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Guo T, He Y, Mao S, Yang Y, Xie H, Zhang S, Dai S. Ketamine induces insomnia-like symptom of zebrafish at environmentally relevant concentrations by mediating GABAergic synapse. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY 2024; 39:3897-3905. [PMID: 38567678 DOI: 10.1002/tox.24227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Although the stimulative effects on the normal behaviors of fish posed by ketamine (KET) were well-studied, the adverse effects on the behavioral functions induced by KET at nighttime were unknown. Here, we used zebrafish larvae as a model exposed to KET (10, 50, 100, and 250 ng/L) at environmental levels for 21 days. The behavioral functions at nighttime, morphological changes during exposure stage, and alterations on the associated genes transcriptional levels of fish were determined. The difficultly initiating sleep was found in the fish exposed to KET, while the sleep duration of the animals was at the normal levels in exposure groups. The significant suppressions of the developmentally relevant genes, including bmp2, bmp4, and pth2ra were consistent with the developmental abnormalities of fish found in exposure groups. Moreover, the expression of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor increased and melatonin (MTN) receptor decreased while the levels of GABA and MTN remained unchanged after exposure, by gene expression analysis and molecular docking. In addition, the transcriptional expression of apoptotic genes, including tp53, aifm1, and casp6, was significantly upregulated by KET. After a 7-day recovery, the insomnia-like behaviors (shorter sleep duration) were observed in zebrafish from the 250 ng/L-KET group. Accordingly, the adverse outcome pathway framework of KET was constructed by prognostic assessment of zebrafish larvae. This study suggested that the adverse outcomes of KET on the sleep health of organisms at environmentally relevant concentrations should be concerned.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tingting Guo
- Institute of Respiratory Health, Frontiers Science Center for Disease-related Molecular Network, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
- College of Ecology and Environment, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuhang He
- West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Shengqiang Mao
- Institute of Respiratory Health, Frontiers Science Center for Disease-related Molecular Network, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying Yang
- Institute of Respiratory Health, Frontiers Science Center for Disease-related Molecular Network, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongguan Xie
- College of Ecology and Environment, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, People's Republic of China
| | - Sifan Zhang
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuiping Dai
- National Center for Geriatrics Clinical Medicine Research, Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People's Republic of China
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Norman H, Munson A, Cortese D, Koeck B, Killen SS. The interplay between sleep and ecophysiology, behaviour and responses to environmental change in fish. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb247138. [PMID: 38860399 PMCID: PMC11213526 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.247138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2024]
Abstract
Evidence of behavioural sleep has been observed in every animal species studied to date, but current knowledge of the behaviour, neurophysiology and ecophysiology associated with sleep is concentrated on mammals and birds. Fish are a hugely diverse group that can offer novel insights into a variety of sleep-related behaviours across environments, but the ecophysiological relevance of sleep in fish has been largely overlooked. Here, we systematically reviewed the literature to assess the current breadth of knowledge on fish sleep, and surveyed the diverse physiological effects and behaviours associated with sleep. We also discuss possible ways in which unstudied external factors may alter sleep behaviours. For example, predation risk may alter sleep patterns, as has been shown in mammalian, avian and reptilian species. Other environmental factors - such as water temperature and oxygen availability - have the potential to alter sleep patterns in fish differently than for terrestrial endotherms. Understanding the ecological influences on sleep in fish is vital, as sleep deprivation has the potential to affect waking behaviour and fitness owing to cognitive and physiological impairments, possibly affecting ecological phenomena and sensitivity to environmental stressors in ways that have not been considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena Norman
- School of Biodiversity, One Health, and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Amelia Munson
- School of Biodiversity, One Health, and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Daphne Cortese
- School of Biodiversity, One Health, and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Barbara Koeck
- School of Biodiversity, One Health, and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Shaun S. Killen
- School of Biodiversity, One Health, and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
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3
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Bonnefont X. Cell Signaling in the Circadian Pacemaker: New Insights from in vivo Imaging. Neuroendocrinology 2024:1-8. [PMID: 38754404 DOI: 10.1159/000539344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND "One for all, and all for one," the famous rallying cry of the Three Musketeers, in Alexandre Dumas's popular novel, certainly applies to the 20,000 cells composing the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). These cells work together to form the central clock that coordinates body rhythms in tune with the day-night cycle. Like virtually every body cell, individual SCN cells exhibit autonomous circadian oscillations, but this rhythmicity only reaches a high level of precision and robustness when the cells are coupled with their neighbors. Therefore, understanding the functional network organization of SCN cells beyond their core rhythmicity is an important issue in circadian biology. SUMMARY The present review summarizes the main results from our recent study demonstrating the feasibility of recording SCN cells in freely moving mice and the significance of variations in intracellular calcium over several timescales. KEY MESSAGE We discuss how in vivo imaging at the cell level will be pivotal to interrogate the mammalian master clock, in an integrated context that preserves the SCN network organization, with intact inputs and outputs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xavier Bonnefont
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, INSERM, Montpellier, France
- BioCampus Montpellier, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, INSERM, Montpellier, France
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4
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Cox DTC, Gaston KJ. Cathemerality: a key temporal niche. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:329-347. [PMID: 37839797 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 10/01/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
Given the marked variation in abiotic and biotic conditions between day and night, many species specialise their physical activity to being diurnal or nocturnal, and it was long thought that these strategies were commonly fairly fixed and invariant. The term 'cathemeral', was coined in 1987, when Tattersall noted activity in a Madagascan primate during the hours of both daylight and darkness. Initially thought to be rare, cathemerality is now known to be a quite widespread form of time partitioning amongst arthropods, fish, birds, and mammals. Herein we provide a synthesis of present understanding of cathemeral behaviour, arguing that it should routinely be included alongside diurnal and nocturnal strategies in schemes that distinguish and categorise species across taxa according to temporal niche. This synthesis is particularly timely because (i) the study of animal activity patterns is being revolutionised by new and improved technologies; (ii) it is becoming apparent that cathemerality covers a diverse range of obligate to facultative forms, each with their own common sets of functional traits, geographic ranges and evolutionary history; (iii) daytime and nighttime activity likely plays an important but currently neglected role in temporal niche partitioning and ecosystem functioning; and (iv) cathemerality may have an important role in the ability of species to adapt to human-mediated pressures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel T C Cox
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Kevin J Gaston
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
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5
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Zhang G, Ye Z, Jiang Z, Wu C, Ge L, Wang J, Xu X, Wang T, Yang J. Circadian patterns and photoperiodic modulation of clock gene expression and neuroendocrine hormone secretion in the marine teleost Larimichthys crocea. Chronobiol Int 2024; 41:329-346. [PMID: 38516993 DOI: 10.1080/07420528.2024.2315215] [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: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
The light/dark cycle, known as the photoperiod, plays a crucial role in influencing various physiological activities in fish, such as growth, feeding and reproduction. However, the underlying mechanisms of this influence are not fully understood. This study focuses on exploring the impact of different light regimes (LD: 12 h of light and 12 h of darkness; LL: 24 h of light and 0 h of darkness; DD: 0 h of light and 24 h of darkness) on the expression of clock genes (LcClocka, LcClockb, LcBmal, LcPer1, LcPer2) and the secretion of hormones (melatonin, GnRH, NPY) in the large yellow croaker, Larimichthys crocea. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were utilized to assess how photoperiod variations affect clock gene expression and hormone secretion. The results indicate that changes in photoperiod can disrupt the rhythmic patterns of clock genes, leading to phase shifts and decreased expression. Particularly under LL conditions, the pineal LcClocka, LcBmal and LcPer1 genes lose their rhythmicity, while LcClockb and LcPer2 genes exhibit phase shifts, highlighting the importance of dark phase entrainment for maintaining rhythmicity. Additionally, altered photoperiod affects the neuroendocrine system of L. crocea. In comparison to the LD condition, LL and DD treatments showed a phase delay of GnRH secretion and an acceleration of NPY synthesis. These findings provide valuable insights into the regulatory patterns of circadian rhythms in fish and may contribute to optimizing the light environment in the L. crocea farming industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangbo Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhiqing Ye
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhijing Jiang
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Chenqian Wu
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Lifei Ge
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Jixiu Wang
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiuwen Xu
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Tianming Wang
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingwen Yang
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
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Ding SS, Fox JL, Gordus A, Joshi A, Liao JC, Scholz M. Fantastic beasts and how to study them: rethinking experimental animal behavior. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb247003. [PMID: 38372042 PMCID: PMC10911175 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.247003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
Humans have been trying to understand animal behavior at least since recorded history. Recent rapid development of new technologies has allowed us to make significant progress in understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying behavior, a key goal of neuroethology. However, there is a tradeoff when studying animal behavior and its underlying biological mechanisms: common behavior protocols in the laboratory are designed to be replicable and controlled, but they often fail to encompass the variability and breadth of natural behavior. This Commentary proposes a framework of 10 key questions that aim to guide researchers in incorporating a rich natural context into their experimental design or in choosing a new animal study system. The 10 questions cover overarching experimental considerations that can provide a template for interspecies comparisons, enable us to develop studies in new model organisms and unlock new experiments in our quest to understand behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyu Serena Ding
- Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Jessica L. Fox
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Andrew Gordus
- Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Abhilasha Joshi
- Departments of Physiology and Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - James C. Liao
- Department of Biology, The Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, St. Augustine, FL 32080, USA
| | - Monika Scholz
- Max Planck Research Group Neural Information Flow, Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar, 53175 Bonn, Germany
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7
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Scott JE. The macroevolutionary dynamics of activity pattern in mammals: Primates in context. J Hum Evol 2023; 184:103436. [PMID: 37741141 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/25/2023]
Abstract
Activity pattern has played a prominent role in discussions of primate evolutionary history. Most primates are either diurnal or nocturnal, but a small number are active both diurnally and nocturnally. This pattern-cathemerality-also occurs at low frequency across mammals. Using a large sample of mammalian species, this study evaluates two macroevolutionary hypotheses proposed to explain why cathemerality is less common than diurnality and nocturnality: 1) that cathemeral lineages have higher extinction probabilities (differential diversification) and 2) that transitions out of cathemerality are more frequent, making it a less persistent state (differential state persistence). Rates of speciation, extinction, and transition between character states were estimated using hidden-rates models applied to a phylogenetic tree containing 3013 mammals classified by activity pattern. The models failed to detect consistent differences in diversification dynamics among activity patterns, but there is strong support for differential state persistence. Transition rates out of cathemerality tend to be much higher than transition rates out of nocturnality. Transition rates out of diurnality are similar to those for cathemerality in most clades, with two important exceptions: diurnality is unusually persistent in anthropoid primates and sciurid rodents. These two groups combine very low rates of transition out of diurnality with high speciation rates. This combination has no parallels among cathemeral lineages, explaining why diurnality has become more common than cathemerality in mammals. Similarly, the combination of rates found in anthropoids is sufficient to explain the low relative frequency of cathemerality in primates, making it unnecessary to appeal to high extinction probabilities in cathemeral lineages in this clade. These findings support the hypothesis that the distribution of activity patterns across mammals has been influenced primarily by differential state persistence, whereas the effect of differential diversification appears to have been more idiosyncratic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremiah E Scott
- Department of Medical Anatomical Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA 91766, USA.
