Haskell's Experiment

The ‘Experiment’ by Dr Haskell portrays the unusual experiment that he conducted to compare his bare body and a Chickadees body in harsh freezing conditions. He decided to investigate it further because there was no logical explanation for a tiny bird to be able to survive in such conditions. He related his astonishment to the Bergmann’s rule, which states that larger animals will be found in colder climates and smaller animals will be found in warmer climates. Haskell found that the Chickadees had many adaptations to the land that allowed them to survive and repopulate without migration. Their survival comes from their insulated feathers, shivering from slabs of fat muscle, their outstanding eyesight, fat reserves and
“Physiological Biology” by Maureen E. Basha discusses how certain animals live in certain conditions. Much like the chickadee Basha talks about other endothermic animals living in colder environments. Her information helps prove what Dr Haskell conducted in Mandela. A quote from the article details, “In cold weather, increased muscular activity through shivering or simply exercising provides a mechanism to increase metabolic heat production.” This helps prove Haskell’s research as when discussing one of the Chickadee’s main defenses against the weather he mentions shivering. Throughout the winter in Mandela chickadees use their muscles as a type of heat pump whenever the temperature becomes too cold. Muscles account for one quarter of their body weight so this is why shivering is such a useful technique in surviving. The animal that Basha relates her information to is the arctic fox, which is another endothermic organism. Her main argument on the fox’s survival in the winter is their insulation of a thick layer of fur. Once again this article can support what Haskell found in the chickadees adaptations to their environment. Both the arctic fox and the chickadee share a similar form of insulation. The chickadees insulation is from their feathers. Their feathers are made from thousands of protein strands, which build together to create a type of fuzz that holds heat at an incredible