Alligator - AU

Cold blooded creatures such as the alligator are hot when their environment is hot and cold when their environment is cold. Cold blooded creatures are generally a lot more active in warm environments and more sluggish in cold environments. This is due to their muscle activity that depends on the chemical reactions which run quickly when it is hot and slowly when it is cold. They need to regulate their body temperatures by basking in the sun, moving to warm water, and/or resting in, on, or around something that radiates some kind of heat. In hot environments, they can even have blood that is much warmer than that of a warm blooded animal. If an ectothermic creature gets too hot they will often seek shade or move into cooler water. If an alligator gets too cold everything will begin to slow down and the animal will become lethargic. Their food will also have trouble digesting properly and their heart rates will slow down during this time, as well as their lungs. Ectothermic creatures such as the alligator also have the advantage of being less prone to infections than warm blooded animals. This lies in the fact that being a warm blooded body provides a warm environment for viruses, bacteria and parasites to reside. Alligators are most active when temperatures are between 28° to 33°C. They stop feeding when the ambient temperature drops below approximately 21° C and they become dormant below 13° C. Alligators are dormant throughout much of the winter season. During this time, they can be found in burrows that they construct adjacent to an alligator hole or open water, but they occasionally emerge to bask in the sun during spells of warm weather.

HABITAT

American alligators are most commonly found in the southeastern United States. They prefer fresh water lakes and slow-moving rivers. The only other species of alligator, the Alligator sinensis, is found in China and is a much smaller version of the American alligator. The United States is the only country in the world where alligators and crocodiles live side by side.

Advantages of Ectothermic regulation:

1. Decreased maintanence needed by the body

2. Need for resources (food) is very low due to low metabolic rates.

Disadvantages of Ectothermic regulation

1. Only a small window for reproduction to occur

2. Food acquistion also hard to accomplish.