I am Renee Villasenor a 3rd grade student i am looking for some information
for my research about sea mammals that live in a very cold water.I need to
know how are their fats in their body help them live in winter time.And I
also want to know what are their boby temperature in winter time.Do they
get to have fever?What are their normal temperature.Are sea animals have
the same body temperature with land animals? Please help me i need to know
this as soon as possible.Thank you so much......
Dear Renee,
Your question is interesting, but it is very general because there are many
kinds of marine mammals that live in cold water. There are some
similarities though, and while I don't specialize in medical questions,
I'll give you some general answers.
The layers of fats, or blubber, on marine mammals provide insulation from
outside temperatures, just like your winter coat provides insulation when
you go outside in winter. The outer skin may be very cold, but the internal
organs remain at normal body temperature as long as the blubber layer is
sufficient. Marine mammals' body temperatures vary, but are similar to land
mammal temperatures, just under 100 degrees. Their temperature stays the
same all year long, just like land mammals. That's what is meant by
"warm-blooded." Like all mammals, if they are ill or fighting infections,
they can develop high fevers.
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