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Hibernation Induction Trigger
Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic reduction entered 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. Although traditionally reserved for "deep" hibernators such as rodents, the term has been redefined to include animals such as bears and is now applied based on active metabolic suppression rather than any absolute decline in body temperature. Many experts believe that the processes of daily torpor and hibernation form a continuum and use similar mechanisms. The equivalent during the summer months is aestivation. Hibernation functions to conserve energy when sufficient food is not available. To achieve this energy saving, an endothermic animal decreases its metabolic rate and thereby its body temperature. Hibernation may last days, weeks, or months—depending on the sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eptesicus Nilssonii Hibernating
''Eptesicus'' is a genus of bats, commonly called house bats or serotine bats, in the family Vespertilionidae. The genus name is likely derived from the Greek words ''ptetikos'' 'able to fly' or ''petomai'' 'house flier', although this is not certain. Species Traditional The following species have traditionally been placed in ''Eptesicus'' 2023 proposed revision A 2023 study noted divisions within ''Eptesicus'' when considering physical characteristics, genetics, echolocation characteristics, and divergence timing, with the authors concluding that ''Eptesicus'' should be split into three genera. They described a new genus, ''Neoeptesicus'', and elevated the subgenus ''Cnephaeus'' to genus rank. The Old World ''Eptesicus'' species were moved to ''Cnephaeus'': * ''Cnephaeus anatolicus'' * ''Cnephaeus bottae'' * ''Cnephaeus floweri'' * ''Cnephaeus gobiensis'' * ''Cnephaeus hottentotus'' * ''Cnephaeus isabellinus'' * ''Cnephaeus japonensis'' * ''Cnephaeus kobayashii'' * ''Cneph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brumation
Dormancy is a period in an organism's life cycle when growth, development, and (in animals) physical activity are temporarily stopped. This minimizes metabolic activity and therefore helps an organism to conserve energy. Dormancy tends to be closely associated with environmental conditions. Organisms can synchronize entry to a dormant phase with their environment through predictive or consequential means. Predictive dormancy occurs when an organism enters a dormant phase ''before'' the onset of adverse conditions. For example, photoperiod and decreasing temperature are used by many plants to predict the onset of winter. Consequential dormancy occurs when organisms enter a dormant phase ''after'' adverse conditions have arisen. This is commonly found in areas with an unpredictable climate. While very sudden changes in conditions may lead to a high mortality rate among animals relying on consequential dormancy, its use can be advantageous, as organisms remain active longer and ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arctic Ground Squirrel
The Arctic ground squirrel (''Urocitellus parryii'') (Inuktitut: ''ᓯᒃᓯᒃ, siksik'') is a species of ground squirrel in the squirrel family Sciuridae that is native to the Arctic and Subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, mainly in North America and Asia. For some people in Alaska, particularly around the Aleutian Islands, the rodents are known as "parka" squirrels, likely due to their pelts being used for the ruff on parkas and other cold-weather clothing. Taxonomy Subspecies listed alphabetically. *''U. p. ablusus'' Osgood, 1903 *''U. p. kennicottii'' Ross, 1861 – Barrow ground squirrel ( Northern Alaska, N. Yukon and N. Northwest Territories) *''U. p. kodiacensis'' Ross, 1861 – Kodiak Island ground squirrel *''U. p. leucostictus'' Brandt, 1844 *''U. p. lyratus'' Hall and Gilmore, 1932 – St. Lawrence Island ground squirrel *''U. p. nebulicola'' Osgood, 1903 – Shumagin Islands ground squirrel ( Aleutians East Borough; islands of Koniuji, Korovin, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sleep Debt
Sleep debt or sleep deficit is the cumulative effect of not getting enough sleep. A large sleep debt may lead to mental or physical fatigue, and can adversely affect one's mood, energy, and ability to think clearly. There are two kinds of sleep debt: the result of partial sleep deprivation, and of total sleep deprivation. Partial sleep deprivation occurs when a person or a lab animal sleeps too little for several days or weeks. Total sleep deprivation, on the other hand, occurs when the subject is kept awake for at least 24 hours. There is debate in the scientific community over the specifics of sleep debt (see ), and it is not considered to be a disorder. Physiological effects of sleep debt The effects of chronic sleep debt on the human body's metabolic and endocrine processes are significant, particularly for those individuals who are overweight. An analysis of the physiological impacts of sleep debt, published in ''The Lancet'', investigated the physiological effects of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marsupials
Marsupials are a diverse group of mammals belonging to the infraclass Marsupialia. They are natively found in Australasia, Wallacea, and the Americas. One of marsupials' unique features is their reproductive strategy: the young are born in a relatively undeveloped state and then nurtured within a pouch on their mother's abdomen. Extant marsupials encompass many species, including kangaroos, koalas, opossums, possums, Tasmanian devils, wombats, wallabies, and bandicoots. Marsupials constitute a clade stemming from the last common ancestor of extant Metatheria, which encompasses all mammals more closely related to marsupials than to placentals. The evolutionary split between placentals and marsupials occurred 125-160 million years ago, in the Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous period. Presently, close to 70% of the 334 extant marsupial species are concentrated on the Australian continent, including mainland Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and nearby islands. The remaini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monotremes
