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What Are You Blubbering About? A Study of Comparative Cold Physiology
Author(s) -
Clarke Megan M,
Craighead Daniel H,
Alba Billie K,
Shank Sean W
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.576.24
Subject(s) - feather , biology , submersion (mathematics) , heart rate , zoology , physiology , ecology , blood pressure , endocrinology , mathematical analysis , mathematics , differentiable function
During PhUn Week 2016, we attended State College Area High School to introduce the students to some principles of cold physiology. The purpose of the activity was to compare the different adaptations in various species during acute cold water submersion and the accompanying cardiovascular responses. In humans, there is a reduction in skin blood flow when skin temperature drops. Animals more adapted to cold environments, such as penguins and whales, have additional adaptations to maintain thermoregulation in their natural habitat. Penguins have a dense layer of feathers, whereas whales have a thick layer of blubber, to protect them from the cold. In the classroom, students were able to mimic these phenotypes by using bubble wrap as feathers and vegetable shortening as blubber. Before submerging their hands into the cold water, students were asked to hypothesize which condition: bare hand, “feathers”, or “blubber” would be best in the acute cold water exposure. One student per group was the subject and the other group members took the roles of timer and measuring heart rate and blood pressure. Baseline measurements of heart rate and blood pressure were taken. Then, the designated subject placed their bare hand into the ice water and the timer began the stopwatch to determine the submersion time. The subject removed their hand when they could no longer endure the cold water or when the timer reached two minutes. Tolerance time was recorded. Immediately post‐submersion, heart rate and blood pressure were measured and the subject rated their perceived coldness on a scale of one to ten. This protocol was repeated for the imitation of feathers and blubber trials. Students then determined which adaptation was most effective in the cold environment and reasoned the cardiovascular responses to each scenario. With this activity, students were able to utilize comparative physiology to understand the different insulative properties of varying morphological features.