Ruqayyah Snyder
Hibernation is a way for animals to conserve energy and survive harsh weather conditions or a lack of food. It involves physiological changes such as a drop in body temperature and a slowed metabolism. While hibernation is usually associated with winter, some animals, such as bats, wake up from hibernation to forage on warmer days before re-entering hibernation. In Australia, a continent with a diverse range of climates, several species of animals hibernate, including the iconic echidna, which was discovered to hibernate by Australian scientists in the 1980s.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Animals that hibernate in Australia | Echidnas, eastern pygmy possums, fat-tailed dunnarts, bats, and nocturnal owls |
| Reason for hibernation | To conserve energy, survive adverse weather conditions, and deal with a lack of food |
| Hibernation characteristics | A drop in body temperature, a slowed metabolism, and a deep and prolonged sleep |
| Torpor | A state of lowered metabolic rate and body temperature, which can be daily or long-term |
| Australian animals that use torpor | Eastern pygmy possums, fat-tailed dunnarts, and some bats |
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What You'll Learn
Why hibernation occurs
Hibernation is a state of reduced metabolic activity in animals that allows them to conserve energy and survive during periods of extreme cold, lack of food, or reduced water availability. During hibernation, an animal's body temperature drops, its heart rate slows down, and its breathing becomes slower and shallower. Some animals even stop breathing for periods of over an hour. This state of lowered metabolism allows them to conserve energy and survive adverse weather conditions.
Hibernation is not just a long sleep, and animals do periodically wake up from hibernation. One reason they do so may be to catch up on some slow-wave sleep. Insectivorous bats, for example, often wake up from hibernation to forage on warmer winter days before entering another period of multiday torpor. Similarly, hibernating echidnas in the Australian Alps typically wake up in mid-winter to mate.
Hibernation allows animals to survive in harsh conditions of cold temperatures, lack of food, and scarce water. For example, the fat-tailed dwarf lemur hibernates during the long dry season in western Madagascar, when food and water are scarce. The lemur uses the fat stored in its tail to survive during hibernation, which can last up to eight months. Similarly, female black bears go into hibernation during the winter months to give birth to their offspring, using their stored fat for energy.
Hibernation also helps animals escape predators. For example, dormice avoid being eaten by birds of prey by hibernating, which may explain their unusually long lifespans.
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Australian hibernators
Australia is home to a variety of hibernating species, including mammals, birds, and marsupials. While hibernation was once thought to be rare among Australian animals, it is now known to be widespread, particularly among small mammals.
One well-known Australian hibernator is the echidna, a mammal native to the country. Echidnas in the Australian Alps typically wake up during mid-winter to mate and exhibit patterns of hibernation or torpor, characterised by periods of lowered metabolic rate and body temperature. Another Australian hibernator is the eastern pygmy possum, a small marsupial found in southeastern Australia. During hibernation, its body temperature can drop from 35°C to as low as 5°C, and it can survive for up to two weeks on just 1 gram of fat.
The fat-tailed dunnart, a carnivorous marsupial, also uses torpor to conserve energy when food is scarce. Weighing only about 12 grams, it may need to eat its body weight in food each day. By entering torpor, it can reduce its metabolic rate and body temperature, matching the temperature of its underground nest.
Bats, or flying foxes, are another group of hibernators in Australia. Insectivorous bats may wake up from hibernation on warmer winter days to forage before entering another period of torpor. Nocturnal birds in Australia, such as owls, also use torpor to save energy during the day and during colder periods.
Hibernation is an adaptive strategy that allows animals to conserve energy and survive adverse weather conditions or food scarcity. While it is typically associated with winter and colder climates, Australian hibernators may also use torpor to cope with other challenging environmental conditions, such as drought.
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Daily torpor
The fat-tailed dunnart is another example of an Australian animal that uses daily torpor. This carnivorous marsupial weighs only 12 grams and needs to eat its body weight in food each day. When food is scarce, it will forage at night and then enter torpor in the early morning, reducing its metabolic rate and body temperature to conserve energy.
