Biology of Business

Social Thermogenesis

TL;DR

Clustered organisms share body heat to survive conditions that would kill individuals—like emperor penguin huddles reaching 37.5°C inside while outside air is -40°C.

By Alex Denne

Social thermogenesis occurs when organisms cluster together for warmth. Naked mole rat colonies of 100+ cluster together, with members rotating from warm center to cold periphery, surviving together when individuals would die alone. Emperor penguins huddle in groups of thousands, with temperatures inside reaching 37.5°C while outside air is -40°C.

Business Application of Social Thermogenesis

Ecosystem collaboration for survival - companies in an industry cluster may survive together through shared resources, rotating between profitable and unprofitable positions, when each alone would fail.

Related Mechanisms for Social Thermogenesis

Related Organisms for Social Thermogenesis