ADAPTATIONS TO EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS

My interest in physiology was sparked by a fascination of how animals survive and thrive in the most extreme environments on Earth. I am interested generally in understanding the adaptations different animals use to exist in these harsh places. As an avid mountaineer and explorer, I have first hand experience of the wild weather of northern Scotland, the effects of high altitude in the European Alps, and the scorching heat of the US deserts. Without specialised equipment I would not survive, yet countless animals have chosen these environments as their homes. Adaptations at all levels of organisation, from changes in the molecular structure of hemoglobin to maintain oxygen uptake at high altitude in Andean geese, to counter-current heat exchangers in the feet of Arctic deer, to the waxy leaves of numerous xenophytic plants; these adaptations make these species' survival possible. The more I learn about such adaptations, the more fascinated I become.