the three-way catalytic converter operates is crucial for its success. 4.1 Exhaust pollutants The most important chemical reaction in a petrol engine – that is, the one that provides the energy to drive the vehicle – is the combustion of fuel in air. In an ‘ideal’ system, combustion would be complete so that the only exhaust products would be carbon dioxide and steam. In practice, the complete oxidation of the fuel depends on a number of factors: first, there must be sufficient oxygen present; second, there must be adequate mixing of the petrol and air; and finally, there must Introduction Ensuring good quality air is essential for the protection of public health. Governments worldwide have adopted a range of increasingly demanding measures to curb air pollution with a particular focus on the emissions from motor vehicles. An important part of this strategy has been the development of the three-way catalytic converter to remove exhaust pollutants such as carbon monoxide, unburnt hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides. This unit takes an in-depth look at the construction of this conve 9.1 The psychological arena The examples in the previous section followed the traditional medical approach, namely that there is a disease, it can be diagnosed (identified), and the cause of the disease, be it viruses, bacteria, pathogens, genes or poisons, can be sought. This section moves away from the medical arena and into the psychological arena, where the symptoms are behavioural. In this case, the symptoms are socially unacceptable behaviour and to the list of causes just mentioned is added family circumstances a 7.8 Summary of Section 7 This section has sought to illustrate the formation of connections between neurons and their targets by exploring a few examples. The picture that emerges is one of cells at different stages of development subjected to a vast array of signals. These signals are the medium through which environmental factors exert their effects. To some of these signals, some cells respond; to other signals, other cells respond. What a cell, a neuroblast, a growth cone actually does is dependent on the combina 6.5 Summary of Section 6 Growth cones respond to proximal and distal cues. The proximal cues in the extracellular matrix or other cells affect adhesion and result in chemotactic guidance. Distal cues are also in the extracellular matrix but they diffuse through it and result in the growth cone either moving towards the source (attractants) or away from it (repellants). These distal cues are chemotropic cues and can have different effects on different growth cones; what may be an attractant to one growth cone may be r 4.4 Summary of Section 4 Two important points emerge from this section. The first is the powerful effect of maternal contact on the development and later behaviour of their charges. In the Feldman study the disadvantages of prematurity were essentially overcome by early maternal contact. The second point is that some behavioural traits really do run in families, without being genetic. The Francis study clearly showed that some aspects of Open Field behaviour were the result of nursing care. Learning outcomes After studying this unit you should be able to: recognise definitions and applications of each of the terms printed in bold in the text; critically evaluate statements about the influence of the genome on behaviour; explain the ways in which genetic and environmental factors influence the development of the nervous system; provide examples of the influence of genetic and environmental factors on the development of the nervous s
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Question 9
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