What do hibernation mean

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Words nearby hibernation hibakusha , Hibbing , hibernaculum , hibernal , hibernate , hibernation , Hibernia , Hibernian , Hibernicism , Hibernicize , Hiberno-.

All rights reserved. Words related to hibernation lethargy , sluggishness , stagnation , coma , dream , slumber , trance , flora , greenery , dawdling , dormancy , droning , inactivity , indolence , inertia , leisure , loafing , shiftlessness , sloth , slothfulness.

How to use hibernation in a sentence Feminism had gone into partial hibernation during the s, saddled with a reputation for severity and humorlessness. Well … not exactly. And why do some animals hibernate? Do they just prefer to spend winter tucked under the doona? Do they detest winter sports?

Or are they just lazy? While there are physiological changes associated with sleep such as slowed breathing and heart rate , they are not nearly as dramatic or significant as those which occur during hibernation. And here we get to the reason why animals hibernate: reducing their metabolism allows them to conserve energy. Ectothermic animals are those whose body temperature depends on the ambient temperature. Endotherms , by contrast, can regulate their own body temperature by generating internal heat by combusting fuels.

People are endotherms. However, this distinction can be a bit misleading, since some fish, reptiles and insects are actually fully or partially endothermic. On the other hand, ectotherms are more reliant on environmental conditions: a lizard, for example, can only warm up from a cold spell if heat from an external source, like the sun, is applied.

Endotherms, by contrast, can warm themselves up by producing heat metabolically and by shivering, for example.

But for endotherms to be able to regulate their temperature, they need enough fuel to burn—in other words, they need enough food to counter the effects of cold. This can be a challenge when freezing weather comes along or when food is scarce. During torpor, physiological processes, like breathing and heart rate, slow down.

The body temperature is set at a new, lower point. Animals that are able to adjust their base body temperature and metabolism in this way are known as take a deep breath heterothermic endotherms.

Tawny frogmouths are an example. The largest bird known to employ torpor, it goes into this energy-saving state at night or in the early morning, especially on cold winter days, between which it feeds and functions as usual. In fact, many birds enter daily or nightly torpor, including kingfishers and owls, as do many small mammals.

So how does this relate to hibernation? Well, hibernation is essentially a series of bouts of torpor that each last for many days. Hibernation differs from daily torpor in that it usually involves much lower body temperatures and metabolic rates, and is often seasonal. In addition, while animals who go into daily torpor wake up and forage or feed in the usual way, hibernating animals either feed off their body fat or on specially stored food.

Like many other hibernators, they pig out in the warmer months, gaining up to 13 kilos a week on carb-rich berries and other food. They also prepare a special place to hibernate a hibernaculum, if you want to get technical —a den lined with leaves and twigs. There are two types of fat — regular white fat and brown fat. It sends a quick burst of energy to warm these organs first when it is time to wake up. If the temperature falls too low, some animals will awaken slightly and shiver to warm up a bit.