Thermotaxis
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Thermotaxis is a behavior in which an organism directs its locomotion up or down a gradient of temperature. Thermotaxis is a behavior that organisms navigate on depending on the temperature. “Thermo” means heat and or the temperature and “taxis” refers to the direction or the movement. Thermotaxis is for the organism to find the best way to survive, it depends on whether it will survive in the warm or the cold.
Lab research has determined that some slime molds[1] and small nematodes (namely Meloidogyne incognita)[2] can migrate along very shallow temperature gradients of less than 0.1°C/cm and sometimes as low as 0.001°C/cm.[3] Theoretical analysis indicates that even this impressive feat is far from pushing the limits set by thermal noise.[4] The natural environment always contains temperature gradients that organisms could respond to, if it were useful. The response of the slime mold and nematode is complicated and thought to allow them to move toward an appropriate level in soil.[5][6][7] Recent research suggests that mammalian sperm employ thermotaxis to move to an appropriate location in the female's oviduct (see Sperm guidance).
Only fully prepared sperms can reply and adapt to these temperatures though. This is where thermotaxis comes in to guide the sperm over distances that are typically longer. Differences in temperatures that is guiding the sperm is then created during ovulation where the reservoir site tends to be cooler. This is still an ongoing experiment for scientists to detect. (Bahat A., Eisenbach M.,2006.)
Types of Thermotaxis
There are two types of thermotaxis, positive and negative. Organism that are positive will move towards areas that are warmer and negative organisms will away from the areas that are warm to an area that is cool. The purpose of positive thermotaxi is to help the organism to grow and reproduce. Negative thermotaxis organism the heat because it can be harmful to them or cause them stress.
In conclusion, thermotaxis is a behavior that is important because it helps the organism respond to the temperature and when it changes by moving away or towards the heat in the environment they live in.
References
[edit]- ^ Poff and Skokut, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 74: 2007-2010 (1977). Thermotaxis by pseudoplasmodia of Dictyostelium discoideum.
- ^ Pline, Diez, and Dusenbery, J. Nematology, 20:605-608 (1988). Extremely sensitive thermotaxis of the nematode Meloidogyne incognita.
- ^ Dusenbery, David B. (1992). Sensory Ecology, p.114. W.H. Freeman, New York. ISBN 0-7167-2333-6.
- ^ Dusenbery, David B. (2009). Living at Micro Scale, pp.159-163. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. ISBN 978-0-674-03116-6.
- ^ Dusenbery, D.B. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 22:219-223 (1988). Avoided temperature leads to the surface.
- ^ Dusenbery, D.B. Biological Cybernetics, 60:431-437 (1989). A simple animal can use a complex stimulus pattern to find a location.
- ^ Dusenbery, David B. (1996). “Life at Small Scale”, pp. 101-109. Scientific American Library, New York. ISBN 0-7167-5060-0.