In more extreme examples, wetland drying prompts freshwater turtles to relocate or
estivate (Cagle, 1944; Gibbons et al., 1983; Christiansen and Bickham, 1989; Kennett and Georges, 1990; Buhlmann and Gibbons, 2001; Joyal et al., 2001; Ligon and Stone, 2003; Roe and Georges, 2008; Buhlmann et al., 2009; Rees et al., 2009).
This also happens in the American spadefoot toads (Scaphiopus spp.), whose emergence from the deep burrow where they
estivate is stimulated by their seasonal rhythm of reproduction and by the vibrations and the sounds of thunder and large raindrops falling on the ground.
For example, microorganisms may transform into or produce spores or cysts (Henis 1987), annual and perennial plants produce seeds with varying periods of dormancy (Meyer and Kitchen 1992), and metazoans may hibernate,
estivate, cease development or reproduction, or produce a variety of dormant stages.
They lay their eggs on land, can
estivate several months out of water, and can digest cellulose (Rosenberg 1989), so the transition from living in cast-up vegetation in the intertidal zone to leaf litter on the forest floor might not have been difficult.
Furthermore, to maintain a positive energy balance, animal species that reside in ephemeral environments may
estivate or move to locations with more favorable conditions (Ligon and Peterson, 2002; Winne et al., 9006).