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8
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Ting IJ, Psomas A, Skene DJ, Van der Veen DR. Reduced glucose concentration enhances ultradian rhythms in Pdcd5 promoter activity in vitro. Front Physiol 2023; 14:1244497. [PMID: 37904794 PMCID: PMC10613464 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1244497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Intrinsically driven ultradian rhythms in the hourly range are often co-expressed with circadian rhythms in various physiological processes including metabolic processes such as feeding behaviour, gene expression and cellular metabolism. Several behavioural observations show that reduced energy intake or increased energy expenditure leads to a re-balancing of ultradian and circadian timing, favouring ultradian feeding and activity patterns when energy availability is limited. This suggests a close link between ultradian rhythmicity and metabolic homeostasis, but we currently lack models to test this hypothesis at a cellular level. We therefore transduced 3T3-L1 pre-adipocyte cells with a reporter construct that drives a destabilised luciferase via the Pdcd5 promotor, a gene we previously showed to exhibit robust ultradian rhythms in vitro. Ultradian rhythmicity in Pdcd5 promotor driven bioluminescence was observed in >80% of all cultures that were synchronised with dexamethasone, whereas significantly lower numbers exhibited ultradian rhythmicity in non-synchronised cultures (∼11%). Cosine fits to ultradian bioluminescence rhythms in cells cultured and measured in low glucose concentrations (2 mM and 5 mM), exhibited significantly higher amplitudes than all other cultures, and a shorter period (6.9 h vs. 8.2 h, N = 12). Our findings show substantial ultradian rhythmicity in Pdcd5 promotor activity in cells in which the circadian clocks have been synchronised in vitro, which is in line with observations of circadian synchronisation of behavioural ultradian rhythms. Critically, we show that the amplitude of ultradian rhythms is enhanced in low glucose conditions, suggesting that low energy availability enhances ultradian rhythmicity at the cellular level in vitro.
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Faehn C, Reichelt M, Mithöfer A, Hytönen T, Mølmann J, Jaakola L. Acclimation of circadian rhythms in woodland strawberries (Fragaria vesca L.) to Arctic and mid-latitude photoperiods. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2023; 23:483. [PMID: 37817085 PMCID: PMC10563271 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-023-04491-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Though many abiotic factors are constantly changing, the photoperiod is a predictable factor that enables plants to time many physiological responses. This timing is regulated by the circadian clock, yet little is known about how the clock adapts to the differences in photoperiod between mid-latitudes and high latitudes. The primary objective of this study was to compare how clock gene expression is modified in four woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca L.) accessions originating from two different populations in Italy (IT1: Tenno, Italy, 45°N, IT4: Salorno, Italy, 46°N) and two in Northern Norway (NOR2: Alta, Norway, 69°N, NOR13: Indre Nordnes, Norway 69°N) when grown under simulated daylength conditions of an Arctic or mid-latitude photoperiod. The second objective was to investigate whether population origin or the difference in photoperiod influenced phytohormone accumulation. RESULTS The Arctic photoperiod induced lower expression in IT4 and NOR13 for six clock genes (FvLHY, FvRVE8, FvPRR9, FvPRR7, FvPRR5, and FvLUX), in IT1 for three genes (FvLHY, FvPRR9, and FvPRR5) and in NOR2 for one gene (FvPRR9). Free-running rhythms for FvLHY in IT1 and IT4 were higher after the Arctic photoperiod, while the free-running rhythm for FvLUX in IT4 was higher after the mid-latitude photoperiod. IT1 showed significantly higher expression of FvLHY and FvPRR9 than all other accessions, as well as significantly higher expression of the circadian regulated phytohormone, abscisic acid (ABA), but low levels of salicylic acid (SA). NOR13 had significantly higher expression of FvRVE8, FvTOC1, and FvLUX than all other accessions. NOR2 had extremely low levels of auxin (IAA) and high levels of the jasmonate catabolite, hydroxyjasmonic acid (OH-JA). CONCLUSIONS Our study shows that circadian rhythms in Fragaria vesca are driven by both the experienced photoperiod and genetic factors, while phytohormone levels are primarily determined by specific accessions' genetic factors rather than the experienced photoperiod.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corine Faehn
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, 9037, Norway.
| | - Michael Reichelt
- Department of Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Axel Mithöfer
- Research Group Plant Defense Physiology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Timo Hytönen
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Viikki Plant Science Centre, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 00790, Finland
| | - Jørgen Mølmann
- NIBIO, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, P.O. Box 115, Ås, 1431, Norway
| | - Laura Jaakola
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, 9037, Norway
- NIBIO, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, P.O. Box 115, Ås, 1431, Norway
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10
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Braunstein S, Bennett NC, Voigt C, Oosthuizen MK. Differential locomotor activity responses to day-time light intensity in juvenile and adult solitary Cape mole-rats, Georychus capensis (Rodentia: Bathyergidae). Chronobiol Int 2023; 40:1084-1096. [PMID: 37667495 DOI: 10.1080/07420528.2023.2253298] [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: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
The Cape mole-rat (Georychus capensis) is a solitary, strictly subterranean rodent that is responsive to light and entrains to photic cues despite having a reduced visual system. Circadian entrainment is maintained throughout life, but age can alter the amplitude of the response and re-entrainment time. Mole-rats are long-lived for their size which raises questions regarding the robustness of their circadian rhythms and how impacts their locomotor activity rhythms. The locomotor activity rhythms of juvenile and adult Cape mole-rats were investigated. They were exposed to pre-experimental and post-experimental control cycles under fluorescent lights, six 12 h light:12 h dark cycles of decreasing intensities and a constant dark cycle (DD). All animals exhibited more activity during the dark phases of all light regimes. Juveniles were more active than adults and displayed more variable activity during both the light and dark phases. Adults exhibited relatively stable levels of activity under all experimental conditions, whereas juvenile activity decreased as the light intensity was reduced. The amplitude of Cape mole-rat rhythms was consistently low, but similar across light regimes and between adults and juveniles. Cape mole-rats have functional circadian systems, are primarily nocturnal and respond differentially to light intensity depending on their age. Light intensity does not affect the locomotor activity responses of Cape mole-rats in a predictable manner, and could indicate more complex interactions with light wavelengths. The circadian systems of juveniles appear to be more sensitive than those of adults, although the mechanism of the light response remains unclear.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Braunstein
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - N C Bennett
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
- Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - C Voigt
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
- Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - M K Oosthuizen
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
- Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
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11
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Luisa Vissat L, Cain S, Toledo S, Spiegel O, Getz WM. Categorizing the geometry of animal diel movement patterns with examples from high-resolution barn owl tracking. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:15. [PMID: 36945057 PMCID: PMC10029274 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00367-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Movement is central to understanding the ecology of animals. The most robustly definable segments of an individual's lifetime track are its diel activity routines (DARs). This robustness is due to fixed start and end points set by a 24-h clock that depends on the individual's quotidian schedule. An analysis of day-to-day variation in the DARs of individuals, their comparisons among individuals, and the questions that can be asked, particularly in the context of lunar and annual cycles, depends on the relocation frequency and spatial accuracy of movement data. Here we present methods for categorizing the geometry of DARs for high frequency (seconds to minutes) movement data. METHODS Our method involves an initial categorization of DARs using data pooled across all individuals. We approached this categorization using a Ward clustering algorithm that employs four scalar "whole-path metrics" of trajectory geometry: 1. net displacement (distance between start and end points), 2. maximum displacement from start point, 3. maximum diameter, and 4. maximum width. We illustrate the general approach using reverse-GPS data obtained from 44 barn owls, Tyto alba, in north-eastern Israel. We conducted a principle components analysis (PCA) to obtain a factor, PC1, that essentially captures the scale of movement. We then used a generalized linear mixed model with PC1 as the dependent variable to assess the effects of age and sex on movement. RESULTS We clustered 6230 individual DARs into 7 categories representing different shapes and scale of the owls nightly routines. Five categories based on size and elongation were classified as closed (i.e. returning to the same roost), one as partially open (returning to a nearby roost) and one as fully open (leaving for another region). Our PCA revealed that the DAR scale factor, PC1, accounted for 86.5% of the existing variation. It also showed that PC2 captures the openness of the DAR and accounted for another 8.4% of the variation. We also constructed spatio-temporal distributions of DAR types for individuals and groups of individuals aggregated by age, sex, and seasonal quadrimester, as well as identify some idiosyncratic behavior of individuals within family groups in relation to location. Finally, we showed in two ways that DARs were significantly larger in young than adults and in males than females. CONCLUSION Our study offers a new method for using high-frequency movement data to classify animal diel movement routines. Insights into the types and distributions of the geometric shape and size of DARs in populations may well prove to be more invaluable for predicting the space-use response of individuals and populations to climate and land-use changes than other currently used movement track methods of analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludovica Luisa Vissat
- Department Environmental Science, Policy and Managemente, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Shlomo Cain
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978 Israel
| | - Sivan Toledo
- Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Orr Spiegel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978 Israel
| | - Wayne M. Getz
- Department Environmental Science, Policy and Managemente, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
- School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal 4000 South Africa
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12
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Mazur M, Markowska M, Chadzinska M, Pijanowski L. Changes of the clock gene expression in central and peripheral organs of common carp exposed to constant lighting conditions. Chronobiol Int 2023; 40:145-161. [PMID: 36537171 DOI: 10.1080/07420528.2022.2157734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
In both mammals and fish, the circadian system is composed of oscillators that function at the cellular, tissue, and system levels and show the cyclic expression of clock genes. The organization and functioning of the biological clock in fish has not yet been characterized in detail, therefore, in the present study, an extensive analysis of the rhythmic expression of the main components of the biological clock in the central and peripheral organs of common carp was performed. The diurnal changes in clock gene expression were determined with respect to the subjective light cycle in fish exposed to constant light or darkness. It was found that the pattern of expression of clock, bmal, per and cry genes in carp was highest in the brain, pituitary gland, and retina. The peak clock and bmal expression was phase aligned with the lights off, whereas both per genes show similar phasing with acrophase close to light onset. The expression of cry genes varied depending on the type of tissue and the subtype of gene. The diurnal changes in the expression of clock genes demonstrates that, in particular, the expression of the clock in the retina shows endogenous oscillations independent of the influence of light. The data suggest that in carp, the time-varying expression of individual genes allows for a diverse and tissue-specific response to secure oscillations with variable phase and period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikolaj Mazur
- Department of Evolutionary Immunology, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Magdalena Markowska
- Department of Animal Physiology, Institute of Functional Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Magdalena Chadzinska
- Department of Evolutionary Immunology, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Lukasz Pijanowski
- Department of Evolutionary Immunology, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
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13
