Skip to main content
Log in

Continuous light inside a cave abolishes the social synchronization of the circadian rhythm in a bat

  • Published:
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

The bat Hipposideros speoris regulates its flight activity rhythm in the absence of time cues in a totally dark natural cave. The flight activity rhythm even of captive bats in total darkness entrained to the social cues available from free flying conspecifics. The social synchronization of the circadian rhythm was abolished in continuous illumination (LL) of 10–20 lx. All the captive bats ‘feerun’ in LL with τ longer than 24 h. The social entrainment was re-established following a few cycles of transients when total darkness was restored.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aschoff J (1960) Exogenous and endogenous components in circadian rhythms. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol 25:11–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Aschoff J (1965) Response curves in circadian periodicity. In: Aschoff J (ed) Circadian clocks. North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp 93–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Aschoff J (1981) Free running and entrained cireadian rhythms. In: Aschoff J (ed) Handbook of behavioural neurobiology, vol 4. Plenum, New York London, pp 81–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandrashekaran MK (1982) Social cues and circadian rhythms. Curr Sci 51:158–167

    Google Scholar 

  • Daan S, Aschoff J (1975) Circadian rhythms of locomotor activity in captive birds and mammals: their variations with season and latitude. Oecologia (Berl) 18:269–316

    Google Scholar 

  • Erkinaro E (1969) Der Verlauf desynchronizierter, Circadianer Periodik einer Waldmaus (Apodemus flavicollis) in Nordfinnland. Z Vergl Physiol 64:407–410

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann K (1965) Overt circadian frequencies and circadian rule. In: Aschoff J (ed) Circadian clocks. North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp 87–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Holst E von (1939) Die relative Koordination als Phaenomen und als Methode zentral-nervöser Funktionsanalyse. Ergebn Physiol 42:228–306

    Google Scholar 

  • Loher W (1979) The effect of male-calling on female-locomotor activity of Teleogryllus commodus. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 5:383–390

    Google Scholar 

  • Lohmann M, Enright JT (1967) The influence of mechanical noise on the activity rhythms of finches. Comp Biochem Physiol 22:289–296

    Google Scholar 

  • Marimuthu G, Subbaraj R, Chandrashekaran MK (1978) Social synchronization of the activity rhythm in a cave-dwelling insectivorous bat. Naturwissenschaften 65:600

    Google Scholar 

  • Marimuthu G, Rajan S, Chandrashekaran MK (1981) Social entrainment of the circadian rhythm in the flight activity of the microchiropteran bat Hipposideros speoris. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 8:147–150

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller K (1968) Die Tages- und Jahresperiodik der Bachforelle (Salmo trutta L) am Polarkreis. Aquilo Ser Zool 8:50–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Pittendrigh CS (1960) Circadian rhythms and the circadian organizations of living systems. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol 25:159–184

    Google Scholar 

  • Rusak B (1981) Vertebrate behavioural rhythms. In: Aschoff J (ed) Handbook of behavioural neurobiology, vol 4. Plenum, New York London, pp 183–214

    Google Scholar 

  • Subbaraj R (1979) Circadian organization in the behaviour of bats (Taphozous melanopogon Temminck). PhD thesis, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai

    Google Scholar 

  • Sulzman FM, Fuller CA, Moore-Ede MC (1977) Environmental synchronizers of squirrel monkey circadian rhythm. J Appl Physiol 43:795–800

    Google Scholar 

  • Sundararajan KS (1980) Circadian rhythms in the cotton plant Gossypium hirsutum L. (cv Lakshmi) PhD thesis, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai

    Google Scholar 

  • Swade RH, Pittendrigh CS (1967) Circadian locomotor rhythms of rodents in the arctic. Am Nat 101:431–464

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Marimuthu, G., Chandrashekaran, M.K. Continuous light inside a cave abolishes the social synchronization of the circadian rhythm in a bat. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 12, 321–323 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00302900

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00302900

Keywords

Navigation