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How is diapause different from hibernation?

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Last updated date: 17th Apr 2024
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Answer
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Hint: The living organism lives and survives in a particular optimum environment. Due to changes in the environment conditions, the organisms employ certain mechanisms to counteract and survive these changes.

Complete answer:
Diapause is defined as a state of dormancy in growth and development in response to changes or alteration in the environmental condition. Due to recurrent or regular occurrence of adverse conditions, it acts as a mechanism to survive predictable, unfavourable environmental conditions such as temperature, drought or rainfall and even scarcity of food resources. It can be explained as a state of reduced or inhibiting mechanism. During the process of diapause there is a phase of reduced activity including reduced feeding and reproductive development. It most commonly occurs in insects such as arthropods.
Hibernation can be defined as a state of minimal functional activity and reduced metabolism in warm blooded animals or the endotherms. Hibernation is most commonly related to a seasonal phenomenon in animals in order to avoid or survive through adverse climatic conditions. The process of hibernation is characterised by lowering body temperature, slow breathing process with decreased heart rate and low metabolic rate.
Hibernation is often referred to as winter sleep. Hibernation helps to conserve energy when sufficient food is not available. In warm blooded animals, when food availability is reduced due to adverse climatic conditions, the main challenge lies in maintaining the body temperature and saving energy and hibernation helps the organism to decrease its metabolic activity as well as conserve energy.
Diapause is the dormant period in which growth and development is reduced in response to unfavourable environmental conditions and it occurs in completely immobile stages of insects such as pupae and eggs. Whereas, hibernation is a period of decreased activity and in turn reduced metabolic activity to escape adverse climatic conditions.

Note: Diapause is a stage of suspension of the process of development and it is undertaken to withstand the unfavourable conditions. Hibernation is referred to as the resting stage during the winter months in order to conserve the energy. It is also known as winter sleep.