Sea Otters' Unusual Heat-Generating Mechanism Revealed
Sea otters, despite inhabiting cold marine environments, maintain a warm body temperature through an unusual mechanism. Unlike many marine animals that rely on size and blubber for insulation, otters generate internal heat through their skeletal muscles.
This heat production, driven by thermogenic mitochondrial leak from the skeletal system, accounts for sea otters' high basal metabolic rate. Remarkably, this ability develops in otter pups soon after birth, even before their muscles gain full mechanical function. A study by Schreiber et al. discovered that this internal heat production in sea otters is indeed caused by thermogenic mitochondrial leak from the skeletal system, providing a scientific explanation for their hypermetabolism.
Sea otters' unique ability to generate heat within their muscles, rather than relying on external insulation, is a fascinating adaptation to their cold marine habitats. This mechanism, driven by mitochondrial leak, allows them to maintain a normal body temperature despite the frigid waters they inhabit.
