Large land mammals of the Arctic endure very low ambient temperatures and stand on frozen ground...

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Medical Sciences

Large land mammals of the Arctic endure very low ambienttemperatures and stand on frozen ground for long time periods. Thiscan result in large differences in temperature across the body. Thetissue temperature in the extremities (feet and lower legs) can beup to 25oC cooler than in the thorax.
(4pts) Draw the Hb-O2 equilibrium curve and indicate on thegraph what the usual effect of increases Âand decreases intemperature on Hb-O2 binding. Make sure to label your axes andcurves on the graph.
(4pts) What impact would temperature-dependent shifts have on O2loading in the lungs and O2 delivery to tissues in theextremities?
(8pts) Based on what you know about respiratory andcardiovascular physiology, describe in what ways (how) the anatomyand physiology of these artic mammals might be different frommammals from warmer climates to compensate for this?
(4 pts) Briefly describe why what you propose in (c) is adaptivefor these large arctic mammals.

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3.8 Ratings (668 Votes)

Maintaining core temperature in the coldThe ambient air temperature in the polar regions may persist at40C for extended periods regularly reaching 50C andoccasionally even 60C whereas in the oceans the temperaturesare close to freezing For a homeothermic animal exposed to theseconditions sometimes with a thermal gradient between the body coreand the environment of almost 100C the challenge is first andforemost to balance heat loss against a minimal rate of metabolicheat production In the polar regions where at least on landenergy is often in short supply this is preferentially achieved bycontrol of heat loss to the environment There are three mainavenues for heat loss conductionconvection radiation andevaporation each of which must be controlled if the animal is tomaintain a stable core temperatureFor example a higher temperature promotes hemoglobin and oxygento See Answer

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