Major Mechanisms that Animals use to Control Body Temperature (Thermoregulatory Mechanisms in Animals)
by Yadav Sharma Bajagai
Major Impacts of
climate change on animals are due to thermal stress resulting from increased
ambient temperature. This article has been posted to illustrate how animals
control their body temperature. This will help to find/design adaptation
methods against climate change effects.
The first line of
defense animal use to maintain body temperature in unfavorable ambient
temperature is behavioral response to manage heat loss or gain [1]. Seeking
shelter in hot day or sun in cold day and altering body posture according to
temperature to minimize or maximize relative body surface area to alter heat
loss or gain are major behavioral response to maintain body temperature by
cattle [1].
Animals can maintain
its body temperature within narrow range irrespective of ambient temperature
due to metabolic heat production [2, 3]. Control in
heat production is mediated either with autonomic or voluntary thermoregulatory
process.
Control of body temperature during cold
During cold weather,
animal should produce more metabolic heat to maintain body temperature [4]. When ambient
temperature is low, the thermoreceptors in skin sends signals to the thermoregulatory centers
in brain (hypothalamus) which in turn stimulate motor neuron causing increase
in muscle metabolism producing more metabolic heat [3]. In long run,
animal can maintain the heat production without muscular heat production either
by increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system or increased secretion
of thyroid hormones [3].
Control of body temperature during hot
Feed intake is
generally decreased when ambient temperature is increased which results in
reduced metabolic heat production and animal prefer to eat (and graze) during
cooler part of the day [5, 6].
Similarly, loss of heat
from animal body to surrounding is hastened during hot ambient temperature.
During hot weather blood circulation to the skin is increased to transfer more
heat from core to skin surface [4]. Evaporative
heat loss by sweating is the key mechanism to regulate body temperature when
ambient temperature increases above normal body temperature [4]. Vaporization
of water from sweat causes temperature heat loss which in turn reduces body
temperature. Heat loss through evaporation is account for loss of heat from
metabolic activities and part of that for loss of heat obtained from
environment [4].
Physiological mechanism to control heat production
i) Nervous control of heat production
Both central and
peripheral nervous system have role to control heat production in animal body
through secretion of some neurotransmitters [7]. Peripheral
neurons sends the signal from neuroreceptors in skin to thermoregulatory center
central nervous system (hypothalamus) [3, 7].
Thermoregulatory center modifies the endocrinal and autonomic nervous
activities [3, 7]. Stimulation of
sympathetic nervous system produces catecholamines (epinephrine and
nor-epinephrine), prostaglandins, acetylcholine, and 5-hydroxytrytamine which modify
metabolism and production of heat [3, 7, 8, 9]. Lin [10] has showed that
inhibition of dopaminergic receptors reduces body temperature by reducing heat
ii) Endocrinal control of heat production
Thermoregulatory center also influence the
production of some metabolic hormones like thyroid hormones (thyroxine and
triiodothyronine), adrenal hormones (glucocorticoides) and growth hormone which
in turn modifies the heat production from body tissues [3, 7].
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