Estivation is a state of dormancy similar to hibernation but entered during summer heat and drought rather than winter cold, marked by inactivity and a lowered metabolic rate. Land snails, lungfish, desert tortoises and some frogs and lemurs estivate, and unlike deeper dormant states the animal's physiology can be reversed quickly once conditions improve. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
PeriodicitySeasonal; entered during summer heat or drought and rapidly reversed once conditions improve 1 First DescribedHomer W. Smith, Nicolette Farinacci and Adolph Breitwieser published the foundational physiological study of lungfish aestivation in 1930 (Metabolism of the Lungfish Protopterus aethiopicus, Journal of Biological Chemistry), establishing that lungfish accumulate urea rather than the more toxic ammonia while dormant in dry-season mud cocoons, a finding still cited as the field's starting reference. 2 Connections
Demonstrated By
Dry-season dormancy is a defining survival strategy for animals of seasonally dry tropical forests.
Source Tropical and Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Estivation (Wikipedia)
WikipediaQuote
Organisms that aestivate appear to be in a fairly light state of dormancy, as their physiological state can be rapidly reversed.
2. Aestivation Induces Widespread Transcriptional Changes in the African Lungfish (Frontiers in Genetics, 2023)
Frontiers in Genetics, 2023Discussion section, citing Smith et al. 1930Quote, Discussion section, citing Smith et al. 1930
Smith H. W., Farinacci N., Breitwieser A. (1930). Metabolism of the lungfish Protopterus aethiopicus. J. Biol. Chem. 88, 97-130.
Tropical and Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests (Wikipedia)
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