Angilletta Michael J, Cooper Brandon S, Schuler Matthew S, Boyles Justin G
Department of Biology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809, USA.
Front Biosci (Elite Ed). 2010 Jun 1;2(3):861-81. doi: 10.2741/e148.
Biologists usually refer to mammals and birds as homeotherms, but these animals universally experience regional and temporal variations in body temperature. These variations could represent adaptive strategies of heterothermy, which in turn would favor genotypes that function over a wide range of temperatures. This coadaptation of thermoregulation and thermosensitivity has been studied extensively among ectotherms, but remains unexplored among endotherms. In this review, we apply classical models of thermal adaptation to predict variation in body temperature within and among populations of mammals and birds. We then relate these predictions to observations generated by comparative and experimental studies. In general, optimality models can explain the qualitative effects of abiotic and biotic factors on thermoregulation. Similar insights should emerge when using models to predict variation in the thermosensitivity of endotherms, but the dearth of empirical data on this subject precludes a rigorous analysis at this time. Future research should focus on the selective pressures imposed by regional and temporal heterothermy in endotherms.
生物学家通常将哺乳动物和鸟类称为恒温动物，但这些动物的体温普遍存在局部和时间上的变化。这些变化可能代表了异温性的适应策略，这反过来又有利于在广泛温度范围内发挥作用的基因型。这种体温调节和热敏感性的共同适应在外温动物中已得到广泛研究，但在内温动物中仍未被探索。在这篇综述中，我们应用经典的热适应模型来预测哺乳动物和鸟类种群内部和种群之间的体温变化。然后，我们将这些预测与比较研究和实验研究得出的观察结果联系起来。一般来说，最优性模型可以解释非生物和生物因素对体温调节的定性影响。在使用模型预测内温动物热敏感性的变化时，应该会得出类似的见解，但目前关于这一主题的实证数据匮乏，无法进行严格的分析。未来的研究应聚焦于内温动物局部和时间异温性所施加的选择压力。
