in zoology, principle correlating external temperature and the ratio of body surface to weight in warm-blooded animals. Birds and mammals in cold regions have been observed to be bulkier than individuals of the same species in warm regions. The principle was proposed by Carl Bergmann, a 19th-century German biologist, to account for an adaptive mechanism to conserve or to radiate body heat, depending on climate.
BERGMANN'S RULE
Meaning of BERGMANN'S RULE in English
Britannica English vocabulary. Английский словарь Британика. 2012