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Riggle JP, Kay LM, Onishi KG, Falk DT, Smarr BL, Zucker I, Prendergast BJ. Modified Wavelet Analyses Permit Quantification of Dynamic Interactions Between Ultradian and Circadian Rhythms. J Biol Rhythms 2022; 37:631-654. [PMID: 36380564 PMCID: PMC11024927 DOI: 10.1177/07487304221128652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Circadian rhythms provide daily temporal structure to cellular and organismal biological processes, ranging from gene expression to cognition. Higher-frequency (intradaily) ultradian rhythms are similarly ubiquitous but have garnered far less empirical study, in part because of the properties that define them-multimodal periods, non-stationarity, circadian harmonics, and diurnal modulation-pose challenges to their accurate and precise quantification. Wavelet analyses are ideally suited to address these challenges, but wavelet-based measurement of ultradian rhythms has remained largely idiographic. Here, we describe novel analytical approaches, based on discrete and continuous wavelet transforms, which permit quantification of rhythmic power distribution across a broad ultradian spectrum, as well as precise identification of period within empirically determined ultradian bands. Moreover, the aggregation of normalized wavelet matrices allows group-level analyses of experimental treatments, thereby circumventing limitations of idiographic approaches. The accuracy and precision of these wavelet analyses were validated using in silico and in vivo models with known ultradian features. Experiments in male and female mice yielded robust and repeatable measures of ultradian period and power in home cage locomotor activity, confirming and extending reports of ultradian rhythm modulation by sex, gonadal hormones, and circadian entrainment. Seasonal changes in day length modulated ultradian period and power, and exerted opposite effects in the light and dark phases of the 24 h day, underscoring the importance of evaluating ultradian rhythms with attention to circadian phase. Sex differences in ultradian rhythms were more prominent at night and depended on gonadal hormones in male mice. Thus, relatively straightforward modifications to the wavelet procedure allowed quantification of ultradian rhythms with appropriate time-frequency resolution, generating accurate, and repeatable measures of period and power which are suitable for group-level analyses. These analytical tools may afford deeper understanding of how ultradian rhythms are generated and respond to interoceptive and exteroceptive cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan P. Riggle
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Mind and Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
- Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Leslie M. Kay
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Mind and Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
- Committee on Neurobiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
- Committee on Computational Neuroscience, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Kenneth G. Onishi
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Mind and Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - David T. Falk
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Mind and Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Benjamin L. Smarr
- Department of Bioengineering and the Halicioğlu Data Science Institute, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Irving Zucker
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
| | - Brian J. Prendergast
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Mind and Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
- Committee on Neurobiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
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14
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Tripp EA, Fu F, Pauls SD. Evolutionary Kuramoto dynamics. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220999. [PMID: 36350204 PMCID: PMC9653234 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological systems have a variety of time-keeping mechanisms ranging from molecular clocks within cells to a complex interconnected unit across an entire organism. The suprachiasmatic nucleus, comprising interconnected oscillatory neurons, serves as a master-clock in mammals. The ubiquity of such systems indicates an evolutionary benefit that outweighs the cost of establishing and maintaining them, but little is known about the process of evolutionary development. To begin to address this shortfall, we introduce and analyse a new evolutionary game theoretic framework modelling the behaviour and evolution of systems of coupled oscillators. Each oscillator is characterized by a pair of dynamic behavioural dimensions, a phase and a communication strategy, along which evolution occurs. We measure success of mutations by comparing the benefit of synchronization balanced against the cost of connections between the oscillators. Despite the simple set-up, this model exhibits non-trivial behaviours mimicking several different classical games—the Prisoner’s Dilemma, snowdrift games, coordination games—as the landscape of the oscillators changes over time. Across many situations, we find a surprisingly simple characterization of synchronization through connectivity and communication: if the benefit of synchronization is greater than twice the cost, the system will evolve towards complete communication and phase synchronization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A. Tripp
- Department of Mathematics, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT 06825, USA
| | - Feng Fu
- Department of Mathematics, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
- Department of Biomedical Data Science, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA
| | - Scott D. Pauls
- Department of Mathematics, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
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15
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Huggler KS, Holbrook JD, Hayes MM, Burke PW, Zornes M, Thompson DJ, Clapp JG, Lionberger P, Valdez M, Monteith KL. Risky business: How an herbivore navigates spatiotemporal aspects of risk from competitors and predators. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2648. [PMID: 35535971 PMCID: PMC9787716 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Understanding factors that influence animal behavior is central to ecology. Basic principles of animal ecology imply that individuals should seek to maximize survival and reproduction, which means carefully weighing risk against reward. Decisions become increasingly complex and constrained, however, when risk is spatiotemporally variable. We advance a growing body of work in predator-prey behavior by evaluating novel questions where a prey species is confronted with multiple predators and a potential competitor. We tested how fine-scale behavior of female mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) during the reproductive season shifted depending upon spatial and temporal variation in risk from predators and a potential competitor. We expected female deer to avoid areas of high risk when movement activity of predators and a competitor were high. We used GPS data collected from 76 adult female mule deer, 35 adult female elk, 33 adult coyotes, and six adult mountain lions. Counter to our expectations, female deer exhibited selection for multiple risk factors, however, selection for risk was dampened by the exposure to risk within home ranges of female deer, producing a functional response in habitat selection. Furthermore, temporal variation in movement activity of predators and elk across the diel cycle did not result in a shift in movement activity by female deer. Instead, the average level of risk within their home range was the predominant factor modulating the response to risk by female deer. Our results counter prevailing hypotheses of how large herbivores navigate risky landscapes and emphasize the importance of accounting for the local environment when identifying effects of risk on animal behavior. Moreover, our findings highlight additional behavioral mechanisms used by large herbivores to mitigate multiple sources of predation and potential competitive interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katey S. Huggler
- Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and PhysiologyUniversity of WyomingLaramieWyomingUSA
- Haub School of Environment and Natural ResourcesUniversity of WyomingLaramieWyomingUSA
| | - Joseph D. Holbrook
- Haub School of Environment and Natural ResourcesUniversity of WyomingLaramieWyomingUSA
| | - Matthew M. Hayes
- Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and PhysiologyUniversity of WyomingLaramieWyomingUSA
- Haub School of Environment and Natural ResourcesUniversity of WyomingLaramieWyomingUSA
| | - Patrick W. Burke
- Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Green River RegionGreen RiverWyomingUSA
| | - Mark Zornes
- Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Green River RegionGreen RiverWyomingUSA
| | - Daniel J. Thompson
- Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Large Carnivore SectionLanderWyomingUSA
| | - Justin G. Clapp
- Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Large Carnivore SectionLanderWyomingUSA
| | - Patrick Lionberger
- Bureau of Land Management, Rock Springs Field OfficeRock SpringsWyomingUSA
| | - Miguel Valdez
- Bureau of Land Management, Rock Springs Field OfficeRock SpringsWyomingUSA
| | - Kevin L. Monteith
- Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and PhysiologyUniversity of WyomingLaramieWyomingUSA
- Haub School of Environment and Natural ResourcesUniversity of WyomingLaramieWyomingUSA
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Gall AJ, Shuboni-Mulligan DD. Keep Your Mask On: The Benefits of Masking for Behavior and the Contributions of Aging and Disease on Dysfunctional Masking Pathways. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:911153. [PMID: 36017187 PMCID: PMC9395722 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.911153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental cues (e.g., light-dark cycle) have an immediate and direct effect on behavior, but these cues are also capable of “masking” the expression of the circadian pacemaker, depending on the type of cue presented, the time-of-day when they are presented, and the temporal niche of the organism. Masking is capable of complementing entrainment, the process by which an organism is synchronized to environmental cues, if the cues are presented at an expected or predictable time-of-day, but masking can also disrupt entrainment if the cues are presented at an inappropriate time-of-day. Therefore, masking is independent of but complementary to the biological circadian pacemaker that resides within the brain (i.e., suprachiasmatic nucleus) when exogenous stimuli are presented at predictable times of day. Importantly, environmental cues are capable of either inducing sleep or wakefulness depending on the organism’s temporal niche; therefore, the same presentation of a stimulus can affect behavior quite differently in diurnal vs. nocturnal organisms. There is a growing literature examining the neural mechanisms underlying masking behavior based on the temporal niche of the organism. However, the importance of these mechanisms in governing the daily behaviors of mammals and the possible implications on human health have been gravely overlooked even as modern society enables the manipulation of these environmental cues. Recent publications have demonstrated that the effects of masking weakens significantly with old age resulting in deleterious effects on many behaviors, including sleep and wakefulness. This review will clearly outline the history, definition, and importance of masking, the environmental cues that induce the behavior, the neural mechanisms that drive them, and the possible implications for human health and medicine. New insights about how masking is affected by intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, temporal niche, and age will be discussed as each relates to human health. The overarching goals of this review include highlighting the importance of masking in the expression of daily rhythms, elucidating the impact of aging, discussing the relationship between dysfunctional masking behavior and the development of sleep-related disorders, and considering the use of masking as a non-invasive treatment to help treat humans suffering from sleep-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J. Gall
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, Hope College, Holland, MI, United States
- *Correspondence: Andrew J. Gall,
| | - Dorela D. Shuboni-Mulligan
- Neuro-Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
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17
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Rumination and Activity Patterns in Angus and Angus-Cross Beef Calves: Influences of Sex, Breed, and Backgrounding Diet. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12141835. [PMID: 35883385 PMCID: PMC9312054 DOI: 10.3390/ani12141835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The objectives of this study were to evaluate the influences of sex, breed, and backgrounding diet on rumination and activity patterns in Angus and Angus-cross beef calves; and the daily variations in rumination and activity in Angus and Angus-cross beef calves under different backgrounding systems. A total of 62 freshly weaned calves were vaccinated and randomly stratified by sex (heifers and steers), breed (Angus and Angus × Simmental cross), and assigned randomly to 3 backgrounding treatments for 55 days. The peak values for rumination and activity in heifers, steers, Angus, and Angus × Simmental cross occurred during the dark and light phases of the dark/light cycle, respectively. Beef calves backgrounded on cover crops had higher (p < 0.05) rumination (45.33 ± 1.57 min) compared with calves backgrounded on a perennial pasture (43.96 ± 1.47 min) diet. Similarly, drylot calves (24.16 ± 0.68 min) had higher (p < 0.05) activity compared to perennial pasture (23.49 ± 0.72 min). The results showed that sex and breed did not influence rumination and activity of Angus and Angus-cross beef calves during the study period. We concluded that the time of the day and backgrounding diet influenced rumination and activity patterns of Angus and Angus-cross beef calves.
