Statement of the problem: At which environmental temperature, do toads have the highest respiration rate?
Most animals obtain oxygen, which comprise 21% of the air, from the environment. Oxygen combines with hemoglobin of the blood to form oxyhemoglobin. Oxyhemoglobin is transported to the tissues where oxygen is released and used for the metabolic functions of the animal. The functions produce waste materials, such as carbon dioxide. Blood then picks up carbon dioxide from the tissues and transports it to the organ which finally expels it from the body to the environment. This exchange of gases is referred to as respiration. (Gerona, Mallorca. 2010) All living organisms get the energy they need to live from their food through this process. It is a chemical change, and like all chemical changes the rate at which it takes place depends upon the temperature. To produce more energy, there must be an increase in the respiration rate.
Animals can be divided into two groups. Mammals (including humans) and birds are warm-blooded, and all other animals are cold-blooded.
Warm-blooded animals keep their body temperature almost constant. Warm-blooded animals are also often known as endotherms. This means that their respiration rate does not depend on the temperature of their surroundings, and they can be as active on a cold winter's night as they are on a hot summer's day.
Reptiles such as toads are sometimes described as “cold-blooded” because they do not use their metabolism extensively to control their body temperature. However, they do regulate their body temperature by using behavioral adaptations. A more accurate description of these reptiles is to say that they are ectothermic, which means that they absorb external heat as their main source of body heat. Therefore, these organisms control body temperature mainly by behavior. When cold, they seek warm places, orienting themselves