Question

Which one of the following is not a characteristic of large-sized animals?
A) High BMR
B) Longer generation time
C) Lower reproductive rates
D) Slower growth rates

Answer 1

Large-sized animals are the animals who have greater body mass. These animals include mammals. These organisms need greater energy as compared to small-sized animals for carrying out their physiology.

Complete answer:
The large-sized animals include whales, giraffes, squid etc. These animals have greater height body weight and greater need of energy.

Let us discuss the options given-
A) BMR- It stands for Basal metabolic rate. It is defined as the number of calories or energy required by the body to carry out the physiology. It can be considered as the energy expenditure of the organism. It depends on the mass of the body. The smaller the size of the organism greater will be the energy requirements. Thus, larger animals require small energy hence low BMR as compared to smaller ones.
B) Generation time- It is the time needed to complete one generation. The larger sized animals have a larger generation time.
C) Reproductive rates- It is defined as the conditions under which the generations are replaced. As the gestation period of the larger animals is greater than that of the smaller ones, the larger animals have lower reproductive rates.
D) Growth rate- It is the significant change in the size, of the organism over a particular time. The smaller organisms show a significant increase in growth within a small time whereas larger animals which not show a similar growth rate at the same time.

Therefore the correct answer is option ‘A’.

Note: The organisms utilise energy in the form of heat from its surrounding and also utilises in carrying out physiological functions like breathing, blood circulation, reproduction etc. The absorption of the utilisation of energy is known as endothermy.