1
|
Oda GA, Valentinuzzi VS. A clock for all seasons in the subterranean. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2024; 210:677-689. [PMID: 37815602 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01677-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023]
Abstract
In 1976, Pittendrigh and Daan established a theoretical framework which has coordinated research on circadian clock entrainment and photoperiodism until today. The "wild clocks" approach, which concerns studying wild species in their natural habitats, has served to test their models, add new insights, and open new directions of research. Here, we review an integrated laboratory, field and modeling work conducted with subterranean rodents (Ctenomys sp.) living under an extreme pattern of natural daily light exposure. Tracking animal movement and light exposure with biologgers across seasons and performing laboratory experiments on running-wheel cages, we uncovered the mechanisms of day/night entrainment of the clock and of photoperiodic time measurement in this subterranean organism. We confirmed most of the features of Pittendrigh and Daan's models but highlighted the importance of integrating them with ecophysiological techniques, methodologies, and theories to get a full picture of the clock in the wild. This integration is essential to fully establish the importance of the temporal dimension in ecological studies and tackling relevant questions such as the role of the clock for all seasons in a changing planet.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gisele A Oda
- Laboratório Binacional de Cronobiologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
| | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Agostino PV, Golombek DA. Into the Wild: Biological Timing in Natural Environments. TIMING & TIME PERCEPTION 2022. [DOI: 10.1163/22134468-bja10060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Biological timing (including circadian and interval timing) has mainly focused on rigorously controlled laboratory experiments. There are relatively few studies looking into interval timing behaviors in the wild, which could be understandable due to the complexity of the experimental design but are definitely needed in order to comprehend the adaptive value of such behavior. In this opinion paper we review some of the literature regarding timing observations under field conditions, including reports from birds and mammals, and propose a call-to-action to think about the need of a more naturalistic interpretation of time production and perception, as well as the advantage of designing more ‘natural’ settings in the laboratory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Patricia V. Agostino
- Department of Science and Technology, National University of Quilmes/CONICET, Buenos Aires, 1878, Argentina
| | - Diego A. Golombek
- Department of Science and Technology, National University of Quilmes/CONICET, Buenos Aires, 1878, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Zhang VY, Gagorik CN, Brenner LJ, Boser CL, Theimer TC, Buck CL. Interspecific Asymmetries in Behavioral Plasticity Drive Seasonal Patterns of Temporal Niche Partitioning in an Island Carnivore Community. Integr Comp Biol 2022; 62:998-1011. [PMID: 35803500 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icac113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals vary considerably in the amount of behavioral plasticity they exhibit in daily activity timing and temporal niche switching. It is not well understood how environmental factors drive changes in temporal activity or how interspecific differences in the plasticity of activity timing ultimately manifest in free-living animals. Here, we investigated the temporal structure and organization of activity patterns of two insular mammalian carnivores living in sympatry, the island fox (Urocyon littoralis) and island spotted skunk (Spilogale gracilis amphiala). Using collar-mounted accelerometers, we assessed the plasticity of behavioral activity rhythms in foxes and skunks by investigating how environmental factors drive the distribution of locomotor activity across the day and year, and subsequently examined the dynamics of temporal niche overlap between the two species. We documented that foxes express phenotypic plasticity in daily activity timing across the year, ranging from nocturnal to diurnal to crepuscular rhythms depending on individual and time of year. Most notably, foxes increased the proportion of daytime activity as seasonal temperatures decreased. Overall, activity patterns of foxes were consistent with the circadian thermoenergetics hypothesis, which posits that animals that switch their patterns of activity do so to coincide with the most energetically favorable time of day. In contrast to foxes, skunks exhibited little behavioral plasticity, appearing strictly nocturnal across the year. While the duration of skunk activity bouts increased with the duration of night, timing of activity onset and offset extended into daytime hours during summer when the duration of darkness was shortest. Analysis of temporal niche overlap between foxes and skunks suggested that niche overlap was highest during summer and lowest during winter and was dictated primarily by temporal niche switching in foxes, rather than skunks. Collectively, our results highlight how interspecific asymmetries in behavioral plasticity drive dynamic patterns of temporal niche overlap within an island carnivore community.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Victor Y Zhang
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | | | | | | | - Tad C Theimer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - C Loren Buck
