Scientists continue to unravel clues about why animals actively lounge in the sun—a practice that can leave some vulnerable to predation. Here’s what’s known about this intriguing behavior.
A ring-tailed lemur sunbathes at the Berenty Reserve, Madagascar. Although these mammals can generate their own body heat, they seek out heat from the sun so that their metabolism doesn't have to do all the work.Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Unlike endothermic mammals and birds, ectothermic critters can’t maintain a stable body temperature through the heat created by their metabolism. So their temperature fluctuates with their surroundings. When an ectotherm’s environment cools down, so does its temperature. This slows the body’s chemical reactions controlling everything from immune function to muscle performance—which might work for a sleepingbut not for one that needs to do things like hunt prey and scuttle away from predators.
To jumpstart their bodies, ectotherms seek out heat. Some might crawl to a hot rock or swim to toastier water, for example, while others bask in the sun for periods of time that depend on their needs, size, and how well their surface color absorbs sunlight, says , an evolutionary biologist at Penn State University who studies reptiles and amphibians. “As temperature increases, the rate of all these processes will usually speed up,” she says. “It’s critical for their survival.”The same might be said for some endothermic sunbathers. Although these animals can generate heat internally, thanks to their speedy metabolism, some sunbathe so that their metabolism doesn’t have to do all the work.
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