Land animals constantly suffer from changes in the weather in a given region. They face extremely hot summers and very cold winters, which makes them need mechanisms so that their internal temperature does not suffer much variation.
Often, when studying certain groups of animals, we come across expressions such as “ectothermic animals” or “endothermic animals”. These expressions refer to how living beings manage to maintain their body temperature, that is, which energy source will be used by them.
When we talk about ectothermic animals, we are talking about beings that need external sources to maintain their temperature. This means that they need to be exposed to the sun or be in some warm place, such as rocks.
A group of animals that have this characteristic are reptiles. They are unable to maintain their temperature and are therefore often found sunbathing. It is important to highlight that, sometimes, being exposed to the sun can increase the body temperature too much, therefore, these animals, when they start a big warm-up, they look for ways to cool off, such as bathing in a river or hiding in the shade of a tree.
When we talk about endothermic animals, we are talking about those who can keep their temperature constant without the need for external factors, using only their metabolism to produce heat. To produce the heat needed to maintain their temperature, endothermic animals extract the necessary energy from food.
For an animal to be endothermic, it is necessary, therefore, that it has a high metabolic rate. In addition, it is essential that they have some way to prevent heat loss, that is, they have a good thermal insulator. Birds and mammals, for example, have fur and feathers to prevent heat loss.
In relation to ectothermy, endothermy has the advantage of being able to colonize cold environments. In contrast, ectothermic animals can colonize habitats that have little energy resource.
By Ma. Vanessa dos Santos
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/biologia/o-que-e-ectotermia-endotermia.htm