Summary
The investigation on the locomotor activity of the pill-millipede,Arthrosphaera dalyi, kept under constant temperature and humidity, shows a persistent diurnal rhythm. The activity phase was found to occur mainly during night. In natural light condition, the activity pattern is characterised by two peaks followed by a stepwise decrease in activity during night and occasional outbursts of activity during day. The inhibitory influence of constant darkness on the activity is evident from the absence of peaks and the occasional outbursts of activity. Constant light causes a shift of nearly two hours in the setting in of the activity phase with a corresponding shift of two hours in the termination of the activity phase.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Calhoun, J. B... “Twenty-four hour periodicities in the animal kingdom, Part 1. The invertebrates,”J. Tenn. Acad. Sci., 1944,19 (2), 179–200; (3), 252–62.
Cloudsley-Thompson, J. L... “Studies in diurnal rhythms. I. Rhythmic behaviour in millipedes,”J. exp. Biol., 1951,28, 165–72.
—————.. “Rhythmic Activity in Animal Physiology and Behaviour,” Academic Press, New York and London, 1961.
Corbet, P. S. and Tjønneland, A. “The flight activity of twelve species of East African Trichoptera,”Univ. Bergen Arb. naturv. R., 1955, No. 9, 1–49.
Harker, J. E... “Factors controlling the diurnal rhythm of activity ofPeriplaneta americana L.,”J. exp. Biol., 1956,33, 224–34.
—————.. “Diurnal rhythms in the animal kingdom,”Biol. Rev., 1958,33, 1–52.
—————.. “The effect of perturbations in the environmental cycles on the diurnal rhythm of activity ofPeriplaneta americana, L.,”J. exp. Biol., 1960,37, 154–63.
Park, O... “Studies in nocturnal ecology, III. Recording apparatus and further analysis of activity rhythm.”Ecology., 1935,16, 152–63.
—————.. “Nocturnalism—the development of a problem,”Ecol-Monogr., 1940,10, 485–536.
—————, Lockett, J. A. and Myers, D. J. “Studies in nocturnal ecology with special reference to climax forest,”Ecology, 1931,12, 709–27.
Paulpandian, A. L. .. “Diel rhythm in the heart beat ofMetapenaeus monoceros,” Symposium on ‘Crustacea’ held at the Marine Biological Station, Porto Novo, 1964 (in Press).
Welsh, J. H... “Diurnal rhythms,”Quar. Rev. Biol., 1938,13, 123–39.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by Dr. S. Krishnaswamy,f.a.sc.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Paulpandian, A. A preliminary report on the diurnal rhythm in the locomotor activity of pill-millipede,Arthrosphaera dalyi (Pocock). Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 62, 235–241 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03051612
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03051612