Bulky Badger Heat Retention: the Relationship between Surface Area to Volume Ratios and Thermoregulation

Abstract

The Burmese Ferret Badger resides in a warm climate and has a long, slender body as well as a large surface area to volume ratio. In contrast, the European Badger resides in a colder climate and has a larger, stockier body as well as a smaller surface area to volume ratio (French, 2014). Animals with larger surface area to volume ratios experience greater rates of heat loss than animals with smaller surface area to volume ratios. We tested our question, why do organisms have different body shapes and how are they linked to retaining heat, by heating clay models with different shapes and comparing their rates of heat loss. Our experiment shows that animals with larger surface area to volume ratios retain heat less effectively than individuals with smaller surface area to volume ratios. This could impact the research of thermoregulation for other organisms in similar types of environments.