Bat Varies Its Heart Rate From Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Avoid Starving, This Bat Varies Its Heart Rate From 1000 To 200 Beats Per Minute. Answer: Journal Entry In this article, Pennisi (2017) explains how bats in Panama alter their physiology to survive in the harsh environment. The bats in this environment have limited food resources and are forced to fly long distances in search of fig juice. The flying process requires the bats to utilize the food stored in their bodies to generate energy. However, eco-physiologists discovered that the bats in Panama possess a unique ability that allows them to survive in this harsh condition. The scientists discovered that the bats drastically lower their heartbeat rates when resting to minimize food breakdown. In this study, scientists noted that the bats lowered their heartbeat rates from 1066 beats per minute when flying to 200 when resting. According to the scientists, this alteration in heartbeat rates save the bats approximately 10% of daily energy. Extensive research has been done on humans on in the area of ecophysiology. However, scientists have been reluctant to extend these efforts to wild animal particularly bats. Initially, I only knew that bats lower their food utilization capacities when hibernating. In fact, this ability applies to almost all animal. According to Klg-Baerwald, Gower, Lausen, and Brigham (2016), bats save energy during winters by minimizing their activities by hibernating. However, I never thought that bats could also alter their heartbeat rates like humans to reduce food and energy loss. I assumed that the bats would survive this hostile environment by reducing their daily activities but not through heartbeat alterations. However, the scientists should also examine if this adjustment in the heartbeat rates by the bats affect other key physiological processes like excretion. I would also like to know if the same applies to other bird species apart from bats. Moreover, I would like to know if this reduce d heartbeat rates in bats are lower than when they are hibernating. The ability of the bats to alter their heartbeat rates like humans was the most surprising revelation in this article. In fact, Pennnisi (2017) notes that this revelation also surprised the scientists who were involved in the research process. Additionally, I was surprised that the bats lowered their heartbeat rates by almost five times without dying. In humans, a slow heartbeat rate results in Bradycardia which causes death. In this respect, it is surprising how these bats survive with such a slow heartbeat rate. This revelation made me believe that there is a significant difference between the bats physiology with that of humans. The findings of this research imply that more studies are likely to be carried out in other birds in the future. Scientists will probably want to establish if this ability is unique to the bats in Panama or it is universal to all bat species in the world. References Klg-Baerwald, B. J., Gower, L. E., Lausen, C. L., Brigham, R. M. (2016). Environmental correlates and energetics of winter flight by bats in southern Alberta, Canada. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 94(12), 829-836. Pennisi, E. (2017, September 22). To avoid starving, this bat varies its heart rate from 1000 to 200 beats per minute. Retrieved from Science: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/09/avoid-starving-bat-varies-its-heart-rate-1000-200-beats-minute