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OFFICIAL40 According to paragraph 5, why is avoidance behavior important for some amphibians?

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Amphibian Thermoregulation
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In contrast to mammals and birds, amphibians are unable to produce thermal energy through their metabolic activity, which would allow them to regulate their body temperature independent of the surrounding or ambient temperature. However, the idea that amphibians have no control whatsoever over their body temperature has been proven false because their body temperature does not always correspond to the surrounding temperature. While amphibians are poor thermoregulators, they do exercise control over their body temperature to a limited degree.

Physiological adaptations can assist amphibians in colonizing habitats where extreme conditions prevail. The tolerance range in body temperature represents the range of temperatures within which a species can survive. One species of North American newt is still active when temperatures drop to -2°C while one South American frog feels comfortable even when temperatures measured to 41°C - the highest body temperature measured in a free-ranging amphibian. Recently it has been shown that some North American frog and toad species can survive up to five days with a body temperature of -6°C with approximately one-third of their body fluids frozen. The other tissues are protected because they contain the frost-protective agents glycerin or glucose. Additionally, in many species the tolerance boundaries are flexible and can change as a result of acclimatization (long-term exposure to particular conditions).  

Frog species that remain exposed to the sun despite high diurnal (daytime) temperatures exhibit some fascinating modifications in the skin structure that function as morphological adaptations. Most amphibian skin is fully water permeable and is therefore not a barrier against evaporation or solar radiation. The African savanna frog Hyperolius viridiflavus stores guanine crystals in its skin, which enable it to better reflect solar radiation, thus providing protection against overheating. The tree frog Phyllomedusa sauvagei responds to evaporative losses with gland secretions that provide a greasy film over its entire body that helps prevent desiccation (dehydration).

However, behavior is by far the most important factor in thermoregulation. The principal elements in behavioral thermoregulation are basking (heliothermy), heat exchange with substrates such as rock or earth (thigmothermy), and diurnal and annual avoidance behaviors, which include moving to shelter during the day for cooling and hibernating or estivating (reducing activity during cold or hot weather, respectively). Heliothermy is especially common among frogs and toads: it allows them to increase their body temperature by more than 10°C. The Andean toad Bufo spinulosus exposes itself immediately after sunrise on moist ground and attains its preferred body temperature by this means, long before either ground or air is correspondingly warmed. A positive side effect of this approach is that it accelerates the digestion of the prey consumed overnight, thus also accelerating growth. Thigmothermy is a behavior present in most amphibians, although pressing against the ground serves a dual purpose: heat absorption by conductivity and water absorption through the skin. The effect of thigmothermy is especially evident in the Andean toad during rainfall: its body temperature corresponds to the temperature of the warm earth and not to the much cooler air temperature.

Avoidance behavior occurs whenever physiological and morphological adaptations are insufficient to maintain body temperature within the vital range. Nocturnal activity in amphibians with low tolerance for high ambient temperatures is a typical thermoregulatory behavior of avoidance. Seasonal avoidance behavior is extremely important in many amphibians. Species whose habitat lies in the temperate latitudes are confronted by lethal low temperatures in winter, while species dwelling in semiarid regions are exposed to long dry, hot periods in summer.

In amphibians hibernation occurs in mud or deep holes away from frost. North of the Pyrenees Mountains, the natterjack toad offers a good example of hibernation, passing the winter dug deep into sandy ground. Conversely, natterjacks in southern Spain remain active during the mild winters common to the region and are instead forced into inactivity during the dry, hot summer season. Summer estivation also occurs by burrowing into the ground or hiding in cool, deep rock crevasses to avoid desiccation and lethal ambient temperature. Amphibians are therefore hardly at mercy of ambient temperature, since by means of the mechanisms described above they are more than exercise some control over their body temperature.

9.According to paragraph 5, why is avoidance behavior important for some amphibians?

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【题目翻译】根据第5段,为什么回避行为对某些两栖动物很重要? A:两栖动物的栖息地是温度日复一日变化的地区。 B:两栖动物对高环境温度的耐受性低于对低环境温度的耐受性。 C:两栖动物对环境温度缺乏足够的生理适应能力。 D:两栖动物只有在夜间活动才能保护自己免受酷暑的侵袭。 【判定题型】:题目问的是文章中的具体细节信息,故根据题目问法可以判断本题为事实信息题。 【关键词定位】根据avoidance behavior定位至第三句话,根据后面的内容Species whose habitat lies in the temperate latitudes are confronted by lethal low temperatures in winter, while species dwelling in semi- and regions are exposed to long dry, hot periods in summer.意思是:栖息在温带地区的物种在冬季面临致命的低温,而居住在半干旱地区的物种则在夏季暴露在长期干旱、炎热的环境中。 【逻辑分析】可知两栖动物缺少足够的生理适应性来调节周围的温度。 【选项分析】 A.文章提到的动物都是有它们生存的温度较恒定的地区。故选项错误。 B.文章未提及相比较,故选项错误。 C.符合文意,故正确。 D.不是所有的两栖动物都这样,故选项错误。

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