Adaptive Value

Function

Hibernation is a survival strategy that allows organisms to undergo deep torpor in order to go long months with limited resources. Seasonal hibernators go through cycles of sleep and arousal until the environmental conditions are suitable for normal life and function.

Hypometabolic states are important survival strategies for many organisms when challenged by environmental stress such as low oxygen, cold temperatures and lack of resources. When changes in environmental or physiological conditions occur that challenge viability, many organisms retreat into a hypometabolic state. Multicellular organisms can enter reversible hypometabolic states that can last for long spans of time. In animals, hypometabolic states are integral parts of hibernation. Endotherms typically start this with accumulation of large triglyceride buildups; “one example is late-summer hyperphagia ensures that mammalian hibernators build up huge white adipose depots that increase body mass by ∼50%”. (Storey and Storey, 2007)