All Topics  
Estivation

 
Estivation

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Estivation
 
 
  Topics Estivation Topic Home

Estivation or aestivation (from Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 aestas, summer), also known as "summer sleep", is a state of dormancy
Dormancy

Dormancy is a period in an Organism Biological life cycle when growth, development, and physical activity is temporarily suspended. This minimizes metabolism and therefore helps an organism to conserve energy....
 somewhat similar to hibernation
Hibernation

Hibernation is a state of inactivity and Metabolism depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate....
. It takes place during times of heat and dryness, the hot dry season, which is often but not inevitably the summer months.

Invertebrate and vertebrate animals are known to enter this state, in order to avoid damage from high temperatures and the risk of desiccation
Desiccation

Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately-well sealed container....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Estivation'
Start a new discussion about 'Estivation'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Estivation or aestivation (from Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 aestas, summer), also known as "summer sleep", is a state of dormancy
Dormancy

Dormancy is a period in an Organism Biological life cycle when growth, development, and physical activity is temporarily suspended. This minimizes metabolism and therefore helps an organism to conserve energy....
 somewhat similar to hibernation
Hibernation

Hibernation is a state of inactivity and Metabolism depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate....
. It takes place during times of heat and dryness, the hot dry season, which is often but not inevitably the summer months.

Invertebrate and vertebrate animals are known to enter this state, in order to avoid damage from high temperatures and the risk of desiccation
Desiccation

Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately-well sealed container....
. Both terrestrial and aquatic animals undergo estivation.

Invertebrates


Lady beetles (Coccinellidae) have been reported to estivate

Mollusks

Certain air-breathing land snail
Snail

The word snail is a common name for almost all members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled animal shells in the adult stage. When the word snail is used in a general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails....
s, including species in the genera Helix
Helix

A helix is a special kind of space curve, i.e. a Differentiable manifold curve in three-space. As a mental image of a helix one may take the spring ....
, Cernuella
Cernuella

Cernuella is a genus of small air-breathing land snails, pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Hygromiidae.The genus is considered to occur primarily in the Mediterranean, and some species such as Cernuella virgata are significant invasive species, agricultural pests, in parts of Australia....
, Helicella
Helicella

Helicella is a genus of small to medium-sized, air-breathing land snails, Terrestrial animal pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Hygromiidae....
 and Otala
Otala

Otala is a genus of large air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Helicidae. Archaeological recovery in Morocco indicates the exploitation of this genus by ancient Romans....
, commonly estivate during periods of heat. Some species move into shaded vegetation or rubble. Others climb up tall plants, including bushes and trees, and will also climb man-made structures such as posts, fences, etc, in order to get away from the intense ground heat.

The habit of climbing up vegetation in order to estivate has caused more than one introduced snail species to be declared an agricultural nuisance: a crop pest.

To seal the opening to their shell in order to prevent water loss, pulmonate land snails secrete a membrane called an epiphragm, which is made of dried mucus. In certain species, such as Helix pomatia
Helix pomatia

Helix pomatia, common names the Burgundy snail, Roman snail, edible snail or escargot, is a species of large, edible, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial animal pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Helicidae....
, this barrier is reinforced with calcium carbonate, and thus it superficially resembles an operculum
Operculum

In biology, operculum has been used to describe several different anatomical features, in animals, in humans and even in plants. The following list gives some of the uses of the term:...
, except that it has a tiny hole to allow some oxygen exchange.

Arthropods

Many land crabs spend dry seasons in an inactive state at the bottom of their burrows.

Vertebrates

Non-mammals which estivate include North American desert tortoises
Desert Tortoise

The desert tortoise is a species of tortoise native to the Mojave desert and Sonoran desert of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico....
, crocodile
Crocodile

A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all members of the order Crocodilia: i.e....
s, salamander
Salamander

Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by slender bodies, short noses, and long tails....
s, and lungfish
Lungfish

Lungfish are freshwater fish belonging to the Subclass Dipnoi. Lungfish are best-known for retaining characteristics primitive within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and structures primitive within Sarcopterygii, including the presence of lobed fins with a well-developed internal skeleton....
es. The lungfish (Protopterus) estivates by burying itself in mud formed at the surface of a dried up lake. First it forms a cocoon of dried mucus. It then forms a tube through which reduced respiration continues.

Some amphibians (e.g. the cane toad
Cane Toad

The cane toad , also known as the Giant Neotropical Toad or Marine Toad, is a large, terrestrial true toad native to Central America and South America....
 and greater siren
Greater Siren

The greater siren is an eel-like amphibian. The largest of the Siren , they can grow from to in length. They range in color from black to brown, and have a lighter gray or yellow underbelly....
) estivate during the hot dry season by moving underground where it is cooler and more humid. The California red-legged frog
California Red-legged Frog

The California Red-legged Frog is a moderate to large species of frog. It is nowadays known under the scientific name Rana draytonii, after being long included with the Northern Red-legged Frog as subspecies of a single species called simply Red-legged Frog....
 may estivate to conserve energy when its food and water supply is low.

Mammals

Until recently no primate
Primate

A primate is a member of the biological order Primates , the group that contains lemurs, the Aye-aye, Lorisidaes, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes, with the last category including humans....
, and no tropical mammal
Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
, was known to estivate. However, animal physiologist Kathrin Dausmann of Philipps University of Marburg
Philipps University of Marburg

The University of Marburg , was founded in 1527 by Landgraf Philip I of Hesse as the world's first and oldest Protestant university.It was the main university of the principality of Hesse and remains a public university of that German state....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, and coworkers presented evidence in the 24 June 2004 edition of Nature
Nature (journal)

Nature is a prominent scientific journal, first published on 4 November 1869. Although most scientific journals are now highly specialized, Nature is one of the few journals, along with other weekly journals such as Science and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that still publishes original research articles ac...
 that the Malagasy
Madagascar

Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar , is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the List of islands by area, and is home to 5% of the world's plant and animal species, of which more than 80% are Endemism to Madagascar....
 fat-tailed dwarf lemur hibernates or estivates in a small cricket hollow for seven months of the year.

See also

  • Critical thermal maximum
    Critical thermal maximum

    Critical thermal maximum, in zoology, is that temperature for a given species above which most individuals respond with unorganized locomotion, subjecting the animal to likely death....
  • Torpor
    Torpor

    Torpor, sometimes called temporary hibernation is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually characterized by a reduced body temperature and rate of metabolism....
     - regulated hypothermia for less than a day, often used by birds
  • Hibernation induction trigger
    Hibernation induction trigger

    Hibernation induction trigger is a substance found in the blood of hibernation animals. If blood is taken from a hibernating squirrel in the winter and injected into another squirrel in the spring, the normally active squirrel goes into hibernation....


External links