City-Scale Expansion of Human Thermoregulatory Costs
Figure 1
Rate of energy use as a function of ambient temperature (Ta) in mammalian species: interpretive framework and examples.
(A) The conventional metabolic rate-Ta relation in individual homeotherms [1]–[2]. Within the thermoneutral zone (TNZ), the animal’s metabolic rate, termed its RMR, is low and independent of Ta. The lower and upper limits of the TNZ are the lower (TLC) and upper (TUC) critical temperatures. Thermoregulation in the TNZ is achieved by autonomic modulation of body insulation: low near TUC but high near TLC. At Ta<TLC, body insulation is approximately constant, and accordingly the rate of metabolic heat production required for thermoregulation increases as Ta falls. The absolute value of the slope of this increase is conductance (C). Based on a first-order model, extrapolation is expected to intersect the abscissa at Ta equal to body temperature (Tb). (B-I) Metabolic rate-Ta relations in eight mammal species. Each symbol represents one individual at one Ta. Vertical dashed lines identify TLC and TUC where statistically defined. Horizontal dashed line identifies resting metabolic rate (RMR). Species and sources are: B, Pteronotus davyi [32]; C, Acrobates pygmaeus [33]; D, Peromyscus eremicus (Nevada) [34]; E, Desmodus rotundus [35]; F, Blarina brevicauda [36]; G, Peromyscus californicus (parasiticus) [34]; H, Sylvilagus audubonii (winter) [37]; I, Vulpes macrotis (winter) [38].