How does temperature of the air affects the plants and animals in the site?

Question

the question says it all... can anyone answer this? thanks in advance

Answer 1

Both have many species that adapted to various agro-climatic conditions. While animals can move to better places, for the same reason each plant species is much more rigid in the choice of the geography. Hence palnts are much more localised.

Plants are affected by evaporation of their water content and transpiration of water through. Low humidity affects and desiccates them. If it is coupled with high temparature it will be fatal. Animals have been much more adaptive. Being able to move helps them and is a positive factor. Most mammals are hot-blooded and have to keep their body temparature in equilibrium with the environmemt. This temparature is set at mean temparature normally of diurnal cycle (around 30 to 40 degrees C). Both humidity & temparature affects them. To reduce body temparature these have to perspire and if the humidity is also high, it causes distress. Cold blooded animals can bring down their rate of energy expenditure (metabolic rate) if the environment forces them. Then, they cease activity and burrow into earth.

Both Animal world and the plant life live in symbiotic relationship by which they help each other's (involuntarily and as ordained by nature). One such is the shelter (shade) from harsh sunlight provided by greenery to animals. Plants need sunlight for food metabolism. Here again, soaking sunlight for 12 hours may not be ideal as that entails enormous input of energy. Being green helps them. Sun's maximum radiation falls at approximate Green wavelength . By reflecting this energy away, plants are able to moderate their energy intake.

All these factors have evolved in response to specifics like the size and ouput of our star, the 'Sun' which is the primary source of all energy, its distance from earth. Constitution and distance of earth from its primary energy source, the same make-up of earth that went into the production of a certain kind of atmosphere. No single factor shall be altered beyond that narrow margin, as that affects overall life in catastrophic manner and even may wipe out life altogether. The life pattern on earth that humans have taken for granted is a very delicate balance of highly restrictive regime that is astronomical in its origin. Viewed like this, even to hazard an intelligent guess about expectation of life forms on other worlds is devoid of any wisdom.