After all, the spots of the giraffes are not just for camouflage (nor decorate). A new study found that they also influence how animals survive when temperatures get warmer or colder than normal.
Each giraffe has a unique set of blemishes. But what are you for? For ‘English to see’? No. Camouflage? Yes, but not only. The size of giraffes spots is related to how animals survive irregular temperatures.
The conclusion was from a study this Wednesday in EcoEvoRxiv.
As details, the researchers studied 810 wild masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) who live in the Tarangire ecosystem in Tanzania.
In general, it was found that the young, small, lobadium spots and adult males with small, wide or large, polygonal spots were more likely to survive.
However, when seasonal average temperatures reached one or two degrees above or below the seasonal average, the scenario has changed.
On the one hand, the pups and adult males with larger spots were more likely to survive extremely low temperatures.
On the other, those who had smaller spots were more likely to survive very high temperatures.
“Giraffes pints have a dense Underlying network of blood vessels And it is thought that animals can contract the vessels to keep the heat when it is cold or expanding them and release more heat when it is hot, ”he explains to New Scientist, Monica Bondfrom the University of Zurich and co -author of the study.
This may explain why larger stains are leading to better survival of giraffes at colder temperatures.
However, it is known that Spots also absorb more heat from the sun than the lightest regions of the hair, because they are dark and reflect less light.
This means that when temperatures are too high, the heat absorbed from sunlight through the larger dark spots can exceed the excess heat dissipation.
“This can make the spots disadvantageous and expose individuals to hyperthermia, admits the co -author of the study Alexia Mouchetfrom the University of Zurich.
