THERMOREGULATION IN CAMELS
Scientific classification:
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Artriodactyla
Family Camelidae
Genus Camelini
Introduction:
Camels are the large animals that live in the deserts of North Africa, Middle East and Asia. There are two types of camels, the dromedary camel lives in North Africa and the Bactrian camels live in central Asia. [1] In excessive hot temperature of desert, camels can maintain their body temperature; during day time, temperature is hot and at night it gets cold. The maximum temperature in hot desert increases to 49oC and in winter temperature falls to -40oC. Camels are one of the mammals who can survive in extremely hot and cold weathers. [2]
Thermoregulation:
Thermoregulation
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It is due to thermoregulation that camel can survive in harsh conditions of desert.
5. It provides protection to the brain in extremely high temperature conditions allowing camels to survive in deserts.
6. Prevents heat stress and dehydration. [2]
Adaptations of camels for thermoregulation:
In order to survive in the desert, they must have ways to deal with the desert heat. These measures are called as adaptations which have developed over years. [5] Camels have adapted to a number of mechanisms that help them to survive or fit into a particular location. [1]
Adaptive heterothermy:
It is the changing of body temperature within a certain range, camel store heat during the day resulting in a big comfortable temperature range of 34-40 degrees. When temperatures are above this, they experience dilation of arteries, increased respiration and perspiration. [3]
Loss of body weight:
Losing large quantities of body weight which is stored in the hump is another adaptation that possesses an adaptive advantage. Fat is metabolized and converted into water which is a by-product. This adaptive advantage is significant towards thermoregulation because it ensures that water replenishes within the body even when there is little water in the external environment.
The respiratory system is responsible in regulating gas exchange between the body and the external environment. Differences in respiration rate indirectly influence basal metabolic rate (BMR) by providing the necessary components for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) formation (Williams et al., 2011). Observation of gas exchange were measured and recorded for two mice (mus musculus) weighing 25 g and 27 g under the conditions of room temperature, cold temperature (8°C), and room temperature after fasting using a volumeter. The rates of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production were measured and used to calculate BMR, respiratory quotient (RQ) and oxidation rate. The mouse at room temperature was calculated to have a BMR of 2361.6 mm3/g/hr. Under conditions of cold temperature and fasting, the BMR values decreased to 2246.4 mm3/g/hr and 2053.2 mm3/g/hr respectively. Rates of glucose oxidation increased under these treatments while rates of fat oxidation decreased. Respiratory quotient (RQ) values were calculated to determine the fuel source for metabolic activity. On a relative scale, protein or fat appeared to be the primary fuel source for all three treatments although the mouse at 8°C had the highest RQ and may have relatively used the most glucose. It was also concluded that BMR in mice are greater than in humans.
The “live-fast-die-young” hypothesis claims that having a high Resting Metabolic Rate is actually costly towards fitness and that this energy is allocated to non-maintenance functions (Okada, et. al., 2011).
Desert Solitaire aims to draw attention to the activities of a man voluntarily isolated in nature. It seeks to identify the strife that Abbey faces with modern day human’s treatment of his nature. As such, the argument that Abbey poses in one his earlier chapters Rocks is, that the Modern Day man is destructive and cannot be trusted to preserve nature as is.
them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism, tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set,
The Mongolian nomads relied heavily on the animals that they kept upon the steppes for survival. Throughout the year they would move their camps regularly in search of water and grass for their animals. The constant migrations prevented them from transporting reserves of food or other essential necessities. Living upon the steppes left them vulnerable to the elements as well. Heavy snows, ice, and drought could afflict the many animals that were essential to survival upon the steppe. Disease also played a deadly role in eliminating flocks and herds that the nomads were dependent upon.
Therefore, traders don’t have to carry as much food specifically for the camels. The camel was used to spread the religion of Islam. As stated in document 2, the powerful new force of North Africa was Islam. Islam is a religion that originated in the Middle East and is very popular in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Mansa Musa had used the camel to spread Islam and go on a hajj to Mecca. This is an example of ecological effects. Timbuktu also benefited from the arid climate of the Sahara as well as the use of camels. Timbuktu had become very wealthy due to the Gold and Salt trade which took place during the fifth century CE. Gold and salt had a very high demand at the time and lead to a golden age in Timbuktu. They were the center of trade and education due to long distance trade along the Trans-Saharan trade routes. The Sahara desert is not completely waterless and many cultures have developed from the Mediterranean Sea and Niger River. As stated in document 1, the desert has excellent supplies of water to support rich culture and gain livelihood. Many successful cities have
Provide muscle energy, fuel for the nerve system, the fat metabolism and protect the protein to been used as energy
The Libyan Bedouin are a pastoral people, moving as needed through the Sahara desert with their sheep, goats, and camels. Their movements depend largely upon the seasons due to lack of vegetation and water in the lowlands during the dry season. They also cultivate small plots of cereal grains during the wet season on the desert plateaus and oases of Libya (Behnke, 1980).
