The Effect of Varying Temperature on Metabolic Rate and Food Consumption

Abstract

Certain animals can adjust their metabolic rate in order to thermoregulate. We wanted to examine the relationship between ambient temperature, thermoregulation, and the metabolic rate of mice and cockroaches. No previous study has adequately observed this relationship. We introduced cockroaches and mice to chambers with temperatures that were below, above, and inside the presumed thermal neutral zone of each animal. The average metabolic rate in each situation was determined by dividing the amount of carbon dioxide expelled by the mass of the animal and then compared to the rates determined in trials with different temperatures. The relationship between ambient temperature and metabolic rate will inform caretakers of the amount of food an animal will require at certain temperatures.