Evidence supports the hypothesis that mammalian endothermy and high core body temperatures evolved as an optimal trade-off providing a thermal exclusion zone against fungal infections.
Papers 2, 5, and 10 explicitly discuss how mammalian endothermy and high body temperatures function as a thermal restriction zone protecting against fungal pathogens, with paper 5 specifically modeling this as an evolutionary trade-off between metabolic costs and fungal disease resistance. No papers refute the claim.