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Hibernation is an ingenious adaptation that some animals employ to survive difficult conditions in winter.
FREE
This course includes
Hours of videos
16 hours, 22 minutes
Units & Quizzes
41
Unlimited Lifetime access
Access on mobile app
Certificate of Completion
This course, Animals at the extremes: hibernation and torpor, examines the differences between hibernation and torpor, and discusses the characteristic signs of hibernation behaviour. It explores the triggers that bring on hibernation, and whether internal signals or external season cues are predominant. It also examines the physiological adaptations that occur in hibernating animals.
Course learning outcomes
After studying this course, you should be able to:
- Define and use, or recognise definitions and applications of, each of the bold terms
- Give definitions of the terms ‘hibernation’, ‘torpor’ and ‘adaptive hypothermia’, and the three physiological processes that underlie them
- Give examples of the diversity of the major groups of mammals and birds that contain hibernating species
- Describe the physiological changes occurring during entry to hibernation and at least three of the cues that may trigger entry
- Present evidence to show that hibernating mammals and birds retain physiological control of their Tb.
Course Currilcum
- Introduction 00:05:00
- Learning outcomes 00:07:00
- Hibernation and torpor: An introduction 00:45:00
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- Degrees of torpor 00:30:00
- Species showing torpor or deep hibernation 00:30:00
- Hibernators as eutherms 00:30:00
- Summary 00:15:00
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- Introduction 00:07:00
- Signals for entry 00:30:00
- Physiological changes during entry 00:20:00
- Maintenance 00:35:00
- Arousal 00:05:00
- Alarm arousal 00:10:00
- Periodic arousal 00:35:00
- Arousal (continued) 00:40:00
- Final arousal 00:05:00
- Length of torpor bouts in hibernation 00:10:00
- Summary 00:10:00
- Scientific approaches 00:45:00
- Arresting protein synthesis 00:30:00
- Cellular changes 00:20:00
- Cell survival mechanisms 00:20:00
- Summary 00:10:00
- Introduction 00:15:00
- The hypothalamus as central regulator 01:00:00
- Metabolic regulation and the midbrain 00:15:00
- Rapid-response genes and rhythmic neuronal activity 00:25:00
- The neurotransmitters histamine and serotonin: a role for chemical signalling between neurons of the hypothalamus 00:30:00
