Question

What are the advantages and disadvantages of having an endothermic and ectothermic regulation?

Please give an in depth response :)

Answer 1

1.Major advantage of endothermy over ectotherms is decreases vulnerability to fluctuations on external environmental temperature. Regardless of the location endothermy maintains a constant core temperature for optimum enzyme activity. Because optimum temperature is needed for enzymes to work. At high temperature enzymes denaturate and at low temperature they freeze and can't work properly.

2.Ectotherms will increase their body temperature mostly through external heat sources such as sunlight energy, therefore they depend on the occurring environmental conditions to reach operational body temperature.

Endotherms use internal heat production through metabolic active organs and tissues like liver, kidney, heart, brain, muscle or specialised heat producing tissues like brown adipose tissue. So in general Endotherms have higher metabolic rates than ectotherms at a given body mass. As a consequence they would require high food intake which limit abundance of Endotherms more than ectotherms.

3. Because ectotherms depend on environmental conditions for body temperature regulation, they are more sluggish at night and in morning when they come out from their shelters to heat up in first sunlight. Foraging activity therefore restricted to daytime in most vertebrate ectotherms.

Endotherms are less dependent on environmental conditions and therefore have developed high variability in their diurnal activity patterns

4. Endothermy prevents fungal infections according to some researchs

5.Endotherms cannot afford long periods without food but suitably adapted ectotherms can wait without expending much energy.