Monotremes () are mammals of the order Monotremata. They are the only group of living mammals that lay eggs, rather than bearing live young. The extant monotreme species are the platypus and the four species of echidnas. Monotremes are typified by structural differences in their brains, jaws, digestive tract, reproductive tract, and other body parts, compared to the more common mammalian types. Although they are different from other living mammals in that they lay eggs, female monotremes are like other mammals in that they nurse their young with milk. Monotremes have been considered by some authors to be members of Australosphenida, a clade that contains extinct mammals from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of Madagascar, South America, and Australia, but this categorization is disputed and their taxonomy is under debate. All extant species of monotremes are indigenous to Australia and New Guinea, although they were also present during the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene epochs in sou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insectivores
A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores were amphibians. When they evolved 400 million years ago, the first amphibians were piscivores, with numerous sharp conical teeth, much like a modern crocodile. The same tooth arrangement is however also suited for eating animals with exoskeletons, thus the ability to eat insects can stem from piscivory. At one time, insectivorous mammals were scientifically classified in an order called Insectivora. This order is now abandoned, as not all insectivorous mammals are closely related. Most of the Insectivora taxa have been reclassified; those that have not yet been reclassified and found to be truly related to each other remain in the order Eulipotyphla. Although individually small, insects exist in enormous numbers. Insects make up a ver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Hedgehog
The European hedgehog (''Erinaceus europaeus''), also known as the West European hedgehog or common hedgehog, is a hedgehog species native to Europe from Iberia and Italy northwards into Scandinavia and westwards into the British Isles.Harris, S. & Yalden, D.W. (2008). ''Mammals of the British Isles: Handbook, 4th Edition.'' The Mammal Society, Southampton. It is a generally common and widely distributed species that can survive across a wide range of habitat types. It is a well-known species, and a favourite in European gardens, both for its endearing appearance and its preference for eating a range of garden pests. While populations are currently stable across much of its range, it is declining severely in Great Britain where it is now Red Listed, meaning that it is considered to be at risk of local extinction. Outside its native range, the species was introduced to New Zealand during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Description The European hedgehog has a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ground Squirrel
Ground squirrels are rodents of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) that generally live on the ground or in burrows, rather than in trees like the tree squirrels. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known as marmots (genus ''Marmota'') or prairie dogs, while the smaller and less bushy-tailed ground squirrels tend to be known as chipmunks (genus ''Tamias''). Together, they make up the "marmot Tribe (biology), tribe" of squirrels, Marmotini, a clade within the large and mainly ground squirrel subfamily Xerinae, and containing six living genera. Well-known members of this largely Holarctic group are the marmots (''Marmota''), including the American groundhog, the chipmunks, the susliks (''Spermophilus''), and the prairie dogs (''Cynomys''). They are highly variable in size and Morphology (biology), habitus, but most are remarkably able to rise up on their hind legs and upright posture, stand fully erect comfortably for pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seed Bank (other)
A seed bank is a repository of preserved seeds. Seed bank may also refer to: *The store of viable plant seed in an ecosystem; for example: ** Soil seed bank The soil seed bank is the natural storage of seeds, often dormant, within the soil of most ecosystems. The study of soil seed banks started in 1859 when Charles Darwin observed the emergence of seedlings using soil samples from the bottom of a lak ..., the viable seed present in the soil ** Canopy seed bank, the viable seed stored in the canopy of a serotinous tree or shrub {{disambig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seed Dormancy
Seed dormancy is an evolutionary adaptation that prevents seeds from germinating during unsuitable ecological conditions that would typically lead to a low probability of seedling survival. Dormant seeds do not germinate in a specified period of time under a combination of environmental factors that are normally conducive to the germination of non-dormant seeds. An important function of seed dormancy is delayed germination, which allows dispersal and prevents simultaneous germination of all seeds. The staggering of germination safeguards some seeds and seedlings from suffering damage or death from short periods of bad weather or from transient herbivores; it also allows some seeds to germinate when competition from other plants for light and water might be less intense. Another form of delayed seed germination is seed quiescence, which is different from true seed dormancy and occurs when a seed fails to germinate because the external environmental conditions are too dry or warm o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
