What Are Warm Blooded Animals?

Endotherms vs. Ectotherms

• "Endothermic" refers to animals commonly called "warm-blooded." The unique attribute in these animals is not that their blood is hot, but that they maintain and regulate their body temperature. "Ectothermic" refers to animals known as "cold-blooded." The blood of these animals isn't actually cold; they just don't internally regulate body temperature. Instead, they utilize external heating sources, such as the sun, to regulate their internal temperature.

Endotherm Details

• Endotherms maintain a temperature that is typically above that of its external environment. They accomplish this through metabolic processes, burning cell's energy to produce heat. Endotherms have a very close relationship between heat lost and heat produced, as regulation means not allowing the core body temperature to drop too low, while also not allowing it to rise too high.

Endothermic Advantages

• Endotherms have a distinct advantage over ectotherms in that they are less dependent upon the sun. Endothermic animals can survive in a host of environments, whereas ectotherms' dependence upon heat for internal warmth leads them to be isolated to warm or tropical regions. Another advantage is that endotherms can have internal reproduction, which depending on the predators in the environment, can be more successful than egg-based reproduction.

Disadvantages and Types of Endothermic Reproduction

• The main disadvantage in endothermic reproduction is the energy cost. It takes substantial energy to constantly monitor internal temperature. This places a strong dependency on food intake. Some endothermic animals--especially ones in harsh environments--have developed adaptations to help them cope with excessive energy loss. Bears are one of these animals. Called "heterothermic" animals, bears allow their internal temperature to drop during specific periods of time (called hibernation), usually when food is scarce.