Abstract
Captive hagfish,Eptatretus burgeri, were subjected to step transitions from continuous dark (DD) to continuous light (LL) and their locomotor activity patterns recorded. Free-running activity rhythms occurred in both the DD and LL regimes. The timing of the transition influenced the circadian period (τ), the relationship between the period response (δτ, or τ{inLL}–τ{inDD}, change in the circadian period) and the former being represented by a cosine curve δτ became most positive and most negative when hagfish underwent a DD-LL transition shortly before the beginning of the duration of activity (α) and shortly after the end of such, respectively. The phase response (δ-phase, change in the relative timing of the activity phase) was characterized by a delay in the activity phase after the DD-LL transition, although its magnitude bore no relation to the timing of the transition.
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Kabasawa, H. Effects of dark-light step transitions on circadian locomotor activity rhythms of the hagfish,Eptatretus burgeri . Ichthyological Research 45, 235–239 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02673921
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02673921