Chelrogaleus medius otherwise known as the fat tailed dwarf lemur of western Madagascar is a primate belonging to the Strepsirrhini suborder, lemuriformes infraorder and the lemuroidea superfamily (Larson, 2008). This little primate is known to go into a state of hibernation, a physiological state of inactivity and metabolic depression in mammals where body temperature, metabolic rate—including breathing and heartbeat—slow down. Hibernating on a tropical island may seem odd, but the fat tailed lemur has its reasons for engaging in this activity.
The primary finding of the research article found that the fat tailed lemur is the first known primate to hibernate, but how is this primate able to do so in its tropical environment where it’s …show more content…
This research has indicated that the lemur actually fully falls asleep while hibernating (Poppick, 2013). This is odd because when animals hibernate, they are neither fully awake or fully asleep. The researchers found that even when the animal is hibernating or in a state of torpor, sleep is necessary (Poppick, 2013). To understand what exactly goes on during hibernation scientists studied both lab lemurs and lemurs in the wild of Western Madagascar. They monitored the oxygen uptake, heart rate and brain activity of both the wild lemurs and lab lemurs by attaching small electrodes to the lemur’s head (Poppick, 2013). They found that the lemurs experience surges of REM sleep, stage of the sleep cycle in which human’s dream, which suggesting that the lemur, a primate closely related to humans, may help to explain some of the unknown role that sleep plays in humans. REM is also believed to be the less efficient stage of sleep, leaving researchers stunned and puzzled as to why the lemur relied on this sleep more than the non-REM sleep, but it also suggests that if one’s metabolic rates drop they don’t need non-REM sleep (Poppick, 2013). This gives scientists a bigger picture into the sleep patterns of humans under different conditions-temperature and metabolic. This research also allows for further research in hibernation like states in humans who may undergo intensive surgery or someday travel to …show more content…
By monitoring the primates in their natural environment rather than in laboratory’s scientists will be able to get a closer picture of how these lemurs hibernate and possibly find out why their bodies go into this state of physiological inactivity. As the scientists, have done when studying the eastern lemurs, they can monitor the lemurs by attaching temperature sensitive radio collars before the start of the hibernation season (Duke University,2013). Or if scientists plan to further their research on how the lemur correlates to why humans sleep, they would use the process they have done so in the study that discovered the strange sleep patterns experienced by the lemurs. The more time that is spent studying the lemurs may lead to the discovery of more hibernating primates just as it had done before and may lead to a wider research
The primary finding of the research article found that the fat tailed lemur is the first known primate to hibernate, but how is this primate able to do so in its tropical environment where it’s …show more content…
This research has indicated that the lemur actually fully falls asleep while hibernating (Poppick, 2013). This is odd because when animals hibernate, they are neither fully awake or fully asleep. The researchers found that even when the animal is hibernating or in a state of torpor, sleep is necessary (Poppick, 2013). To understand what exactly goes on during hibernation scientists studied both lab lemurs and lemurs in the wild of Western Madagascar. They monitored the oxygen uptake, heart rate and brain activity of both the wild lemurs and lab lemurs by attaching small electrodes to the lemur’s head (Poppick, 2013). They found that the lemurs experience surges of REM sleep, stage of the sleep cycle in which human’s dream, which suggesting that the lemur, a primate closely related to humans, may help to explain some of the unknown role that sleep plays in humans. REM is also believed to be the less efficient stage of sleep, leaving researchers stunned and puzzled as to why the lemur relied on this sleep more than the non-REM sleep, but it also suggests that if one’s metabolic rates drop they don’t need non-REM sleep (Poppick, 2013). This gives scientists a bigger picture into the sleep patterns of humans under different conditions-temperature and metabolic. This research also allows for further research in hibernation like states in humans who may undergo intensive surgery or someday travel to …show more content…
By monitoring the primates in their natural environment rather than in laboratory’s scientists will be able to get a closer picture of how these lemurs hibernate and possibly find out why their bodies go into this state of physiological inactivity. As the scientists, have done when studying the eastern lemurs, they can monitor the lemurs by attaching temperature sensitive radio collars before the start of the hibernation season (Duke University,2013). Or if scientists plan to further their research on how the lemur correlates to why humans sleep, they would use the process they have done so in the study that discovered the strange sleep patterns experienced by the lemurs. The more time that is spent studying the lemurs may lead to the discovery of more hibernating primates just as it had done before and may lead to a wider research