Many different biological organisms use dormancy to survive adverse conditions by entering a reversible state of reduced metabolic activity. We explore how it may alow for survival of a species when facing periodic stress, or catastrophic events.

We study dormancy under periodic stress using a delayed chemostat-like model. Although dormancy yields no fitness advantage in constant environments , it becomes crucial for survival under seasonal fluctuations. We establish conditions for persistence using monotone systems and Floquet theory with delay, and determine an optimal dormancy strategy for survival of a species.

Using a bistable model with and without spatial dynamics and studying its separatrix, we demonstrate that a bet-hedging dormancy strategy creates a fundamental ecological trade-off between resilience and invasiveness. While quiescence enhances resistance against catastrophic events and gradual environmental degradation, it simultaneously amplifies the Allee effect, effectively increasing environmental inertia.

Ultimately, our studies reveal that while dormancy may often reduce the net growth rate and hinder expansion, appropriately tuned dormancy is a crucial mechanism for long-term survival in fluctuating and catastrophic or random environments.