Fig. 1.

Virtual animals thermoregulated less accurately but moved more and expended more energy when preferred microclimates were clumped. Here, thermoregulatory inaccuracy is the absolute difference between body temperature and the preferred temperature. Thermoregulation was simulated in landscapes containing 1, 4, or 16 patches within the preferred range of operative temperatures. The structure of the thermal landscape had no impact on the performance of animals that moved randomly with respect to temperature (labeled C for control). See Supporting Information for details about the simulations.