Environmental and Organismal Properties of Heat Transfer and Absorption

 

Investigative Lab Regional heterothermy is maintained by countercurrent heat exchangers in the limbs of House Sparrows (Passer domesticus). Do House Sparrows exhibit regional heterothermy through the use of countercurrent or non countercurrent heat exchange mechanisms?

Research Project  The effects of surface temperature on heat exchange, energy expenditure and metabolic rate of passerine birds (Passer domesticus).   How does variability in thermal microclimates affect the rate of heat exchange and energy expenditure of free-living animals?

The goals of our research investigations were: 1)  to understand the physical principles involved in heat transfer and absorption; 2)  to understand how these physical factors impact energy expenditures of living organisms, and 3)  to increase our understanding of how and why animals adjust to changes in their physical environments, based primarily on temperature changes.  

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