Wednesday 24 January 2018

Thermotaxis

Thermotaxis is the regulation of heat in warm-blooded animals.

When it's hot, I like to cool down in the sea. Does that make me thermotaxic? I'm not a good swimmer, but in the UK that doesn't matter as the sea is generally so cold that a quick paddle is more than enough to do the job.

A thermotactic reaction is movement in a living organism as a response to temperature. If you watch a litter of puppies or piglets, you'll see that if it's warm they spread out more. When the temperature drops, they snuggle up together.

11 comments:

liz young said...

Ah - so they're not warm cabs?

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Those dogs would be confused with our temperatures, which are going up and down like a yo-yo right now.

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

You need to visit our Gulf Coast...water is in the 80s in the summer.

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Don't think I've come across that word, patsy, but I do love swimming in the sea!

Penelope said...

Interesting as always Patsy.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Patsy - sensible piggies or puppies ... interesting word though - Cheers Hilary

Patsy said...

Darn it - why didn't I think of that?

Patsy said...

There seems to be a lot of unsettled weather generally, Alex.

Patsy said...

That sounds very pleasant.

Patsy said...

Can't blame you, Scotland has such lovely beaches and clear looking water.

Patsy said...

Animals often are sensible, given the choice.