The critical thinking assignment for this week entails two questions, describe the hydrologic cycle and apply it to where I live, and secondly choose a landscape either glacial or desert and describe how it forms, as well as the landscape features found on it. I will use this essay to answer both questions. I will be using my hometown of Napa California to answer the first question and I have selected the Mojave Desert landscape to answer the second question.
The common name is the African Elephant, the scientific name is Loxodonta Africana, the phylum is Vertebrata, the class is Mammalia, the order is Proboscidea, and the family is Elephantidae. The Closest Relatives to the African Elephant are: the Asian Elephant, mammoths, primitive proboscidean (mastodons), sea cows, and hyraxes. Scientists believe that the African Elephant evolved from one of its closest relatives, the Sea Cow. The geographical location and range of the African elephant covers all of central and southern Africa. In Ethiopia there are isolated populations that exist around Lake Chad in Mali and Mauritania. Also in Kenya, Rhodesia, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Zaire, and in National parks located in South Africa, as well as several other countries. African Elephants, originally, were found in all of the Sub-Saharan African habitats except desert steppes. Elephants still occupy diverse habitats such as: temperate grassland, tropical savanna and grass lands, temperate forest and rainforest, tropical rainforest, tropical scrub forest, and tropical deciduous forest despite their drastic decline in numbers. However, their migratory patterns and habitat use have changed, due to the fact that they are restricted to protected areas. The elephant can exist in many types of environments but it prefers places that have many trees and bushes, which the elephant needs both for food and shade. They also like warm areas that have plenty of rainfall.
The common hippo has toes that can easily move around in water and on land! Each of their feet has four hoofed toes that have webbed feet. Those webbed feet between each toe can use for simple movements in the water. With this animal it can be able to move around and ease through land and water. Adult hippos can hold their breath underwater up to 6 minutes. They also have a large head but very short legs. They have small ears but very huge teeth. Did you know that the nostrils that they use for breathing are located at the top of the head? Wow who knew that?
Here are some other facts that I would like to share with you about giraffes responding to the environment. Giraffes can be found in wooded grasslands in Africa, but mostly in savanna areas in the sub-Saharan part of Africa. It usually forms families between three and fifteen giraffes. Another interesting fact...
One huge impact of global warming is the change in animals’ habitats. When the earth’s temperature is increasing, it creates the change of weather conditions in a certain area, which causes some kinds of animals in this area to live with many difficulties, or sometimes those kinds of animals are forced to move to new region when they cannot handle the difficulties. The arctic fox is an example for this situation. According to the article “How Does Global Warming Affect Wildlife,” arctic foxes prefer to live in the cooler environment while their habitat is getting warmer and warmer due to global warming, so arctic foxes have to leave their own home to seek a more suitable area (National W...
From the frozen tundra of the arctic north to the arid deserts of sub-Saharan Africa – humans not only survive, but even thrive in some of the most extreme and remote environments on the planet. This is a testament to the remarkable capacity for adaptation possessed by our species. Each habitat places different stressors on human populations, and they must adapt in order to mitigate them. That is, adaptation is the process by which man and other organisms become better suited to their environments. These adaptations include not only physical changes like the larger lung capacities observed in high altitude natives but also cultural and behavioral adjustments such as traditional Inuit clothing styles, which very effectively retain heat but discourage deadly hyperthermia-inducing sweat in Arctic climates. Indeed, it seems this later mechanism of adaptation is often much more responsible for allowing humans to populate such a wide variety of habitats, spanning all seven continents, rather than biological mechanisms. Of course, not all adaptations are entirely beneficial, and in fact may be maladaptive, particularly behavior adaptations and highly specialized physical adaptations in periods of environmental change. Because people rely heavily on social learning, maladaptaptive behaviors such as sedentarization and over-eating – both contributing to obesity – are easily transmitted from person to person and culture to culture, as seen in the Inuit’s adoption of American cultural elements.
The United Arab Emirates is traditionally well-known for its attachments to camel, they are also known as one of the iconic symbols in the culture of the UAE. Camels have played a significant role in the lives of the Emirati people for centuries, and they are also known as one the very few animals that are able to survive through harsh conditions in the desert. In the past, the Bedouins or the nomads were mostly dependent on camels for their essential needs. However, camels still play an important role in the society of the UAE, with many Bedouins still owning and using for their daily life.