Question

Even though pikas and brown bears live in seasonal environments that experience dramatic temperature changes throughout the year, each species maintains homeostasis and metabolic functioning via different adaptations. Brown bears feast in the summer to produce fat to be used as stored energy during winter hibernation, and they release heat easily in the summer. Describe the physical and behavioral adaptations that pikas use to maintain homeostatic metabolic functioning during the winter and summer temperatures.

Answer 1

American pikas are small rodent mammals which have big round ears with short, stout bodies. The fur of pika is thick and dark which helps them to keep their body warm during the winter season and during the summer season they have a lighter fur but still they have a chance of over heating problem due to overexposure in sunlight during the summer season. The pikas are herbivores and during the winter there is less food available to them. Hence for survival during the winter season, the pika's collect grasses and flowers which they will dry during the summer season and they pile up them in their den for winter season. Pika's live in colonies and hence protect each other from predators. Pikas donot hibernate in winter and they are active through all the seasons and hence they eat the stockpiled grasses and flowers inside their den. Hence these are the physical and behavioral adaptations that pikas use to maintain homeostatic metabolic functioning during the winter and summer temperatures.

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