Editing Aestivation (section)

==Physiology==

Organisms that aestivate appear to be in a fairly "light" state of dormancy, as their physiological state can be rapidly reversed, and the organism can quickly return to a normal state. A study done on ''[[Otala lactea]]'', a snail native to parts of Europe and Northern Africa, shows that they can wake from their dormant state within ten minutes of being introduced to a wetter environment.

The primary physiological and biochemical concerns for an aestivating animal are to conserve energy, retain water in the body, ration the use of stored energy, handle the nitrogenous end products, and stabilize bodily organs, cells, and [[macromolecule]]s. This can be quite a task as hot temperatures and arid conditions may last for months, in some cases for years. The depression of metabolic rate during aestivation causes a reduction in macromolecule synthesis and degradation. To stabilise the macromolecules, aestivators will enhance antioxidant defenses and elevate [[Chaperone (protein)|chaperone proteins]]. This is a widely used strategy across all forms of hypometabolism. These physiological and biochemical concerns appear to be the core elements of hypometabolism throughout the animal kingdom. In other words, animals which aestivate appear to go through nearly the same physiological processes as animals that hibernate.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Storey |first1=Kenneth B. |last2=Storey |first2=Janet M. |year=2012 |title=Aestivation: signaling and hypometabolism |journal=[[The Journal of Experimental Biology]] |volume=215 |issue=8 |pages=1425–1433 |doi=10.1242/jeb.054403 |pmid=22496277|doi-access=free }}</ref>