Alyssa Butts
Hummingbirds survive cold nights by freezing itself
A hummingbird freezes itself on cold nights to save energy. Blair wolf got 26 different species of hummingbirds to see what they all would do. The birds pointed their beaks upward, fluffed their feathers and stopped moving. Humming Birds feed on nectar which is a high-energy sugar provided by flowers.
During the day, these hummingbirds hearts can beat 1,200 times a minute but during the torpor the heart beats as low as 40 times a minute. At sunrise the birds start back warming up.
Humans obviously don’t have this ability in any form, but what if they did?
Is there any other animal or bird that does this?
What are your thoughts on the way hummingbirds survive ?
Maybe if we had this ability we could save ourselves in emergency situations in which we need too, Right off the top of my head I don't know any other animals but maybe animals that hibernate such as bears or bats. Ans lastly I think this is a very interesting method of survival in the animal world, thanks for presenting!
ReplyDelete- Tyler A.
Thank you for sharing this is very interesting! This process reminds me of how bears hibernate, as they also lower metabolic function to enter a sleep-like state. This seems to be a very advantageous trait for organisms in extreme environments, this makes me wonder what implications it would have for other organisms, and what allows an organism to enter this state.
ReplyDeleteCarissa Bersche
I show I use to watch called The 100 has a scene in it where they basically go into these hibernation chambers and hibernate as a last resort as they travel space. Although that was fiction, I wonder if there was more research/development in new technology, it would be possible to hibernate during space travel to planets that are years away. In addition, I also know that healthy tortoises can hibernate too. Cool topic, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to add my name, Trinity Mathis
DeleteI actually did a project on hummingbirds' ability to do this. I wanted to say that what the hummingbird is doing is called torpor not hibernation. The difference is that torpor is involuntary and for short periods of time, but hibernation is for long periods of time and is voluntary. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete-Ilori Tankpinou
I think that is would be really cool if humans did have the ability to do this especially in colder climates when their is food shortages it could help with survival
ReplyDeleteIf humans had this ability it would definitely be a strange ability at that. as for any other animal or bird that does this all i can really think of are frogs having natural antifreeze and alligators keeping their nose above frozen ice. I really think hummingbirds are very fascinating animals because it really make no evolutionary sense for WHY they would need to spend so much energy on a regular basis, it really feels like they are on a constant clock between each flower. - Nathan Clark
ReplyDeleteI wonder if this phenomenon is similar to what happens in an igloo or a lake when it freezes over. The layer of ice protects the warm internal environment. It's also fascinating how hummingbirds evolved and developed this adaptation.
ReplyDelete-Shirin Saha
I think its very neat that these bird can do this! It reminds me of how many other animals evolve and obtain different attributes or skills like the humming bird to survive and adapt in their different environments.
ReplyDelete-Raquel Morgens
If humans had this ability it would definitely be weird. I feel as if it could help us survive more but maybe be dangerous because we don't consume a lot of sugar like hummingbirds do everyday.
ReplyDelete