Question

How do living organisms maintain homeostasis? Explain briefly with respect to: (i) regulators, (ii) conformers, (iii) migration, (iv) suspension.

Answer 1

Homeostasis is the maintenance of a relatively constant internal environment despite changes in the external environment. Organisms maintain it in the following ways:

1. Regulators: Maintain a constant internal condition by physiological or behavioural means, e.g., birds and mammals keep body temperature at about 37°C through sweating and shivering. This needs much energy.
2. Conformers: Allow their internal conditions to change with the outside environment, e.g., most animals and nearly all plants. This is energetically cheaper.
3. Migration: Temporary movement to a more favourable area when stress is short-lived, e.g., migratory birds at Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur.
4. Suspension: Suspending activities during unfavourable conditions, e.g., dormancy in seeds and spores, hibernation in frogs and bears, aestivation in snails and frogs, and diapause in zooplankton.

Regulators, conformers, migration and suspension are complementary strategies by which organisms survive changing environments while keeping their internal functioning stable.