Abstract
ROWAN'S1 discovery that increasing day-lengths in winter induce reproductive activity and migratory behaviour has been amply confirmed for many species and has contributed greatly to our understanding of the timing of these events in birds of the north temperate zone2. There still remain, however, the problems of regulation of migration in species that winter in the tropics and south temperate zone and regulation of breeding in species that are permanent residents in the tropics. The great dissimilarities in day-length conditions in these zones, and particularly the relative constancy of day-length in the equatorial region, have raised considerable doubt about a possible regulatory function of day-length in equatorial and transequatorial migrants and in tropical species.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Rowan, W., Proc. Boston Nat. Hist. Soc., 39, 151 (1929).
Wolfson, A., Condor, 47, 95 (1945). Burger, J. W., Wilson Bull., 61, 211 (1949). Farner, D. S., in “Photoperiodism and related phenomena in plants and animals”, ed. R. B. Withrow (Amer. Assoc. Adv. Sci., 1959).
Wolfson, A., in “Photoperiodism and related phenomena in plants and animals”, ed. by R. B. Withrow (Amer. Assoc. Adv. Sci., 1959). Wolfson, A., in “Comparative Endocrinology”, ed. by A. Gorbman (Wiley, New York, 1959).
Marshall, A. J., and Disney, H. J. de S., Nature, 177, 143 (1956); 180, 647 (1957); Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 127, 379 (1956).
Wolfson, A., J. Exp. Zool., 121, 311 (1952); 125, 353 (1954).
Witschi, E., in “Comparative Physiology of Reproduction”, ed. I. C. Jones and P. Eckstein. (Mem. Soc. Endocrinol., No. 4, 1955).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
WOLFSON, A., WINCHESTER, D. Effect of Photoperiod on the Gonadal Cycle in an Equatorial Bird, Quelea quelea. Nature 184, 1658–1659 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/1841658a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1841658a0
- Springer Nature Limited