Diapause, when referencing animal dormancy, is the delay in development in response to regularly and recurring periods of adverse environmental conditions. It is considered to be a
physiological state of
dormancy with very specific initiating and inhibiting conditions. Diapause is a mechanism used as a means to survive predictable, unfavorable environmental conditions, such as temperature extremes, drought, or reduced food availability. Diapause is most often observed in
arthropods, especially
insects, and in the
embryos of many of the
oviparous species of fish in the order
Cyprinodontiformes. (Diapause does not occur in embryos of the
viviparous and
ovoviviparous species of Cyprinodontiformes.)
