Chapter 29, Problem 13STP

Summary Introduction

To write:

The way by which reptiles regulate their body temperature.

Introduction:

Reptiles are fully adapted to life on land and were the first completely terrestrial vertebrates. Characteristics that enable reptiles to survive on land include scaly skin, shelled eggs, and more effective respiratory and circulatory systems.

Explanation of Solution

Reptiles are ectotherms that cannot contain their own body heat. They handle their body temperatures. For example, the tortoises are basking in the sun at the top of the rocks. This raises the temperature of the body. Body temperature may be lowered by going to a cool burrow or shade. Some reptiles in temperate regions survive the winter by burrowing or inactivity state with reduced body metabolism and reduced body temperature. Others, including snakes, gather in hundreds of masses during the winter. Heat loss is minimized as the snakes cover each other.

Conclusion

Thus, reptiles can maintain the temperature of their body behaviorally as they cannot generate their own body heat.