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18
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Oosthuizen MK, Bennett NC. Clocks Ticking in the Dark: A Review of Biological Rhythms in Subterranean African Mole-Rats. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.878533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological rhythms are rhythmic fluctuations of biological functions that occur in almost all organisms and on several time scales. These rhythms are generated endogenously and entail the coordination of physiological and behavioural processes to predictable, external environmental rhythms. The light-dark cycle is usually the most prominent environmental cue to which animals synchronise their rhythms. Biological rhythms are believed to provide an adaptive advantage to organisms. In the present review, we will examine the occurrence of circadian and seasonal rhythms in African mole-rats (family Bathyergidae). African mole-rats are strictly subterranean, they very rarely emerge aboveground and therefore, do not have regular access to environmental light. A key adaptation to their specialised habitat is a reduction in the visual system. Mole-rats exhibit both daily and seasonal rhythmicity in a range of behaviours and physiological variables, albeit to different degrees and with large variability. We review previous research on the entire circadian system of African mole-rats and discuss output rhythms in detail. Laboratory experiments imply that light remains the strongest zeitgeber for entrainment but in the absence of light, animals can entrain to ambient temperature rhythms. Field studies report that rhythmic daily and seasonal behaviour is displayed in their natural habitat. We suggest that ambient temperature and rainfall play an important role in the timing of rhythmic behaviour in mole-rats, and that they likely respond directly to these zeitgebers in the field rather than exhibit robust endogenous rhythms. In the light of climate change, these subterranean animals are buffered from the direct and immediate effects of changes in temperature and rainfall, partly because they do not have robust circadian rhythms, however, on a longer term they are vulnerable to changes in their food sources and dispersal abilities.
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Das B, de Bekker C. Time-course RNASeq of Camponotus floridanus forager and nurse ant brains indicate links between plasticity in the biological clock and behavioral division of labor. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:57. [PMID: 35033027 PMCID: PMC8760764 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-08282-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Circadian clocks allow organisms to anticipate daily fluctuations in their environment by driving rhythms in physiology and behavior. Inter-organismal differences in daily rhythms, called chronotypes, exist and can shift with age. In ants, age, caste-related behavior and chronotype appear to be linked. Brood-tending nurse ants are usually younger individuals and show “around-the-clock” activity. With age or in the absence of brood, nurses transition into foraging ants that show daily rhythms in activity. Ants can adaptively shift between these behavioral castes and caste-associated chronotypes depending on social context. We investigated how changes in daily gene expression could be contributing to such behavioral plasticity in Camponotus floridanus carpenter ants by combining time-course behavioral assays and RNA-Sequencing of forager and nurse brains. Results We found that nurse brains have three times fewer 24 h oscillating genes than foragers. However, several hundred genes that oscillated every 24 h in forager brains showed robust 8 h oscillations in nurses, including the core clock genes Period and Shaggy. These differentially rhythmic genes consisted of several components of the circadian entrainment and output pathway, including genes said to be involved in regulating insect locomotory behavior. We also found that Vitellogenin, known to regulate division of labor in social insects, showed robust 24 h oscillations in nurse brains but not in foragers. Finally, we found significant overlap between genes differentially expressed between the two ant castes and genes that show ultradian rhythms in daily expression. Conclusion This study provides a first look at the chronobiological differences in gene expression between forager and nurse ant brains. This endeavor allowed us to identify a putative molecular mechanism underlying plastic timekeeping: several components of the ant circadian clock and its output can seemingly oscillate at different harmonics of the circadian rhythm. We propose that such chronobiological plasticity has evolved to allow for distinct regulatory networks that underlie behavioral castes, while supporting swift caste transitions in response to colony demands. Behavioral division of labor is common among social insects. The links between chronobiological and behavioral plasticity that we found in C. floridanus, thus, likely represent a more general phenomenon that warrants further investigation. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-08282-x.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biplabendu Das
- Department of Biology, College of Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA. .,Genomics and Bioinformatics Cluster, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA.
| | - Charissa de Bekker
- Department of Biology, College of Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA. .,Genomics and Bioinformatics Cluster, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA.
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20
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Multi-Modal Regulation of Circadian Physiology by Interactive Features of Biological Clocks. BIOLOGY 2021; 11:biology11010021. [PMID: 35053019 PMCID: PMC8772734 DOI: 10.3390/biology11010021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The circadian clock is a fundamental biological timing mechanism that generates nearly 24 h rhythms of physiology and behaviors, including sleep/wake cycles, hormone secretion, and metabolism. Evolutionarily, the endogenous clock is thought to confer living organisms, including humans, with survival benefits by adapting internal rhythms to the day and night cycles of the local environment. Mirroring the evolutionary fitness bestowed by the circadian clock, daily mismatches between the internal body clock and environmental cycles, such as irregular work (e.g., night shift work) and life schedules (e.g., jet lag, mistimed eating), have been recognized to increase the risk of cardiac, metabolic, and neurological diseases. Moreover, increasing numbers of studies with cellular and animal models have detected the presence of functional circadian oscillators at multiple levels, ranging from individual neurons and fibroblasts to brain and peripheral organs. These oscillators are tightly coupled to timely modulate cellular and bodily responses to physiological and metabolic cues. In this review, we will discuss the roles of central and peripheral clocks in physiology and diseases, highlighting the dynamic regulatory interactions between circadian timing systems and multiple metabolic factors.
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21
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Brochu MP, Aubin-Horth N. Shedding light on the circadian clock of the threespine stickleback. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:jeb242970. [PMID: 34854903 PMCID: PMC8729910 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The circadian clock is an internal timekeeping system shared by most organisms, and knowledge about its functional importance and evolution in natural environments is still needed. Here, we investigated the circadian clock of wild-caught threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) at the behavioural and molecular levels. Although their behaviour, ecology and evolution are well studied, information on their circadian rhythms are scarce. We quantified the daily locomotor activity rhythm under a light:dark cycle (LD) and under constant darkness (DD). Under LD, all fish exhibited significant daily rhythmicity, while under DD, only 18% of individuals remained rhythmic. This interindividual variation suggests that the circadian clock controls activity only in certain individuals. Moreover, under LD, some fish were almost exclusively nocturnal, while others were active around the clock. Furthermore, the most nocturnal fish were also the least active. These results suggest that light masks activity (i.e. suppresses activity without entraining the internal clock) more strongly in some individuals than others. Finally, we quantified the expression of five clock genes in the brain of sticklebacks under DD using qPCR. We did not detect circadian rhythmicity, which could indicate either that the clock molecular oscillator is highly light-dependent, or that there was an oscillation but that we were unable to detect it. Overall, our study suggests that a strong circadian control on behavioural rhythms may not necessarily be advantageous in a natural population of sticklebacks and that the daily phase of activity varies greatly between individuals because of a differential masking effect of light.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nadia Aubin-Horth
- Département de Biologie and Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
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22
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Mack KL, Jaggard JB, Persons JL, Roback EY, Passow CN, Stanhope BA, Ferrufino E, Tsuchiya D, Smith SE, Slaughter BD, Kowalko J, Rohner N, Keene AC, McGaugh SE. Repeated evolution of circadian clock dysregulation in cavefish populations. PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009642. [PMID: 34252077 PMCID: PMC8297936 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Circadian rhythms are nearly ubiquitous throughout nature, suggesting they are critical for survival in diverse environments. Organisms inhabiting largely arrhythmic environments, such as caves, offer a unique opportunity to study the evolution of circadian rhythms in response to changing ecological pressures. Populations of the Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus, have repeatedly invaded caves from surface rivers, where individuals must contend with perpetual darkness, reduced food availability, and limited fluctuations in daily environmental cues. To investigate the molecular basis for evolved changes in circadian rhythms, we investigated rhythmic transcription across multiple independently-evolved cavefish populations. Our findings reveal that evolution in a cave environment has led to the repeated disruption of the endogenous biological clock, and its entrainment by light. The circadian transcriptome shows widespread reductions and losses of rhythmic transcription and changes to the timing of the activation/repression of core-transcriptional clock. In addition to dysregulation of the core clock, we find that rhythmic transcription of the melatonin regulator aanat2 and melatonin rhythms are disrupted in cavefish under darkness. Mutants of aanat2 and core clock gene rorca disrupt diurnal regulation of sleep in A. mexicanus, phenocopying circadian modulation of sleep and activity phenotypes of cave populations. Together, these findings reveal multiple independent mechanisms for loss of circadian rhythms in cavefish populations and provide a platform for studying how evolved changes in the biological clock can contribute to variation in sleep and circadian behavior. Biological rhythms are molecular, physiological, and behavioral changes that follow a daily cycle and allow for animals to coordinate critical biological processes with their external environment. While these clocks are ubiquitous from unicellular life through humans, little is known about how they evolve in the absence of daily cycling within an environment. In this study, we sought to understand the evolutionary response of the biological clock when organisms become established in an environment that lacks daily fluctuations in light, temperature, and other environmental factors. Astyanax mexicanus have repeatedly moved from surface rivers into caves where they live in complete darkness. We find that multiple populations of cavefish have disrupted biological clocks compared to their surface relatives, but that these clocks are disrupted via different molecular mechanisms in different populations. Our results suggest that changes to the biological clock in these populations may also affect aspects of cavefish behavior, like the sleep-wake cycle. This study demonstrates that moving into an environment without daily cycles has led to predictable disruptions to the biological clock among cavefish populations, but that the clock itself can be broken multiple ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katya L. Mack
- Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - James B. Jaggard
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, Florida, United States of America
- Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Jenna L. Persons
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Emma Y. Roback
- Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Courtney N. Passow
- Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Bethany A. Stanhope
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, Florida, United States of America
| | - Estephany Ferrufino
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, Florida, United States of America
- Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, Florida, United States of America
| | - Dai Tsuchiya
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Sarah E. Smith
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Brian D. Slaughter
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Johanna Kowalko
- Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, Florida, United States of America
| | - Nicolas Rohner
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, The University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, United States of America
| | - Alex C. Keene
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, Florida, United States of America
| | - Suzanne E. McGaugh
- Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States of America
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23
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Eichhorn G, Boom MP, van der Jeugd HP, Mulder A, Wikelski M, Maloney SK, Goh GH. Circadian and Seasonal Patterns of Body Temperature in Arctic Migratory and Temperate Non-migratory Geese. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.699917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Arctic migration presents unique challenges to circadian physiology. In addition to the metabolic cost of maintaining a relatively high body temperature (Tb) above ambient temperature, migratory birds are also exposed to rapidly changing light conditions as they transition between light-dark cycles and a 24-hour polar day. A previous study suggested that Arctic-migratory barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) may utilise adaptive heterothermy (i.e., a controlled decrease in core Tb) during and around the autumn migratory period in order to minimise the metabolic cost of migration, but the impact of seasonally changing daylight conditions on other parameters of the circadian profile of Tb in these geese remained obscure. Here, we provide a detailed comparative analysis on the circadian rhythm of Tb and its seasonal development in free-living barnacle geese from three study populations that differ in their migratory behaviour and in the environments they occupy. We recorded abdominal Tb in non-migratory geese from a temperate breeding colony in Netherlands and in migratory geese from a colony in the Russian low Arctic, and analysed these data together with previously published Tb data on geese from a migratory colony in the high Arctic of Svalbard. We found that the circadian Tb profile in the barnacle goose was well aligned with the daily and seasonally changing daylight conditions. In the migratory populations, a fast re-entrainment of the rhythm and its phase was observed when zeitgeber conditions changed during migratory movements. The circadian rhythmicity of Tb was lost once the geese encountered permanent daylight at their northern staging and breeding sites. Circadian Tb rhythmicity was re-established when the period of permanent daylight ended, at rates corresponding to rates of seasonal changes in daylength in the high and low Arctic. Although our data corroborated findings of a decrease in daily mean Tb before autumn migration in both migratory populations in this study, the pre-migratory decrease in Tb was less drastic than previously reported. Moreover, in contrast to previous study, the decrease in Tb stopped at the onset of migration. Overall, our data reveal no evidence that heterothermy in the barnacle goose is functionally linked to migration.
