Sex-specific, inverted rhythms of breeding-site attendance in an Arctic seabird

In contrast to daily rhythms that are common in the presence of the geophysical light–dark cycle, organisms at polar latitudes exhibit many diel activity patterns during natural periods of continuous solar light or darkness (polar day and night, respectively), from 24 h rhythms to arrhythmicity. In Arctic Greenland (73.7° N, 56.6° W) during polar day, we observed breeding-site attendance rhythms of thick-billed murres ( Uria lomvia ; n = 21 pairs), a charadriiform seabird, which provide biparental care at the colony. We found that U. lomvia egg-incubation and chick-brooding attendance is rhythmic and synchronized to the geophysical day (mean period length [rhythm duration] ± 95% confidence interval = 24.13 ± 0.52 h). Individual pair members had temporally segregated, sex-specific colony-attendance rhythms that were opposite (inverted) to each other, and these sex-specific rhythms were prominent at the population level. Our results provide a basis for investigating circadian systems at polar latitudes and sex-specific parental-care strategies.

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Activity patterns of wild Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus) in the northern piedmont of the Altun Mountains, China

Animal Biology ◽

10.1163/15707563-00002471 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 65 (3-4) ◽

pp. 209-217 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yadong Xue ◽

Diqiang Li ◽

Wenfa Xiao ◽

Fang Liu ◽

Yuguang Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Seasonal Variation ◽

Endangered Species ◽

Activity Patterns ◽

Relative Activity ◽

Diel Activity ◽

Arid Areas ◽

Critically Endangered Species ◽

Camelus Bactrianus ◽

Diel Activity Patterns ◽

Bactrian Camels

There are significant gaps in our knowledge of wild camel ecology; especially the activity patterns that allow them to adapt to desert environments. The wild Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) is a critically endangered species that survives in the extreme desert conditions of Central Asia. We conducted camera trapping surveys at seven watering sites in the northern piedmont of the Altun Mountains from 2010 to 2012. We analyzed the frequency of photo-captures to elucidate the wild camels’ diel activity patterns, and the seasonal variation in their activity at watering sites. We found that these wild camels were predominantly diurnal at watering sites, with an increase in relative activity from sunrise, reaching a peak toward midday, and then gradually decreasing in activity until sunset. The camels visited watering sites more often in winter than in summer. These results provide a guide for water development in the conservation of ungulates in arid areas.

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Effects of human settlement and roads on diel activity patterns of elephants (Loxodonta africana )

African Journal of Ecology ◽

10.1111/aje.12552 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 56 (4) ◽

pp. 872-881 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Kaitlyn M. Gaynor ◽

Paola S. Branco ◽

Ryan A. Long ◽

Dominique D. Gonçalves ◽

Petter K. Granli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Activity Patterns ◽

Loxodonta Africana ◽

Diel Activity ◽

Human Settlement ◽

Diel Activity Patterns

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Activity patterns of the small and medium felid (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) guild in northeastern India

Journal of Threatened Taxa ◽

10.11609/jott.4662.11.4.13432-13447 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 13432-13447 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Shomita Mukherjee ◽

Priya Singh ◽

André Pinto Silva ◽

Chandan Ri ◽

Kashmira Kakati ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Activity Patterns ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Diel Activity ◽

Point Scale ◽

Clouded Leopard ◽

Northeastern India ◽

Additional Information ◽

Extant Species ◽

Diel Activity Patterns ◽

Leopard Cat

Fifteen extant species of cats inhabit India, and the northeastern region of the country is among the richest with nine species. Among these are the “standard four”, an assemblage of Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa, Asiatic Golden Cat Catopuma temminckii, Marbled Cat Pardofelis marmorata, and Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis, which also occur across southeastern Asia. Within India, despite several surveys in this region, very little information exists on the ecology of this assemblage to explain their co-occurrence. In this paper, we put together data from several independent camera trapping studies over 10 sites across northeastern India to examine and interpret diel activity patterns of this group. While we present results for all the four species, we focus on two species, the Marbled Cat and Leopard Cat, which are of very similar body size and are potential competitors. We used kernel density estimates to measure diel activity patterns of all four species and overlap in activity between Marbled Cat and Leopard Cat at the regional scale as well as the point scale. We obtained 783 captures of the standard four from >27,500 trap nights. The Asiatic Golden Cat and Marbled Cat were strongly diurnal, Clouded Leopard largely crepuscular and nocturnal, and Leopard Cat largely nocturnal. The degree of overlap between Marbled Cat and Leopard Cat activity was low and in consensus with other studies across southeastern Asia. We interpret this as the differing niche spaces of the two cats due to their specific pre-existing adaptations, not restricted to the effects of competition. The point scale analysis when both cats are captured at the same location and separately show no shift in activity pattern, supporting our hypothesis of pre-existing differences in resources, such as food, playing a major role in facilitating co-existence. Our study, however, is preliminary and additional information with robust analysis is required to test this finding.

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Ontogeny of the diel activity patterns in relation to downstream dispersal in riverine cyprinid fishes

Journal of Fish Biology ◽

10.1111/j.1095-8649.2003.216bk.x ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 63 ◽

pp. 254-254

Author(s):

M. Ondračková ◽

E. Mazurová ◽

M. Reichard ◽

P. Jurajda

Keyword(s):

Activity Patterns ◽

Diel Activity ◽

Diel Activity Patterns ◽

Cyprinid Fishes

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Non-uniform evolutionary response of gecko eye size to changes in diel activity patterns

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2018.0064 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 20180064 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Lars Schmitz ◽

Timothy E. Higham

Keyword(s):

Phenotypic Diversity ◽

Activity Patterns ◽

Model Fitting ◽

Regime Shifts ◽

Least Square ◽

Diel Activity ◽

Relevant Variable ◽

Eye Size ◽

Evolutionary Response ◽

Diel Activity Patterns

Geckos feature a large range of eye sizes, but what drives this phenotypic diversity is currently unknown. Earlier studies point towards diel activity patterns (DAPs) and locomotory mode, but phylogenetic comparative studies in support of the proposed adaptive mode of eye evolution are lacking. Here, we test the hypothesis of DAPs as the driver of eye size evolution with a dataset on 99 species of gecko. Results from phylogenetic generalized least-square analysis (PGLS) and multivariate model-fitting reveal smaller eyes in diurnal geckos consistent with different phenotypic optima. However, Bayesian analyses of selective regime shifts demonstrate that only two of nine transitions from nocturnal to diurnal activity are coupled with decreases in eye size, and two other regime shifts are not associated with DAP transitions. This non-uniform evolutionary response suggests that eye size is not the only functionally relevant variable. Evolutionary adaptations may therefore include different combinations of several traits (e.g. photoreceptors), all with the same functional outcome. Our results further demonstrate that DAP only partially explains eye size diversity in geckos. As open habitats favour the evolution of large eyes while obstructed habitats favour small eyes, the degree of habitat clutter emerges as another potential axis of eye diversification.

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