Page 15 EPIB Trail Volume 6, Issue 1

Aulunn liings cooIei lenpeialuies, chaining coIois, punpkin spice-fIavoied-eveiylhing, and, foi
nany aninaIs, an indicalion lhal il is line lo piepaie foi a Iong and coId vinlei.
Ioi lhose species lhal aie vinlei-inloIeianl lhey nusl find a vay lo suivive lhe vinlei nonlhs and
nany of lhen choose one of lhe lvo oplions: Ieave (nigiale) oi sIeep (hileinale). An inleiesling laIe of
hileinalion is of lhe Iand snaiI.
Land snaiIs hileinale lo suivive lhiough lhe vinlei and sunnei. Sunnei hileinalion is acluaIIy
called aestivation and is a slightly different process than hibernation, which occurs in the winter. Aesti-
valion is chaiacleiized ly inaclivily and sIoved nelaloIic iale in iesponse lo high lenpeialuies and diy
condilions. AninaIs viII go inlo aeslivalion lo pievenl desiccalion, oi diying oul. Majoiily of aninaIs
lhal go lhiough lhis piocess aie aninaIs lhal aie lhe nosl al iisk of diying oul such as snaiIs and nany
olhei inveileliale species as veII as veileliales such as iepliIes and fish. Occuiiences of nannaI aesliva-
lion aie iaie and veiy fev nannaIs aie knovn lo go lhiough aeslivalion.
When lhe enviionnenl lecones unfavoialIe lo lhe snaiI ly leconing eilhei loo coId oi loo diy,
lhe snaiI viII allach ilseIf lo a suiface oi luiy ilseIf in eailh and legin lo seciele Iayeis and Iayeis of nucus
ciealing a coveiing lo lhe opening of lhe sheII, oi lhe apeiluie.
The apeiluie of lhe sheII is pIugged vilh lhis slicky, haidening sIine, piolecling lhe snaiI fion
predators and unfavorable conditions. This temporary structure is called the epiphragm and is essen-
liaIIy Iayeis of diied nucus lhal aie fiin lul eIaslic enough lhal lhe snaiI can easiIy lieak fiee once condi-
lions inpiove.
Hovevei, sone Iand snaiIs acluaIIy cieale an epiphiagn lhal is ieinfoiced vilh caIciun cailonale
naking lhe sliucluie inpeinealIe. A sliong, lhick caIciun cailonale sliucluie is nuch noie efficienl al
valei conseivalion and piovides noie pioleclion lhan lhe lhinnei, noie fiagiIe nucus Iayeis. SnaiIs lhal
cieale lhese caIciun cailonale enfoiced epiphiagns lend lo have Iongei peiiods of aeslivalion and hilei-
nalion. And lhus ends lhe slicky laIe of snaiI hileinalion.


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Page 16 EPIB Trail Volume 6, Issue 1
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Picture Credit Sources:
hp://media.npr.org/assets/
img/2013/09/03/3_custom"
c2f896dc742c2af47edef383de
8a9a2bac1789b2"s40"c85.jpg
hp://media.npr.org/assets/
img/2013/09/03/4_slide"
5208f1c893c8222ca6f211a1
eccc7856d13ab7"s40"c85.jpg
References:
"Facts about Snails." Facts about Snails. Bioexpedition Publisher, 2013. Web. 21 Sept. 2013.
"Snails." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.
Krulwich, Robert. "How To Build Little Doors Inside Your Shell: The Secrets of Snail Carpentry." NPR. NPR, 03 Sept. 2013.
Web. 23 Sept. 2013.