AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Hibernation is a hypothermic condition when animals save energy during cold seasons by lowering body temperature, metabolism, breathing, and heart rate. This makes it possible for an animal to survive the winter on a fat deposit that would not last the winter.

Detailed explanation-2: -Brumation is known as the hibernation for cold-blooded animals. Ectotherms rely on their environment to regulate their body temperature. Cold temperatures cause reptiles and amphibians to hide underground, in rock crevices and in burrows to stay warm and safe.

Detailed explanation-3: -Certain animals hibernate because food supplies become scarce during the winter months. By going into a long deep sleep, they bypass this period completely, waking up when food becomes more plentiful.

Detailed explanation-4: -This can be a challenge when freezing weather comes along or when food is scarce. So, in order to survive, many endothermic animals go into what’s known as a state of ‘torpor’. During torpor, physiological processes, like breathing and heart rate, slow down. The body temperature is set at a new, lower point.

Detailed explanation-5: -During torpor, metabolism is severely depressed but hibernation also involves the inhibition of thermogenesis, leading to a considerable decrease in body temperature (Tb). The induction of torpor begins with lowering of the metabolic rate, followed by hypothermia as the Tb drifts downward (reviewed in: 1-3).