The Effect of Surface Area to Volume Ratios on the Thermoregulation of Badgers in Different Habitats

Abstract

Studies show that badgers in warmer climates tend to be smaller than badgers in colder climates. This study is designed to investigate the efficiency of thermoregulation when considering the relationship between surface area to volume ratio (SA:V) and the environmental temperature an organism is subject to. In this investigation, two clay objects (modeling badger size differences from different environments) were tested to see how quickly they gained heat. Our study investigating that smaller badgers, which have a larger SA:V, live in warmer climates because they thermoregulate at a faster rate than larger badgers that have a smaller SA:V, was supported through analysis of our data where the average rate of the small and large object was 0.9024°C/sec and 0.3628°C/sec, respectively. Our study will assist researchers in studying the impacts of thermoregulation in animals as it relates to climate change, animal behavior, and migration.