Aestivation is to endure sizzling situations whereas animals like this hedgehog hibernate to survive the winter.
Ever felt the urge to sleep via a sizzling day? Some animals do precisely that to beat the warmth, however for a complete season. This known as estivation (or aestivation). It is a organic phenomenon whereby the animal enters an extended interval of dormancy, or inactivity, in response to excessive temperature or perhaps even drought-like situations. It is a survival technique that helps the animal preserve power and water in a tough time.
During estivation, the animal typically seeks shelter in a cool underground burrow, crevice or cocoon, the place it can stay in a state of lowered metabolic exercise, which in flip reduces the speed at which the physique consumes power. Estivation can be a means to keep away from desiccation – i.e. excessive dryness of the pores and skin – and in addition decrease the chance of being preyed on by a predator.
For instance, the West African lungfish (Protopterus annectens) burrows into the mud of a drying water physique and secretes a cocoon of mucus round itself throughout a drought. Desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) dig burrows and retreat into them in sizzling summer season months. Many land snails seal themselves of their shells with a mucous plug, and keep inactive till the situations outdoors enhance.
