Temperatures of environments where organisms live vary enormously, from the boiling hot springs of Yellowstone National Park to the interior of Antarctica, where the temperature can fall below –80°C. But in general, cells can function over only a narrow range of temperatures. The evolution of thermoregulatory adaptations enables maintenance of suitable thermal conditions in the internal environment.
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Cells can survive only within a small range of the temperatures that occur on Earth.
Q10 values are measures of temperature sensitivity of biochemical reactions or physiological processes.
Temperature acclimatization allows animals to shift their metabolic rates as they experience seasonal changes in external temperatures.
Metabolic acclimatization enables animals to adapt to seasonal temperature changes.