Pingie: HTTP:: How Starfish Avoid Overheating

HTTP:: How Starfish Avoid Overheating
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Most people know that being in the heat can be bad for their health, and that is why they usually drink water before they go outside in the Sun, and take some with them as well. But have you ever met a person that drinks about seven liters of water before going out? Of course not, because it's nearly impossible. However, this is how a starfish goes about protecting itself from the heat. Just before it goes out into the low tide, the small creature pumps itself up with cold seawater, which allows it to control and regulate its body temperature, the BBC News reports. In spite of the highly effective cooling mechanism, researchers say that the starfish could be endangered by a relentless foe â€" global warming. As the surface temperatures of the oceans increase, the aquatic creatures will need to make more and more efforts to remain cool. This will translate into much less energy going into other processes, such as digestion and respiration, which, in turn, could have devast!
ating consequences, oceanographers reveal. The sea star (Pisaster ochraceus), also known as the ochre starfish, is indigenous to the intertidal regions located along the Pacific North American coastline. One particularity of this species is that, at low tide, it gets trapped on dry land, under intense sunlight, and needs to wait for the water to ...
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http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-Starfish-Avoid-Overheating-125501.shtml
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