Other Australian animals that employ daily torpor include myrmecobiids (numbats), tarsipedids (honey-possums), petaurid possums (sugar gliders), rodents, small megabats (blossom-bats), and long-eared bats. While daily torpor is a useful survival strategy, it is important to note that it is distinct from hibernation, which is a prolonged form of torpor lasting multiple days or weeks.
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Nocturnal birds
Australia is home to a diverse range of nocturnal birds, each with its own unique characteristics and behaviours. One of the most well-known nocturnal birds in Australia is the Tawny Frogmouth, often mistaken for an owl due to its large head and wide mouth. It is a master of camouflage, blending seamlessly with tree branches during the day and actively hunting insects, frogs, and small mammals at night. Male frogmouths are generally larger than females, and their plumage can be grey or brown.
Another iconic nocturnal bird in Australia is the Hawk Owl, recognised by its yellow irises and large eyes set in an indistinct facial disc. They are often heard rather than seen, known for their repetitive territorial calls. Hawk Owls play an essential role in the nocturnal ecosystem by controlling populations of small mammals and insects. Their facial disc enhances their hearing, enabling them to locate prey with precision.
The Southern Boobook, also known as the "Mopoke," is famous for its distinctive "boo-book" or "mo-poke" call. It is an opportunistic hunter, preying on insects, small mammals, and birds. The Barn Owl, with its slender legs and dark eyes set in a heart-shaped facial disc, is another well-known nocturnal bird in Australia, specialising in hunting rodents, reptiles, and large insects.
The Australian Owlet-nightjar is a small nocturnal bird, rarely seen during the day as it roosts in tree hollows or rock crevices. It emerges at dusk to hunt insects, using its large eyes and acute hearing to navigate and locate prey in the darkness. With a length of just 20-25 cm, the Owlet-nightjar is a formidable hunter, capable of catching insects on the wing with its wide mouth. Its grey plumage and small, broad bill edged with bristles make it distinct.
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Hibernation and climate change
Animals hibernate to conserve energy and survive adverse weather conditions or a lack of food. Hibernation involves physiological changes such as a drop in body temperature and a slowed metabolism. While hibernation is usually seasonal, hibernating animals may periodically wake up from hibernation, for example, to forage on warmer winter days.
Climate change is altering the seasonal environmental conditions to which animals have adapted. It can alter the length of climatic seasons, affecting resource availability (such as food and shelter) and the amount of time animals have to prepare for subsequent seasons and life stages. Climate change can also disrupt the timing and synchrony between animal behaviours or life cycles and resource availability. For example, warmer sea temperatures affect the life cycle of small animals and plants that live in the ocean and are eaten by fish, creating a mismatch between Atlantic cod migration and food availability.
Hibernating species are particularly susceptible to changes in seasonal climate as they have a relatively short active season in which to reproduce and gain enough mass to survive the following winter. Warmer winter temperatures can affect survival rates, with immature individuals benefiting from warmer temperatures and older individuals experiencing lower survival rates. Climate change can also affect the distribution of species, with rising temperatures causing species to shift their distribution northward into higher latitudes.
Studies have shown that climate change is causing seasonally divergent demographic responses in hibernating mammals. While climate change will likely have a positive effect on summer survival, it will have a negative impact on winter survival. This is particularly true for species in highly seasonal environments, such as the yellow-bellied marmot, which is found in western North America where climate change is evident through reduced snowpack, rising temperatures, increased precipitation intensity, and more frequent droughts.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, hibernation is not exclusive to animals in the Northern Hemisphere. Some Australian animals that hibernate include the echidna, eastern pygmy possum, and the fat-tailed dunnart.
Animals hibernate to conserve energy during adverse weather conditions or when there is a lack of food. Hibernation involves physiological changes such as a drop in body temperature and a slowed metabolism.
The duration of hibernation varies among species. Some animals hibernate for a few hours, while others may hibernate for several months or even through the entire winter season.