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Appenroth D, Nord A, Hazlerigg DG, Wagner GC. Body Temperature and Activity Rhythms Under Different Photoperiods in High Arctic Svalbard ptarmigan ( Lagopus muta hyperborea). Front Physiol 2021; 12:633866. [PMID: 33762966 PMCID: PMC7982588 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.633866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Organisms use circadian rhythms to anticipate and exploit daily environmental oscillations. While circadian rhythms are of clear importance for inhabitants of tropic and temperate latitudes, its role for permanent residents of the polar regions is less well understood. The high Arctic Svalbard ptarmigan shows behavioral rhythmicity in presence of light-dark cycles but is arrhythmic during the polar day and polar night. This has been suggested to be an adaptation to the unique light environment of the Arctic. In this study, we examined regulatory aspects of the circadian control system in the Svalbard ptarmigan by recording core body temperature (T b) alongside locomotor activity in captive birds under different photoperiods. We show that T b and activity are rhythmic with a 24-h period under short (SP; L:D 6:18) and long photoperiod (LP; L:D 16:8). Under constant light and constant darkness, rhythmicity in T b attenuates and activity shows signs of ultradian rhythmicity. Birds under SP also showed a rise in T b preceding the light-on signal and any rise in activity, which proves that the light-on signal can be anticipated, most likely by a circadian system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Appenroth
- Arctic Chronobiology and Physiology, Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Andreas Nord
- Arctic Chronobiology and Physiology, Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.,Section for Evolutionary Ecology, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - David G Hazlerigg
- Arctic Chronobiology and Physiology, Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Gabriela C Wagner
- Arctic Chronobiology and Physiology, Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.,Division of Forest and Forest Resources, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Tromsø, Norway
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25
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Ghosh A, Sharma P, Dansana S, Sheeba V. Evidence for Co-Evolution of Masking With Circadian Phase in Drosophila Melanogaster. J Biol Rhythms 2021; 36:254-270. [PMID: 33752486 DOI: 10.1177/0748730421997262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Heritable variation in the timing of rhythmic events with respect to daily time cues gives rise to chronotypes. Despite its importance, the mechanisms (clock or non-clock) regulating chronotypes remain elusive. Using artificial laboratory selection for divergent phasing of emergence of adults from pupae, our group has derived populations of Drosophila melanogaster which are early and late chronotypes for eclosion rhythm. Several circadian rhythm characteristics of these populations have since been described. We hypothesized that our selection protocol has inadvertently resulted in selection for masking, a non-clock phenomenon, in the early chronotype due to the placement of our selection window (which includes the lights-ON transition). We designed experiments to discriminate between enhanced masking to light versus circadian clock mediated changes in determining enhanced emergence in the morning window in our early chronotypes. Using a series of phase-shift protocols, LD-DD transition, and T-cycle experiments, we find that our early chronotypes have evolved positive masking, and their apparent entrained phases are largely contributed by masking. Through skeleton T-cycle experiments, we find that in addition to the evolution of greater masking, our early chronotypes have also evolved advanced phase of entrainment. Furthermore, our study systematically outlines experimental approaches to examine relative contributions of clock versus non-clock control of an entrained behavior. Although it has previously been suggested that masking may confer an adaptive advantage to organisms, here we provide experimental evidence for the evolution of masking as a means of phasing that can complement clock control of an entrained behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arijit Ghosh
- Chronobiology and Behavioral Neurogenetics Laboratory, Neuroscience Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru, India
| | - Pragya Sharma
- Chronobiology and Behavioral Neurogenetics Laboratory, Neuroscience Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru, India
| | - Shephali Dansana
- Chronobiology and Behavioral Neurogenetics Laboratory, Neuroscience Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru, India
| | - Vasu Sheeba
- Chronobiology and Behavioral Neurogenetics Laboratory, Neuroscience Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru, India
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Widely rhythmic transcriptome in Calanus finmarchicus during the high Arctic summer solstice period. iScience 2021; 24:101927. [PMID: 33385120 PMCID: PMC7770977 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Revised: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Solar light/dark cycles and seasonal photoperiods underpin daily and annual rhythms of life on Earth. Yet, the Arctic is characterized by several months of permanent illumination ("midnight sun"). To determine the persistence of 24h rhythms during the midnight sun, we investigated transcriptomic dynamics in the copepod Calanus finmarchicus during the summer solstice period in the Arctic, with the lowest diel oscillation and the highest altitude of the sun's position. Here we reveal that in these extreme photic conditions, a widely rhythmic daily transcriptome exists, showing that very weak solar cues are sufficient to entrain organisms. Furthermore, at extremely high latitudes and under sea-ice, gene oscillations become re-organized to include <24h rhythms. Environmental synchronization may therefore be modulated to include non-photic signals (i.e. tidal cycles). The ability of zooplankton to be synchronized by extremely weak diel and potentially tidal cycles, may confer an adaptive temporal reorganization of biological processes at high latitudes.
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27
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Abe MS, Matsumura K, Yoshii T, Miyatake T. Amplitude of circadian rhythms becomes weaken in the north, but there is no cline in the period of rhythm in a beetle. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0245115. [PMID: 33444354 PMCID: PMC7808652 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Many species show rhythmicity in activity, from the timing of flowering in plants to that of foraging behavior in animals. The free-running periods and amplitude (sometimes called strength or power) of circadian rhythms are often used as indicators of biological clocks. Many reports have shown that these traits are highly geographically variable, and interestingly, they often show latitudinal or longitudinal clines. In many cases, the higher the latitude is, the longer the free-running circadian period (i.e., period of rhythm) in insects and plants. However, reports of positive correlations between latitude or longitude and circadian rhythm traits, including free-running periods, the power of the rhythm and locomotor activity, are limited to certain taxonomic groups. Therefore, we collected a cosmopolitan stored-product pest species, the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, in various parts of Japan and examined its rhythm traits, including the power and period of the rhythm, which were calculated from locomotor activity. The analysis revealed that the power was significantly lower for beetles collected in northern areas than southern areas in Japan. However, it is worth noting that the period of circadian rhythm did not show any clines; specifically, it did not vary among the sampling sites, despite the very large sample size (n = 1585). We discuss why these cline trends were observed in T. castaneum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masato S. Abe
- Center for Advanced Intelligence Project, RIKEN, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kentarou Matsumura
- Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
| | - Taishi Yoshii
- Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
| | - Takahisa Miyatake
- Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
- * E-mail:
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28
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Beer K, Helfrich-Förster C. Post-embryonic Development of the Circadian Clock Seems to Correlate With Social Life Style in Bees. Front Cell Dev Biol 2020; 8:581323. [PMID: 33282863 PMCID: PMC7689364 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2020.581323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social life style can influence many aspects of an animal’s daily life, but it has not yet been clarified, whether development of the circadian clock in social and solitary living bees differs. In a comparative study, with the social honey bee, Apis mellifera, and the solitary mason bee, Osmia bicornis, we now found indications for a differentially timed clock development in social and solitary bees. Newly emerged solitary bees showed rhythmic locomotion right away and the number of neurons in the brain that produce the clock component pigment-dispersing factor (PDF) did not change during aging of the adult solitary bee. Honey bees on the other hand, showed no circadian locomotion directly after emergence and the neuronal clock network continued to grow after emergence. Social bees appear to emerge at an early developmental stage at which the circadian clock is still immature, but bees are already able to fulfill in-hive tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Beer
- Department of Neurobiology and Genetics, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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29
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van Beest FM, Beumer LT, Chimienti M, Desforges JP, Huffeldt NP, Pedersen SH, Schmidt NM. Environmental conditions alter behavioural organization and rhythmicity of a large Arctic ruminant across the annual cycle. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:201614. [PMID: 33204486 PMCID: PMC7657931 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The existence and persistence of rhythmicity in animal activity during phases of environmental change is of interest in ecology, evolution and chronobiology. A wide diversity of biological rhythms in response to exogenous conditions and internal stimuli have been uncovered, especially for polar vertebrates. However, empirical data supporting circadian organization in behaviour of large ruminating herbivores remains inconclusive. Using year-round tracking data of the largest Arctic ruminant, the muskox (Ovibos moschatus), we modelled rhythmicity as a function of behaviour and environmental conditions. Behavioural states were classified based on patterns in hourly movements, and incorporated within a periodicity analyses framework. Although circadian rhythmicity in muskox behaviour was detected throughout the year, ultradian rhythmicity was most prevalent, especially when muskoxen were foraging and resting in mid-winter (continuous darkness). However, when combining circadian and ultradian rhythmicity together, the probability of behavioural rhythmicity declined with increasing photoperiod until largely disrupted in mid-summer (continuous light). Individuals that remained behaviourally rhythmic during mid-summer foraged in areas with lower plant productivity (NDVI) than individuals with arrhythmic behaviour. Based on our study, we conclude that muskoxen may use an interval timer to schedule their behavioural cycles when forage resources are low, but that the importance and duration of this timer are reduced once environmental conditions allow energetic reserves to be replenished ad libitum. We argue that alimentary function and metabolic requirements are critical determinants of biological rhythmicity in muskoxen, which probably applies to ruminating herbivores in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Floris M. van Beest
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
- Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 116, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Larissa T. Beumer
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
- Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 116, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Marianna Chimienti
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Jean-Pierre Desforges
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
- Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste Anne de Bellevue, QuebecCanada, H9X 3V9
| | - Nicholas Per Huffeldt
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
- Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, 3900 Nuuk, Greenland
| | - Stine Højlund Pedersen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, USA
- Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Niels Martin Schmidt
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
- Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 116, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
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30
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Ware JV, Rode KD, Robbins CT, Leise T, Weil CR, Jansen HT. The Clock Keeps Ticking: Circadian Rhythms of Free-Ranging Polar Bears. J Biol Rhythms 2020; 35:180-194. [DOI: 10.1177/0748730419900877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Life in the Arctic presents organisms with multiple challenges, including extreme photic conditions, cold temperatures, and annual loss and daily movement of sea ice. Polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) evolved under these unique conditions, where they rely on ice to hunt their main prey, seals. However, very little is known about the dynamics of their daily and seasonal activity patterns. For many organisms, activity is synchronized (entrained) to the earth’s day/night cycle, in part via an endogenous (circadian) timekeeping mechanism. The present study used collar-mounted accelerometer and global positioning system data from 122 female polar bears in the Chukchi and Southern Beaufort Seas collected over an 8-year period to characterize activity patterns over the calendar year and to determine if circadian rhythms are expressed under the constant conditions found in the Arctic. We reveal that the majority of polar bears (80%) exhibited rhythmic activity for the duration of their recordings. Collectively within the rhythmic bear cohort, circadian rhythms were detected during periods of constant daylight (June-August; 24.40 ± 1.39 h, mean ± SD) and constant darkness (23.89 ± 1.72 h). Exclusive of denning periods (November-April), the time of peak activity remained relatively stable (acrophases: ~1200-1400 h) for most of the year, suggesting either entrainment or masking. However, activity patterns shifted during the spring feeding and seal pupping season, as evidenced by an acrophase inversion to ~2400 h in April, followed by highly variable timing of activity across bears in May. Intriguingly, despite the dynamic environmental photoperiodic conditions, unpredictable daily timing of prey availability, and high between-animal variability, the average duration of activity (alpha) remained stable (11.2 ± 2.9 h) for most of the year. Together, these results reveal a high degree of behavioral plasticity in polar bears while also retaining circadian rhythmicity. Whether this degree of plasticity will benefit polar bears faced with a loss of sea ice remains to be determined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmine V. Ware
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
- Department of Environment, Government of Nunavut, Igloolik, NU, Canada
| | - Karyn D. Rode
- U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska, USA
| | - Charles T. Robbins
- School of the Environment and School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
| | - Tanya Leise
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Colby R. Weil
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
| | - Heiko T. Jansen
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
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31
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Bertolini E, Schubert FK, Zanini D, Sehadová H, Helfrich-Förster C, Menegazzi P. Life at High Latitudes Does Not Require Circadian Behavioral Rhythmicity under Constant Darkness. Curr Biol 2019; 29:3928-3936.e3. [PMID: 31679928 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.09.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2019] [Revised: 08/13/2019] [Accepted: 09/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Nearly all organisms evolved endogenous self-sustained timekeeping mechanisms to track and anticipate cyclic changes in the environment. Circadian clocks, with a periodicity of about 24 h, allow animals to adapt to day-night cycles. Biological clocks are highly adaptive, but strong behavioral rhythms might be a disadvantage for adaptation to weakly rhythmic environments such as polar areas [1, 2]. Several high-latitude species, including Drosophila species, were found to be highly arrhythmic under constant conditions [3-6]. Furthermore, Drosophila species from subarctic regions can extend evening activity until dusk under long days. These traits depend on the clock network neurochemistry, and we previously proposed that high-latitude Drosophila species evolved specific clock adaptations to colonize polar regions [5, 7, 8]. We broadened our analysis to 3 species of the Chymomyza genus, which diverged circa 5 million years before the Drosophila radiation [9] and colonized both low and high latitudes [10, 11]. C. costata, pararufithorax, and procnemis, independently of their latitude of origin, possess the clock neuronal network of low-latitude Drosophila species, and their locomotor activity does not track dusk under long photoperiods. Nevertheless, the high-latitude C. costata becomes arrhythmic under constant darkness (DD), whereas the two low-latitude species remain rhythmic. Different mechanisms are behind the arrhythmicity in DD of C. costata and the high-latitude Drosophila ezoana, suggesting that the ability to maintain behavioral rhythms has been lost more than once during drosophilids' evolution and that it might indeed be an evolutionary adaptation for life at high latitudes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrico Bertolini
- Neurobiology and Genetics, Theodor Boveri Institute, Biocentre, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Frank K Schubert
- Neurobiology and Genetics, Theodor Boveri Institute, Biocentre, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Damiano Zanini
- Neurobiology and Genetics, Theodor Boveri Institute, Biocentre, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Hana Sehadová
- Faculty of Science, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology and University of South Bohemia, 37005 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Charlotte Helfrich-Förster
- Neurobiology and Genetics, Theodor Boveri Institute, Biocentre, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Pamela Menegazzi
- Neurobiology and Genetics, Theodor Boveri Institute, Biocentre, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany.
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32
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Thoré ESJ, Grégoir AF, Adriaenssens B, Philippe C, Stoks R, Brendonck L, Pinceel T. Population-, sex- and individual level divergence in life-history and activity patterns in an annual killifish. PeerJ 2019; 7:e7177. [PMID: 31293828 PMCID: PMC6599669 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Variation in life-history strategies along a slow-fast continuum is largely governed by life-history trade-offs. The pace-of-life syndrome hypothesis (POLS) expands on this idea and suggests coevolution of these traits with personality and physiology at different levels of biological organization. However, it remains unclear to what extent covariation at different levels aligns and if also behavioral patterns such as diurnal activity changes should be incorporated. Here, we investigate variation in life-history traits as well as behavioral variation at the individual, sex and population level in the Turquoise killifish Nothobranchius furzeri. We performed a common garden laboratory experiment with four populations that differ in pond permanence and scored life-history and behavioral (co-) variation at the individual and population level for both males and females. In addition, we focused on diurnal activity change as a behavioral trait that remains understudied in ecology. Our results demonstrate sex-specific variation in adult body size and diurnal activity change among populations that originate from ponds with differences in permanence. However, there was no pond permanence-dependent divergence in maturation time, juvenile growth rate, fecundity and average activity level. With regard to behavior, individuals differed consistently in locomotor activity and diurnal activity change while, in contrast with POLS predictions, we found no indications for life-history and behavioral covariation at any level. Overall, this study illustrates that diurnal activity change differs consistently between individuals, sexes and populations although this variation does not appear to match POLS predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eli S J Thoré
- Animal Ecology, Global Change and Sustainable Development, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Arnout F Grégoir
- Animal Ecology, Global Change and Sustainable Development, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bart Adriaenssens
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Charlotte Philippe
- Animal Ecology, Global Change and Sustainable Development, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Systemic Physiological and Ecotoxicological Research, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Robby Stoks
- Evolutionary Stress Ecology and Ecotoxicology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Luc Brendonck
- Animal Ecology, Global Change and Sustainable Development, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Water Research Group, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Tom Pinceel
- Animal Ecology, Global Change and Sustainable Development, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Centre for Environmental Management, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
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33
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Berberich GM, Berberich MB, Ellison AM, Grumpe A, Wöhler C. First In Situ Identification of Ultradian and Infradian Rhythms, and Nocturnal Locomotion Activities of Four Colonies of Red Wood Ants ( Formica rufa-Group). J Biol Rhythms 2019; 34:19-38. [PMID: 30793651 DOI: 10.1177/0748730418821446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In situ activity patterns of 2 Formica rufa-group species ( F. pratensis; F. polyctena) were continuously studied at 4 different red wood-ant nests for 6 months in each of the years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2016 and related to weather factors and variations in the Earth's magnetic field. The in situ activity patterns of both species were similarly periodic and exhibited ultradian, and short- and long infradian rhythms under natural LD conditions. Crepuscular and nocturnal activities shorter than or equal to 4 h were observed in both species, especially at the new moon and first quarter after the astronomical twilight in a period of darkness in fall. We hypothesize that local variability in the Earth's magnetic field affects these long-term activity patterns, whereas humidity and temperature were more strongly associated with ultradian rhythms (less than 20 h).
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriele M Berberich
- Image Analysis Group, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Technical University of Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany
| | | | | | - Arne Grumpe
- Image Analysis Group, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Technical University of Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Christian Wöhler
- Image Analysis Group, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Technical University of Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany
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34
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Geissmann Q, Beckwith EJ, Gilestro GF. Most sleep does not serve a vital function: Evidence from Drosophila melanogaster. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2019; 5:eaau9253. [PMID: 30801012 PMCID: PMC6382397 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aau9253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2018] [Accepted: 01/10/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Sleep appears to be a universally conserved phenomenon among the animal kingdom, but whether this notable evolutionary conservation underlies a basic vital function is still an open question. Using a machine learning-based video-tracking technology, we conducted a detailed high-throughput analysis of sleep in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, coupled with a lifelong chronic and specific sleep restriction. Our results show that some wild-type flies are virtually sleepless in baseline conditions and that complete, forced sleep restriction is not necessarily a lethal treatment in wild-type D. melanogaster. We also show that circadian drive, and not homeostatic regulation, is the main contributor to sleep pressure in flies. These results offer a new perspective on the biological role of sleep in Drosophila and, potentially, in other species.
