Body temperature regulation, or thermoregulation, is the biological process by which organisms maintain internal body temperature within a physiologically optimal range despite external or internal thermal perturbations. In homeothermic animals, this involves coordinated neural, endocrine, and autonomic mechanisms centered primarily in the hypothalamus, which integrates thermal sensory input from peripheral and core thermoreceptors. Effectors include changes in blood flow (vasodilation and vasoconstriction), sweating or panting, shivering thermogenesis, non-shivering thermogenesis (e.g., brown adipose tissue activity), and behavioral responses such as seeking shade or warmth. Thermoregulation is critical for enzymatic function, metabolic homeostasis, and overall organismal survival.
As climate change alters the temperatures of animal habitats, it seems natural that endotherms, warm-blooded animals, would prefer to hang out in the shade during hot weather. The use of microhabitats in the sun and shade ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 4, 2026
0
4
New research from the University of Sydney has provided the first associative link between heat stress and koala mortality. Published in Biology Letters, the results highlight how even moderate temperature rises can increase ...
Plants & Animals
May 26, 2026
0
11
Over the past few decades, heat waves have become more common in several parts of the world as our planet warms. That's a huge problem for many animals, as it can lead to habitat loss and push their bodies to lethal thresholds. ...
Azara's owl monkeys, a small primate species found in South America, are heavier today than those that lived a quarter-century ago, and evidence suggests that rising temperatures might have driven the weight gain, according ...
Plants & Animals
May 20, 2026
0
10
New research finds that higher temperatures can actually benefit some bumble bee species—particularly those that make subterranean nests. However, periods of extreme heat appear to offset those benefits, and may contribute ...
Plants & Animals
May 6, 2026
0
11
Each animal species has an optimal temperature at which it can metabolize food and its immune system can best fight off pathogens.
Plants & Animals
Apr 30, 2026
0
14
Climate change threatens to cause increasingly extreme and variable temperature swings, affecting everything from urban infrastructure to global food supplies. In the animal kingdom, the hardest hit may be the youngest and ...
Humans are not the only species negatively affected by increasingly hot and humid conditions. Intense heat waves sometimes kill large numbers of wild animals. Eastern Australia's giant fruit bats, known as flying-foxes, provide ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 28, 2026
0
9
A new study reveals that some of the ocean's most powerful predators are running hotter, and that they are likely paying an increasingly steep price for it. The significance of this headline finding is the "double jeopardy" ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 16, 2026
0
15
Deadly heat wave events are occurring at temperatures and humidity levels previously thought to be survivable, according to a new paper by a team of international researchers, including from The Australian National University ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 9, 2026
0
24
