Surviving the winter

In this free course, Surviving the winter, we study one aspect of the fluctuating nature of an organisms environment. We consider how organisms living in a temperate climate, such as that in Britain, are adapted to cope with winter. You will see that there is much diversity of adaptations among organisms, with different species coping with the demands of a fluctuating environment in quite different ways. As cyclic variations are a widespread feature of environments, the range of adaptations to them is an important source of biological diversity.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 Surviving the winter
• 1 Surviving the winter
• 1.1 Living in a fluctuating environment
• 1.1.1 A diversity of strategies
• 1.2 Response to winter: understanding at different levels
• 1.2.1 The molecular level
• 1.2.2 The cellular level
• 1.2.3 The physiological and behavioural levels
• 1.2.4 The evolutionary level
• 1.2.5 Summary of Sections 1.1 and 1.2
• 1.3 Strategy 1: Remaining active through the winter ('tough it out')
• 1.3.1 Evergreen plants
• 1.3.2 Birds and mammals
• 1.3.3 Summary of Section 1.3
• 1.4 Strategy 2: dormancy in winter ('opt out')
• 1.4.1 Deciduous trees
• 1.4.2 Winter storage in plants
• 1.4.3 Freeze tolerance in ectothermic vertebrates
• 1.4.4 Hibernation in mammals
• 1.4.5 Summary of Section 1.4
• 1.5 Strategies 3 and 4: juvenile survival and migration
• 1.5.1 Juvenile survival
• 1.5.2 Strategy 4: migration ('go away')
• 1.5.3 Summary of Section 1.5
• 1.6 Conclusion
• 2 SAQs
• 2 SAQs
• Conclusion
• Take the next step
• References
• Acknowledgements