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Flôres DEFL, Jannetti MG, Improta GC, Tachinardi P, Valentinuzzi VS, Oda GA. Telling the Seasons Underground: The Circadian Clock and Ambient Temperature Shape Light Exposure and Photoperiodism in a Subterranean Rodent. Front Physiol 2021; 12:738471. [PMID: 34658922 PMCID: PMC8517108 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.738471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Living organisms anticipate the seasons by tracking the proportion of light and darkness hours within a day—photoperiod. The limits of photoperiod measurement can be investigated in the subterranean rodents tuco-tucos (Ctenomys aff. knighti), which inhabit dark underground tunnels. Their exposure to light is sporadic and, remarkably, results from their own behavior of surface emergence. Thus, we investigated the endogenous and exogenous regulation of this behavior and its consequences to photoperiod measurement. In the field, animals carrying biologgers displayed seasonal patterns of daily surface emergence, exogenously modulated by temperature. In the laboratory, experiments with constant lighting conditions revealed the endogenous regulation of seasonal activity by the circadian clock, which has a multi-oscillatory structure. Finally, mathematical modeling corroborated that tuco-tuco’s light exposure across the seasons is sufficient for photoperiod encoding. Together, our results elucidate the interrelationship between the circadian clock and temperature in shaping seasonal light exposure patterns that convey photoperiod information in an extreme photic environment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Danilo E F L Flôres
- Laboratorio de Cronobiologia Binacional Argentina-Brasil, Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Milene G Jannetti
- Laboratorio de Cronobiologia Binacional Argentina-Brasil, Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Giovane C Improta
- Laboratorio de Cronobiologia Binacional Argentina-Brasil, Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Patricia Tachinardi
- Laboratorio de Cronobiologia Binacional Argentina-Brasil, Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Veronica S Valentinuzzi
- Laboratorio de Cronobiologia Binacional Argentina-Brasil, Centro Regional de Investigaciones Cientificas y de Transferencia Tecnológica (CRILAR), Anillaco, Argentina
| | - Gisele A Oda
- Laboratorio de Cronobiologia Binacional Argentina-Brasil, Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Evaporative water loss in seven species of fossorial rodents: Does effect of degree of fossoriality and sociality exist? J Therm Biol 2020; 89:102564. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2020.102564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2019] [Revised: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
|
6
|
Jannetti MG, Buck CL, Valentinuzzi VS, Oda GA. Day and night in the subterranean: measuring daily activity patterns of subterranean rodents ( Ctenomys aff. knighti) using bio-logging. CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY 2019; 7:coz044. [PMID: 31341624 PMCID: PMC6640163 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coz044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2018] [Revised: 06/11/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
While most studies of the impacts of climate change have investigated shifts in the spatial distribution of organisms, temporal shifts in the time of activity is another important adjustment made by animals in a changing world. Due to the importance of light and temperature cycles in shaping activity patterns, studies of activity patterns of organisms that inhabit extreme environments with respect to the 24-hour cyclicity of Earth have the potential to provide important insights into the interrelationships among abiotic variables, behaviour and physiology. Our previous laboratory studies with Argentinean tuco-tucos from the Monte desert (Ctenomys aff. knighti) show that these subterranean rodents display circadian activity/rest rhythms that can be synchronized by artificial light/dark cycles. Direct observations indicate that tuco-tucos emerge mainly for foraging and for removal of soil from their burrows. Here we used bio-logging devices for individual, long-term recording of daily activity/rest (accelerometry) and time on surface (light-loggers) of six tuco-tucos maintained in outdoor semi-natural enclosures. Environmental variables were measured simultaneously. Activity bouts were detected both during day and night but 77% of the highest values happened during the daytime and 47% of them coincided with time on surface. Statistical analyses indicate time of day and temperature as the main environmental factors modulating time on surface. In this context, the total duration that these subterranean animals spent on surface was high during the winter, averaging 3 h per day and time on surface occurred when underground temperature was lowest. Finally, transport of these animals to the indoor laboratory and subsequent assessment of their activity rhythms under constant darkness revealed a switch in the timing of activity. Plasticity of activity timing is not uncommon among desert rodents and may be adaptive in changing environments, such as the desert where this species lives.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Milene G Jannetti
- Laboratorio Binacional Argentina-Brasil de Cronobiologia, Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - C Loren Buck
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Veronica S Valentinuzzi
- Laboratorio Binacional Argentina-Brasil de Cronobiologia, Centro Regional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Transferencia Tecnológica (CRILAR), Entre Ríos y Mendoza, s/n, Anillaco, La Rioja, Argentina
| | - Gisele A Oda
