Warm-blooded animals, like mammals and birds, can control their body temperature. They stay warm even when it’s cold outside. Cold-blooded animals, like reptiles, amphibians, and fish, change their body temperature based on the weather. That means if it’s hot outside, they become warm; if it’s cold, they become slow and cool. Mammals and birds are the two main types of warm-blooded animals. Cold-blooded animals include reptiles like snakes, amphibians like frogs, and fish like goldfish. Warm-blooded animals need more food to keep their body warm, but cold-blooded ones don’t need that much food.
MY NOTES: Warm-blooded animals keep a steady body temperature, while cold-blooded animals change with the environment.
If being an endotherm (warm-blooded) allows an animal to be active in the cold, why aren't all animals endotherms? What specific benefits does being an ectotherm (cold-blooded) offer that have allowed them to be so successful in so many environments?
Some dinosaurs were once thought to be slow-moving, cold-blooded reptiles. However, some scientists now believe they may have been mesotherms, a state in between endotherms and ectotherms. What kind of evidence would scientists need to find in fossils to determine how a dinosaur regulated its body temperature?
Consider an ectotherm (like a snake) and an endotherm (like a mouse) of the same size living in the same desert environment. How would their daily behaviors, hunting strategies, and water needs differ, especially comparing their activities during a very hot day versus a cold night?
What kinds of places do cold-blooded animals like to live in, and why?
Why might a lizard be found sunbathing on a rock?
Can you think of a time when being warm-blooded might be a problem for an animal?
If you put a fish in really cold water, what might happen to it?
Why do warm-blooded animals often have fur or feathers?
What do you think happens to a frog’s energy when the weather gets colder?
Why don’t you usually see reptiles like snakes moving around in winter?
How do penguins stay warm in freezing places, even though they live in snow?
Imagine you’re a zookeeper — how would you take care of a cold-blooded animal in winter?
10. Can a warm-blooded animal live in a desert? What might it need to survive?