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35
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Fuchikawa T, Beer K, Linke-Winnebeck C, Ben-David R, Kotowoy A, Tsang VWK, Warman GR, Winnebeck EC, Helfrich-Förster C, Bloch G. Neuronal circadian clock protein oscillations are similar in behaviourally rhythmic forager honeybees and in arrhythmic nurses. Open Biol 2018; 7:rsob.170047. [PMID: 28615472 PMCID: PMC5493776 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.170047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2017] [Accepted: 05/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Internal clocks driving rhythms of about a day (circadian) are ubiquitous in animals, allowing them to anticipate environmental changes. Genetic or environmental disturbances to circadian clocks or the rhythms they produce are commonly associated with illness, compromised performance or reduced survival. Nevertheless, some animals including Arctic mammals, open sea fish and social insects such as honeybees are active around-the-clock with no apparent ill effects. The mechanisms allowing this remarkable natural plasticity are unknown. We generated and validated a new and specific antibody against the clock protein PERIOD of the honeybee Apis mellifera (amPER) and used it to characterize the circadian network in the honeybee brain. We found many similarities to Drosophila melanogaster and other insects, suggesting common anatomical organization principles in the insect clock that have not been appreciated before. Time course analyses revealed strong daily oscillations in amPER levels in foragers, which show circadian rhythms, and also in nurses that do not, although the latter have attenuated oscillations in brain mRNA clock gene levels. The oscillations in nurses show that activity can be uncoupled from the circadian network and support the hypothesis that a ticking circadian clock is essential even in around-the-clock active animals in a constant physical environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Fuchikawa
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, The A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - K Beer
- Neurobiology and Genetics, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Germany
| | | | - R Ben-David
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, The A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - A Kotowoy
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, The A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - V W K Tsang
- Department of Anaesthesiology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, New Zealand
| | - G R Warman
- Department of Anaesthesiology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, New Zealand
| | - E C Winnebeck
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, New Zealand .,Department of Anaesthesiology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, New Zealand
| | | | - G Bloch
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, The A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
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36
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Owens ACS, Lewis SM. The impact of artificial light at night on nocturnal insects: A review and synthesis. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:11337-11358. [PMID: 30519447 PMCID: PMC6262936 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2018] [Accepted: 07/14/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent decades, advances in lighting technology have precipitated exponential increases in night sky brightness worldwide, raising concerns in the scientific community about the impact of artificial light at night (ALAN) on crepuscular and nocturnal biodiversity. Long-term records show that insect abundance has declined significantly over this time, with worrying implications for terrestrial ecosystems. The majority of investigations into the vulnerability of nocturnal insects to artificial light have focused on the flight-to-light behavior exhibited by select insect families. However, ALAN can affect insects in other ways as well. This review proposes five categories of ALAN impact on nocturnal insects, highlighting past research and identifying key knowledge gaps. We conclude with a summary of relevant literature on bioluminescent fireflies, which emphasizes the unique vulnerability of terrestrial light-based communication systems to artificial illumination. Comprehensive understanding of the ecological impacts of ALAN on diverse nocturnal insect taxa will enable researchers to seek out methods whereby fireflies, moths, and other essential members of the nocturnal ecosystem can coexist with humans on an increasingly urbanized planet.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sara M. Lewis
- Department of BiologyTufts UniversityMedfordMassachusetts
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37
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Nunes Marsiglio Sarout B, Waterhouse A, Duthie CA, Candal Poli CHE, Haskell MJ, Berger A, Umstatter C. Assessment of circadian rhythm of activity combined with random regression model as a novel approach to monitoring sheep in an extensive system. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2018.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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38
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Hawley KL, Rosten CM, Haugen TO, Christensen G, Lucas MC. Freezer on, lights off! Environmental effects on activity rhythms of fish in the Arctic. Biol Lett 2018; 13:rsbl.2017.0575. [PMID: 29212752 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2017] [Accepted: 11/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Polar regions are characterized by acute seasonal changes in the environment, with organisms inhabiting these regions lacking diel photoperiodic information for parts of the year. We present, to our knowledge, the first high-resolution analysis of diel and seasonal activity of free-living fishes in polar waters (74°N), subject to extreme variation in photoperiod, temperature and food availability. Using biotelemetry, we tracked two sympatric ecomorphs of lake-dwelling Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus n = 23) over an annual cycle. Charr activity rhythms reflected the above-surface photoperiod (including under ice), with diel rhythms of activity observed. During the dark winter solstice period, charr activity became arrhythmic and much reduced, even though estimated light levels were within those at which charr can feed. When twilight resumed, charr activity ensued as diel vertical migration, which continued throughout spring and with increasing day length, despite stable water temperatures. Diel activity rhythms ceased during the polar day, with a sharp increase in arrhythmic fish activity occurring at ice-break. Despite contrasting resource use, circannual rhythms were mirrored in the two ecomorphs, although individual variability in activity rhythms was evident. Our data support conclusions of functionally adaptive periods of arrhythmicity in polar animals, suggesting maintenance of a circannual oscillator for scheduling seasonal behavioural and developmental processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate L Hawley
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Gaustadalléen 21, 0349 Oslo, Norway .,Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1432 Ås, Norway.,Department of Biosciences, Science Laboratories, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Carolyn M Rosten
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Høgskoleringen 9, 7034 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Thrond O Haugen
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1432 Ås, Norway
| | | | - Martyn C Lucas
- Department of Biosciences, Science Laboratories, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
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39
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Martorell-Barceló M, Campos-Candela A, Alós J. Fitness consequences of fish circadian behavioural variation in exploited marine environments. PeerJ 2018; 6:e4814. [PMID: 29796349 PMCID: PMC5961624 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 04/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The selective properties of fishing that influence behavioural traits have recently gained interest. Recent acoustic tracking experiments have revealed between-individual differences in the circadian behavioural traits of marine free-living fish; these differences are consistent across time and ecological contexts and generate different chronotypes. Here, we hypothesised that the directional selection resulting from fishing influences the wild circadian behavioural variation and affects differently to individuals in the same population differing in certain traits such as awakening time or rest onset time. We developed a spatially explicit social-ecological individual-based model (IBM) to test this hypothesis. The parametrisation of our IBM was fully based on empirical data; which represent a fishery formed by patchily distributed diurnal resident fish that are exploited by a fleet of mobile boats (mostly bottom fisheries). We ran our IBM with and without the observed circadian behavioural variation and estimated selection gradients as a quantitative measure of trait change. Our simulations revealed significant and strong selection gradients against early-riser chronotypes when compared with other behavioural and life-history traits. Significant selection gradients were consistent across a wide range of fishing effort scenarios. Our theoretical findings enhance our understanding of the selective properties of fishing by bridging the gaps among three traditionally separated fields: fisheries science, behavioural ecology and chronobiology. We derive some general predictions from our theoretical findings and outline a list of empirical research needs that are required to further understand the causes and consequences of circadian behavioural variation in marine fish.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrea Campos-Candela
- Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Esporles, Spain.,Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
| | - Josep Alós
- Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Esporles, Spain
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40
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Helm B, Visser ME, Schwartz W, Kronfeld-Schor N, Gerkema M, Piersma T, Bloch G. Two sides of a coin: ecological and chronobiological perspectives of timing in the wild. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 372:20160246. [PMID: 28993490 PMCID: PMC5647273 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Most processes within organisms, and most interactions between organisms and their environment, have distinct time profiles. The temporal coordination of such processes is crucial across levels of biological organization, but disciplines differ widely in their approaches to study timing. Such differences are accentuated between ecologists, who are centrally concerned with a holistic view of an organism in relation to its external environment, and chronobiologists, who emphasize internal timekeeping within an organism and the mechanisms of its adjustment to the environment. We argue that ecological and chronobiological perspectives are complementary, and that studies at the intersection will enable both fields to jointly overcome obstacles that currently hinder progress. However, to achieve this integration, we first have to cross some conceptual barriers, clarifying prohibitively inaccessible terminologies. We critically assess main assumptions and concepts in either field, as well as their common interests. Both approaches intersect in their need to understand the extent and regulation of temporal plasticity, and in the concept of 'chronotype', i.e. the characteristic temporal properties of individuals which are the targets of natural and sexual selection. We then highlight promising developments, point out open questions, acknowledge difficulties and propose directions for further integration of ecological and chronobiological perspectives through Wild Clock research.This article is part of the themed issue 'Wild Clocks: integrating chronobiology and ecology to understand timekeeping in free-living animals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Helm
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Graham Kerr Building, Glasgow G128QQ, UK
| | - Marcel E Visser
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), PO 50, 6700 AB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - William Schwartz
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA, USA
| | | | - Menno Gerkema
- Chronobiology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Theunis Piersma
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Guy Bloch
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, The A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
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41
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Variability of surface and underwater nocturnal spectral irradiance with the presence of clouds in urban and peri-urban wetlands. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0186808. [PMID: 29117235 PMCID: PMC5695598 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2017] [Accepted: 10/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is an increasing phenomenon worldwide. It causes a wealth of biological and ecological effects that may eventually affect populations and ecosystems. Despite the growing concern about ALAN, little is known about the light levels species are exposed to at night, especially for wetlands and underwater habitats. We determined nocturnal irradiance in urban and peri-urban wetlands above and under water, and assessed the effect of cloud cover on the variability of ALAN across the urban gradient. Even in aquatic habitats, cloud cover could increase irradiance beyond values observed during clear full moon nights. We report a negative relationship between baseline irradiance and the increase in irradiance during overcast nights. According to this result and previous studies, we propose that the change in the variation regime of ALAN between the urban center and rural land at its periphery is a usual feature. We discuss the ecological and evolutionary implications of this spatial variation in the urban and peri-urban environment.
