Study Questions Chapter 6- Temperature and Water Relations

1. How does a parchment-shelled egg or an amphibian manage to exist in a desert environment?

2. Compare and constrast a hard shelled bird or crocodile egg with a parchment-shelled egg from a typical squamate with regards to a) water balance, and b) the composition of yolk vs albumin.

3. Draw a graph indicating the relationship between T and hatchling mass. Explain the slope of the line. Add a second line for a soil mixture that is dryer than the first and explain its vertical location relative to the first.
4. Why do life history traits change in response to the thermal environment (e.g., latitude)? What limits the range of a species of lizard?
5. Why are reptiles and amphibians larger in the northern part of their range, or at high elevation?