Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It is most commonly used to pass through winter months – called overwintering.
Aestivation (Latin: aestas (summer); also spelled estivation in American English) is a state of animal dormancy, similar to hibernation, although taking place in the summer rather than the winter. Aestivation is characterized by inactivity and a lowered metabolic rate, that is entered in response to high temperatures and arid conditions. [ 1 ]
Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activity or even survival difficult or near impossible. In some cases "winter" is characterized not ...
Slowing metabolic rate to conserve energy in times of insufficient resources is the primarily noted purpose of torpor. [18] This conclusion is largely based on laboratory studies where torpor was observed to follow food deprivation. [19]
A time sink is an enjoyable but time-wasting activity. Some parents call video games a waste of time, while some introverts call parties a waste of time, making the term highly subjective; even sleeping could be considered a time sink. Some time sinks become popular and are therefore not as commonly referred to as a time sink.
The western malaria mosquito overwinters as adults, traveling between multiple human structures throughout the winter. [37] [38] Other methods of hibernation include the inhabitance of bark, where insects nest more toward the southern side of the tree for heat provided by the sun. Cocoons, galls, and parasitism are also common methods of ...
The word dormouse comes from Middle English dormous, of uncertain origin, possibly from a dialectal element *dor-, from Old Norse dár ' benumbed ' and Middle English mous ' mouse '. The word is sometimes conjectured to come from an Anglo-Norman derivative of dormir ' to sleep ' , with the second element mistaken for mouse , but no such Anglo ...
Acclimatization occurs in a short period of time (hours to weeks), and within the organism's lifetime (compared to adaptation, which is evolution, taking place over many generations). This may be a discrete occurrence (for example, when mountaineers acclimate to high altitude over hours or days) or may instead represent part of a periodic cycle ...