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42
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Chauhan R, Chen KF, Kent BA, Crowther DC. Central and peripheral circadian clocks and their role in Alzheimer's disease. Dis Model Mech 2017; 10:1187-1199. [PMID: 28993311 PMCID: PMC5665458 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.030627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Molecular and cellular oscillations constitute an internal clock that tracks the time of day and permits organisms to optimize their behaviour and metabolism to suit the daily demands they face. The workings of this internal clock become impaired with age. In this review, we discuss whether such age-related impairments in the circadian clock interact with age-related neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease. Findings from mouse and fly models of Alzheimer's disease have accelerated our understanding of the interaction between neurodegeneration and circadian biology. These models show that neurodegeneration likely impairs circadian rhythms either by damaging the central clock or by blocking its communication with other brain areas and with peripheral tissues. The consequent sleep and metabolic deficits could enhance the susceptibility of the brain to further degenerative processes. Thus, circadian dysfunction might be both a cause and an effect of neurodegeneration. We also discuss the primary role of light in the entrainment of the central clock and describe important, alternative time signals, such as food, that play a role in entraining central and peripheral circadian clocks. Finally, we propose how these recent insights could inform efforts to develop novel therapeutic approaches to re-entrain arrhythmic individuals with neurodegenerative disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruchi Chauhan
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Ko-Fan Chen
- Institute of Neurology, UCL, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Brianne A Kent
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Damian C Crowther
- Neuroscience, Innovative Medicines and Early Development, AstraZeneca, Granta Park, Cambridge, CB21 6GH, UK
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43
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Blix AS. Adaptations to polar life in mammals and birds. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 219:1093-105. [PMID: 27103673 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.120477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2015] [Accepted: 01/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
This Review presents a broad overview of adaptations of truly Arctic and Antarctic mammals and birds to the challenges of polar life. The polar environment may be characterized by grisly cold, scarcity of food and darkness in winter, and lush conditions and continuous light in summer. Resident animals cope with these changes by behavioural, physical and physiological means. These include responses aimed at reducing exposure, such as 'balling up', huddling and shelter building; seasonal changes in insulation by fur, plumage and blubber; and circulatory adjustments aimed at preservation of core temperature, to which end the periphery and extremities are cooled to increase insulation. Newborn altricial animals have profound tolerance to hypothermia, but depend on parental care for warmth, whereas precocial mammals are well insulated and respond to cold with non-shivering thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue, and precocial birds shiver to produce heat. Most polar animals prepare themselves for shortness of food during winter by the deposition of large amounts of fat in times of plenty during autumn. These deposits are governed by a sliding set-point for body fatness throughout winter so that they last until the sun reappears in spring. Polar animals are, like most others, primarily active during the light part of the day, but when the sun never sets in summer and darkness prevails during winter, high-latitude animals become intermittently active around the clock, allowing opportunistic feeding at all times. The importance of understanding the needs of the individuals of a species to understand the responses of populations in times of climate change is emphasized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnoldus Schytte Blix
- Department of Arctic Biology, University of Tromsø, Tromsø 9037, Norway St Catharine's College, Cambridge CB2 1RL, UK
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44
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Scheiber IBR, de Jong ME, Komdeur J, Pschernig E, Loonen MJJE, Millesi E, Weiß BM. Diel pattern of corticosterone metabolites in Arctic barnacle goslings (Branta leucopsis) under continuous natural light. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0182861. [PMID: 28787012 PMCID: PMC5546627 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2017] [Accepted: 07/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Here we describe the excretion pattern of corticosterone metabolites collected from droppings in barnacle goslings (Branta leucopsis) raised under 24 hours of continuous natural light in the Arctic. In lower latitudes, circulating corticosterone peaks around waking and shows a nadir between midnight and 4:00, whereas the peak and nadir are time-delayed slightly when measuring corticosterone metabolites from droppings. Photoperiod, along with other environmental factors, helps to entrain an animal's endogenous rhythm to that of the natural world. North of the Arctic Circle, photoperiod may not be a reliable cue as light is continuously absent during the winter and continuously present during the summer. Here, for the first time, we used droppings to describe a 24-hour excretion pattern of corticosterone metabolites (CORTm). By applying circular statistics for dependent data, we found a diel rhythmic pattern even under continuous natural light. We discuss potential alternative 'Zeitgeber' that may function even in the polar regions, focusing on melatonin. We propose a line of research to measure melatonin non-invasively from droppings. We also provide a validation of the adopted enzyme immunoassay (EIA) that was originally developed for greylag geese.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabella B. R. Scheiber
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, The University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Margje E. de Jong
- Arctic Centre, The University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, The University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Eva Millesi
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Brigitte M. Weiß
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, The University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, University of Leipzig, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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45
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Abstract
Despite its evolutionary importance and apparent ubiquity among animals, the ecological significance of sleep is largely unresolved. The ecology of sleep has been particularly neglected in invertebrates. In insects, recent neurobehavioral research convincingly demonstrates that resting behavior shares several common characteristics with sleep in vertebrates. Laboratory studies have produced compelling evidence that sleep disruption can cause changes in insect daily activity patterns (via "sleep rebound") and have consequences for behavioral performance during active periods. However, factors that could cause insect sleep disruption in nature have not been considered nor have the ecological consequences. Drawing on evidence from laboratory studies, we argue that sleep disruption may be an overlooked component of insect ecology and could be caused by a variety of anthropogenic and nonanthropogenic factors in nature. We identify several candidate sleep-disrupting factors and provide new insights on the potential consequences of sleep disruption on individual fitness, species interactions, and ecosystem services. We propose an experimental framework to bridge the current gap in knowledge between laboratory and field studies. We conclude that sleep disruption is a potential mechanism underpinning variation in behavioral, population, and community-level processes associated with several aspects of global change.
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46
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Mizumoto N, Fuchikawa T, Matsuura K. Pairing strategy after today’s failure: unpaired termites synchronize mate search using photic cycles. POPUL ECOL 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10144-017-0584-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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47
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Alós J, Martorell-Barceló M, Campos-Candela A. Repeatability of circadian behavioural variation revealed in free-ranging marine fish. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2017; 4:160791. [PMID: 28386434 PMCID: PMC5367275 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2016] [Accepted: 01/12/2017] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Repeatable between-individual differences in the behavioural manifestation of underlying circadian rhythms determine chronotypes in humans and terrestrial animals. Here, we have repeatedly measured three circadian behaviours, awakening time, rest onset and rest duration, in the free-ranging pearly razorfish, Xyrithchys novacula, facilitated by acoustic tracking technology and hidden Markov models. In addition, daily travelled distance, a standard measure of daily activity as fish personality trait, was repeatedly assessed using a State-Space Model. We have decomposed the variance of these four behavioural traits using linear mixed models and estimated repeatability scores (R) while controlling for environmental co-variates: year of experimentation, spatial location of the activity, fish size and gender and their interactions. Between- and within-individual variance decomposition revealed significant Rs in all traits suggesting high predictability of individual circadian behavioural variation and the existence of chronotypes. The decomposition of the correlations among chronotypes and the personality trait studied here into between- and within-individual correlations did not reveal any significant correlation at between-individual level. We therefore propose circadian behavioural variation as an independent axis of the fish personality, and the study of chronotypes and their consequences as a novel dimension in understanding within-species fish behavioural diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josep Alós
- Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), C/ Miquel Marqués 21, 07190 Esporles, Illes Balears, Spain
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48
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Nagari M, Brenner Y, Bloch G. Nurse honeybee workers tend capped-brood, which does not require feeding, around-the-clock. J Exp Biol 2017; 220:4130-4140. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.166884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2017] [Accepted: 09/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
“Nurse” honeybees tend brood around-the-clock with attenuated or no circadian rhythms, but the brood signals inducing this behavior remain elusive. We first tested the hypothesis that worker circadian rhythms are regulated by brood pheromones. We monitored locomotor activity of individually isolated nurse bees that were either exposed to various doses of larval extracts or synthetic brood ester pheromone (BEP). Bees orally treated with larvae extracts showed attenuated circadian rhythms in one of four tested colonies; a similar but statistically non-significant trend was seen in two additional colonies. Nurse bees treated with synthetic BEP showed rhythm attenuation in one of three tested colonies. Next, we tested the hypothesis that capped brood, which does not require feeding, nevertheless induces around-the-clock activity in nurses. By combining a new protocol that enables brood care by individually isolated nurse bees, detailed behavioral observations, and automatic high resolution monitoring of locomotor activity, we found that isolated nurses tended capped brood around-the-clock with attenuated circadian rhythms. Bees individually isolated in similar cages but without brood, showed strong circadian rhythms in locomotor activity and rest. This study shows for the first time that the need to feed hungry larvae is not the only factor accounting for around-the-clock activity in nurse bees. Our results further suggest that the transition between activity with and without circadian rhythms is not a simple switch triggered by brood pheromones. Around-the-clock tending may enhance brood development and health in multiple ways that may include improved larval feeding, thermoregulation and hygienic behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moshe Nagari
- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Alexander A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, Israel
| | - Yafit Brenner
- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Alexander A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, Israel
| | - Guy Bloch
- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Alexander A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, Israel
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49
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Steen R. Diel activity, frequency and visit duration of pollinators in focal plants:
in situ
automatic camera monitoring and data processing. Methods Ecol Evol 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ronny Steen
- Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management Norwegian University of Life Sciences Ås NO‐1432 Norway
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50
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Tran D, Sow M, Camus L, Ciret P, Berge J, Massabuau JC. In the darkness of the polar night, scallops keep on a steady rhythm. Sci Rep 2016; 6:32435. [PMID: 27577847 PMCID: PMC5006026 DOI: 10.1038/srep32435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2016] [Accepted: 08/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the prevailing paradigm has held that the polar night is a period of biological quiescence, recent studies have detected noticeable activity levels in marine organisms. In this study, we investigated the circadian rhythm of the scallop Chlamys islandica by continuously recording the animal's behaviour over 3 years in the Arctic (Svalbard). Our results showed that a circadian rhythm persists throughout the polar night and lasts for at least 4 months. Based on observations across three polar nights, we showed that the robustness and synchronicity of the rhythm depends on the angle of the sun below the horizon. The weakest rhythm occurred at the onset of the polar night during the nautical twilight. Surprisingly, the circadian behaviour began to recover during the darkest part of the polar night. Because active rhythms optimize the fitness of an organism, our study brings out that the scallops C. islandica remain active even during the polar night.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damien Tran
- CNRS, UMR 5805 EPOC. Place du Dr. Peyneau, 33120, Arcachon, France
- Bordeaux University, UMR EPOC 5805 Place du Dr. Peyneau, 33120, Arcachon, France
| | - Mohamedou Sow
- Bordeaux University, UMR EPOC 5805 Place du Dr. Peyneau, 33120, Arcachon, France
| | - Lionel Camus
- Akvaplan-niva, Fram center for Climate and the Environment, 9296 Tromso, Norway
- University Centre in Svalbard, Pb 156, N-9171 Longyearbyen, Norway
| | - Pierre Ciret
- CNRS, UMR 5805 EPOC. Place du Dr. Peyneau, 33120, Arcachon, France
- Bordeaux University, UMR EPOC 5805 Place du Dr. Peyneau, 33120, Arcachon, France
| | - Jorgen Berge
- University Centre in Svalbard, Pb 156, N-9171 Longyearbyen, Norway
- UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Jean-Charles Massabuau
- CNRS, UMR 5805 EPOC. Place du Dr. Peyneau, 33120, Arcachon, France
- Bordeaux University, UMR EPOC 5805 Place du Dr. Peyneau, 33120, Arcachon, France
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