Question

Humming birds live among the bushes in tropics, while penguins live on icebergs. They cannot survive if their habitats are reversed. Justify.

Answer 1

Humming birds are natural habitats of tropics. They have large surface area relative to their volume. So, they tend to lose heat very fast, even when it is cold outside.Penguins live on icebergs (natural habitat). They have less surface area to volume ratio. The lesser the ratio, more effective will be the thermoregulation. Also, they hide in group to escape from cold conditions. Therefore, both of them will not survive if their habitats are reversed

Answer 2

Humming birds live in the tropics and penguins on icebergs. Both cannot survive if the habitats are reversed.

Explanation:

• Humming birds are native to the tropics, implying that their body is adapted to such conditions and similarly for the penguins on icebergs.
• The surface area to volume ratio regulates the thermoregulation of a living body, i.e., the lower, the better.
• Thus, humming bird with a higher surface area to volume ratio tends to lose heat faster and cannot survive in the colder temperate regions and vice versa.

#SPJ2