- triacylglycerols
- seed oils
- wax esters
- adipose tissue
- specialized storage organs
- persistent storage polymers
Operational definition
Storage-timescale category.
Dedicated, mobilizable, energy-rich compounds retained to support prolonged deficits or energetically costly future events.
Typical examples include:
- triacylglycerols;
- seed oils;
- wax esters;
- adipose deposits;
- long-lived microbial storage polymers.
The defining criterion is strategic persistence and mobilizability, not one particular chemical class.