- Laboratorio Binacional Argentina-Brasil de Cronobiologia, Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Zhang VY, Williams CT, Theimer TC, Buck CL. Reproductive and Environmental Drivers of Time and Activity Budgets of Striped Skunks. Integr Org Biol 2019; 1:obz013. [PMID: 33791528 PMCID: PMC7671141 DOI: 10.1093/iob/obz013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The regulation of daily and circannual activity patterns is an important mechanism by which animals may balance energetic requirements associated with both abiotic and biotic variables. Using collar-mounted accelerometers, we assess the relative importance of reproductive stage and environmental conditions on the overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA) of free-living striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis). We found that activity timing relative to photoperiod varied across seasonal stages for both sexes. Surprisingly, male skunks did not commence activity earlier than females during the mating interval. Moreover, while female skunks began activity before dusk and terminated activity after dawn during mid- through late summer (lactation period), the duration of activity bouts in females during this period was not different from other seasons. Both male and female skunks exhibited high variability and fragmentation in daily activity rhythms except during the lactation period, when females appear to switch to prolonged bouts of nocturnal activity. Overall, ODBA varied by season and sex, with changes in ODBA indicative of seasonal reproductive requirements such as conspecific competition for mates in males and lactation in females. Weather conditions had little effect on skunk activity levels except during the winter season, when snow cover and temperature negatively influenced daily ODBA. Taken together, the activity patterns of striped skunks appear to be primarily driven by seasonal investment in reproduction and secondarily by thermoregulatory constraints during the non-winter months. Our results highlight the importance of considering how environmental and reproductive drivers may interact to affect activity across both the daily and seasonal cycle.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- V Y Zhang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - C T Williams
- Institute of Arctic Biology and Department of Biology & Wildlife, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
| | - T C Theimer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - C Loren Buck
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Hau M, Dominoni D, Casagrande S, Buck CL, Wagner G, Hazlerigg D, Greives T, Hut RA. Timing as a sexually selected trait: the right mate at the right moment. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 372:rstb.2016.0249. [PMID: 28993493 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection favours the expression of traits in one sex that attract members of the opposite sex for mating. The nature of sexually selected traits such as vocalization, colour and ornamentation, their fitness benefits as well as their costs have received ample attention in field and laboratory studies. However, sexually selected traits may not always be expressed: coloration and ornaments often follow a seasonal pattern and behaviours may be displayed only at specific times of the day. Despite the widely recognized differences in the daily and seasonal timing of traits and their consequences for reproductive success, the actions of sexual selection on the temporal organization of traits has received only scant attention. Drawing on selected examples from bird and mammal studies, here we summarize the current evidence for the daily and seasonal timing of traits. We highlight that molecular advances in chronobiology have opened exciting new opportunities for identifying the genetic targets that sexual selection may act on to shape the timing of trait expression. Furthermore, known genetic links between daily and seasonal timing mechanisms lead to the hypothesis that selection on one timescale may simultaneously also affect the other. We emphasize that studies on the timing of sexual displays of both males and females from wild populations will be invaluable for understanding the nature of sexual selection and its potential to act on differences within and between the sexes in timing. Molecular approaches will be important for pinpointing genetic components of biological rhythms that are targeted by sexual selection, and to clarify whether these represent core or peripheral components of endogenous clocks. Finally, we call for a renewed integration of the fields of evolution, behavioural ecology and chronobiology to tackle the exciting question of how sexual selection contributes to the evolution of biological clocks.This article is part of the themed issue 'Wild clocks: integrating chronobiology and ecology to understand timekeeping in free-living animals'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Hau
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany .,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Davide Dominoni
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | | | - C Loren Buck
- Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Bioengineering Innovation, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - Gabriela Wagner
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT: the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - David Hazlerigg
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT: the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Timothy Greives
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102, USA
| | - Roelof A Hut
- Chronobiology unit, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|