Both fatty acids are necessary for animals to hibernate, during which their body temperatures drop and metabolism slows. Despite periodic warming to normal body temperature levels, the animals return to hibernation for a total of up to seven months. Florant's research shows that larger amounts of linolenic acid can make the animal active and cause it to feed when it's supposed to be hibernating. He speculates that linolenic acid levels in American groundhogs, a relative of the marmot, affect whether they emerge from hibernation early, rather than the presence or absence of their shadows. Marmots and other hibernating animals spend the warm season gorging on leafy plants, seeds and nuts that contain varying amounts of these fatty acids.
Autumnal temperature drops trigger a series of physiological events that can cause hibernation.
The 2000 Fulbright award is Florant's second and one of only two given to American scholars to work in Austria. He also received a Fulbright for research in France in 1983-84. Florant, a specialist in animal physiology, received his doctorate from Stanford University in 1978 and bachelor's degree from Cornell University in 1973. He taught at Swarthmore College and Temple University before joining Colorado State in 1995. This page has been accessed 110 times.