From deer to birds to bears, many species are triggered by the shortening days to switch into a frenetic mode of gathering food, finding mates, and more. (See gorgeous pictures that celebrate the arrival of fall.)

Studying such behaviors in wildlife can give scientists an insight into how they’ve adapted to cope with environmental challenges—such as frigid temperatures—and how such resilience can help them with future setbacks, such as rising temperatures due to climate change.

Here are some species that go into overdrive when the leaves begin to fall.

A rut usually means being stuck, but for members of the deer family—including its largest species, the moose—it means mating season. From September to mid-October, males of the otherwise solitary