We explain what hibernation is, what it is for and its differences with wintering, dormancy and aestivation. What animals hibernate?
What is hibernation?
hibernation It is the ability of some animals to adapt to the very low temperatures of winter through different mechanisms of internal regulation of metabolism. It induces a state similar to hypothermia for days, weeks or even months, then recovers and returns to life when temperatures are more suitable.
This is a typical mechanism of warm-blooded animals (homeotherms), although some species of cold-blooded animals (poikilotherms) have also demonstrated similar behaviors.
Generally, the animal that is preparing to hibernate chooses a suitable place for it, where it feels safe. Then decreases your vital functions to sleep during the coldest period during which it depends on the food reserves accumulated in its body during the months prior to winter.
Its metabolism operates slower, its respirations slow down and the animal seems immersed in a deep coma, from which it can wake up when the time is appropriate.
Hibernation operates differently, depending on the species of animal, but it is part of the set of survival strategies that living beings put into practice in the most extreme cold climates. However, the exact mechanisms of its operation are not yet perfectly known.
See also: Adaptation of living beings
Hibernation or wintering
The terms “hibernation” and “winterization” although they sound similar and in principle have the same purpose, they are not the same. Both refer to particular actions that, during the winter, animals undertake to take refuge from the cold.
On the one hand, hibernation involves isolation and surrender to deep sleep. It requires weeks of preparation and accumulation of energy resources in the body.
On the other hand, wintering is a geographical movement towards warmer latitudes where the animals wait for the cold to subside so they can return home without suffering the rigors of winter. Some animals hibernate and others overwinter.
dormancy
Dormancy is a process similar to hibernation, in which living beings (animals and plants) respond to adverse environmental conditions by assuming a form of latency, that is, metabolic slowness. Animals in dormancy they suspend their growth and development processes, as well as their physical activity.
Hibernation, aestivation, dipause and brumation are considered forms of dormancy. There are two forms of dormancy, according to the relationship between the living being and the threatening environment:
- Predictive dormancy It occurs when the living being undertakes its dormancy process before the environment becomes hostile, that is, as a forecast of the unfavorable climatic environment to come.
- Consequent dormancy It occurs when the living being undertakes its dormancy process as a reaction to the change in the environment, that is, once said change has already occurred.
Animals that hibernate
There are many animals capable of hibernating, but The best known are the bears of the polar and circumpolar regions like the brown bear (Ursus arctos).
The Pachuca nightjar also hibernates (Phalaeonoptilus nuttalli) North American, some species of bats from the temperate zone (family Vespertilinidae), the common European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), wild dogs (family Sciuridae) and some European rodents such as marmots.
Hibernation and estivation
Hibernation and aestivation are reactions to extreme weather, but in completely opposite cases: hibernation occurs in very cold climates and aestivation takes place in very hot and dry climates. Aestivation is common in tropical animal species or in regions of enormous solar impact, such as deserts.
Many animals resort to burying themselves in mud to preserve their body temperature and protect themselves from drought, while others simply resort to drowsiness and immobility. The aestivation usually lasts a few weeks or even months but there are species of batrachians in which a prolonged aestivation occurs from which only some individuals return to life.
Continue with: Wild animals
References
- “Hibernation” on Wikipedia.
- “Did you know that hibernating is not the same as wintering?” at Aquae Foundation.
- “How does hibernation work?” (video) by Sheena Lee Faherty in TED Talk.
- “What is hibernation?” on Discover Wildlife (BBC).
- “Hibernation” in The Encyclopaedia Britannica.
