Įctothermic animals also undergo periods of metabolic suppression and dormancy, which in many invertebrates is referred to as diapause.
During hibernation, they subsequently lose 15–27% of their pre-hibernation weight by using their stored fats for energy. The fat accumulation enables them to provide a sufficiently warm and nurturing environment for their newborns. The pregnant mothers significantly increase their body mass prior to hibernation, and this increase is further reflected in the weight of the offspring. For example, female black bears go into hibernation during the winter months in order to give birth to their offspring. Some species of mammals hibernate while gestating young, which are born either while the mother hibernates or shortly afterwards. In many small species, food caching replaces eating and becoming fat. Larger species become hyperphagic, eating a large amount of food and storing the energy in their bodies in the form of fat deposits. Before entering hibernation, animals need to store enough energy to last through the duration of their dormant period, possibly as long as an entire winter. Hibernation may last days, weeks, or months-depending on the species, ambient temperature, time of year, and the individual's body-condition. To achieve this energy saving, an endothermic animal decreases its metabolic rate and thereby its body temperature. Hibernation functions to conserve energy when sufficient food is not available. The equivalent during the summer months is aestivation.
Many experts believe that the processes of daily torpor and hibernation form a continuum and utilise similar mechanisms. It most commonly occurs during winter months.Īlthough traditionally reserved for "deep" hibernators such as rodents, the term has been redefined to include animals such as bears and is now applied based on active metabolic suppression rather than any absolute decline in body temperature.
Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species.
0 kommentar(er)
