Editing Rabbit (section)

==== Thermoregulation ====
[[File:California High Desert Cottontail Resting (cropped).jpg|thumb|The blood flow through the rabbit's ears help with thermoregulation, as seen in this [[desert cottontail]].<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.2307/1378969 |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |date=31 August 1973 |volume=54 |issue=3 |title=Acclimatization of Thermoregulation in the Desert Cottontail, Sylvilagus audubonii |last=Hinds |first=David S. |pages=708–728|jstor=1378969 |pmid=4744934 }}</ref>]]
The pinnae, which contain a vascular network and arteriovenous shunts, aid in thermoregulation.<ref name="VellaDonnelly" /> In a rabbit, the optimal body temperature is around {{convert|38.5|-|40.0|C|F|abbr=on }}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fayez |first1=I |title=Rabbit production in hot climates |last2=Marai |first2=M |last3=Alnaimy |first3=A |last4=Habeeb |first4=M |publisher=CIHEAM |year=1994 |editor1-last=Baselga |editor1-first=M |location=Zaragoza |pages=33–41 |chapter=Thermoregulation in rabbits |editor2-last=Marai |editor2-first=I.F.M. |chapter-url=http://om.ciheam.org/article.php?IDPDF=95605277}}</ref> If their body temperature exceeds or does not meet this optimal temperature, the rabbit must make efforts to return to [[homeostasis]]. Homeostasis of body temperature is maintained by changing the amount of blood flow that passes through the highly vascularized ears,<ref name=":1" />{{Sfn|Varga|2013|p=12}} as rabbits have few to no [[sweat gland]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Oladimeji |first1=Abioja Monsuru |last2=Johnson |first2=Temitope Gloria |last3=Metwally |first3=Khaled |last4=Farghly |first4=Mohamed |last5=Mahrose |first5=Khalid Mohamed |date=January 2022 |title=Environmental heat stress in rabbits: implications and ameliorations |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00484-021-02191-0 |journal=International Journal of Biometeorology |language=en |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1007/s00484-021-02191-0 |pmid=34518931 |issn=0020-7128|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Rabbits may also regulate their temperature by resting in depressions in the ground, known as forms.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Milling |first1=Charlotte R |last2=Rachlow |first2=Janet L |last3=Johnson |first3=Timothy R |last4=Forbey |first4=Jennifer S |last5=Shipley |first5=Lisa A |date=2017-09-01 |title=Seasonal variation in behavioral thermoregulation and predator avoidance in a small mammal |url=http://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/28/5/1236/3861738/Seasonal-variation-in-behavioral-thermoregulation |journal=Behavioral Ecology |language=en |volume=28 |issue=5 |pages=1236–1247 |doi=10.1093/beheco/arx084 |issn=1045-2249}}</ref>