image: Oxygen consumption, which is a measure of metabolic rate, (top) and body temperature (bottom) of three black bears during and after hibernation. During hibernation (left side of dashed line) the bears' metabolic rate decreases by 75 percent, which is much more than is expected given the bears' decrease in body temperature. When the bears emerge from their dens in the spring (right side of dashed line), their body temperature has increased to nearly normal levels, while metabolic rates remain at about 50 percent. The bears take about 2-3 weeks before metabolic rates return to normal summer levels. This image relates to an article that appeared in the Feb. 18, 2011, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. Øivind Tøien, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and colleagues was titled, "Hibernation in Black Bears: Independence of Metabolic Suppression from Body Temperature." view more
Credit: [Image courtesy of <i>Science</i>/AAAS]