Crepuscular

Carlson, Nora V

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_901-1

Crepuscular

Nora V Carlson³

Living reference work entry
First Online: 28 August 2017

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Synonyms

Bimodal activity pattern; Matutinal (active at dawn); Twilight; Vespertine (active at dusk)

Definition

Crepuscular refers to twilight, the time shortly before sunrise and after sunset. In the context of animal ecology, it refers to those species active during these times of day. In other words, a crepuscular animal is one whose diel (24 h) activity pattern has peaks during the twilight hours (e.g., African wild dogs). Crepuscular can also be used to refer to specific behaviors of non-crepuscular species that usually occur during twilight (e.g., nocturnal smooth-tailed newts are crepuscular breeders).

Crepuscular Behavior Patterns

Crepuscular organisms are those that are primarily active during the twilight hours: the periods just around dawn and dusk. Astronomical twilight occurs when the sun is between 0° (sunrise/sunset) and 18° below the horizon (Potts 1990). Twilight near the equator lasts approximately 70 to 85 min, though it can be much longer at higher latitudes. The...

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Authors and Affiliations

University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, UK
Nora V Carlson

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Nora V Carlson
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Correspondence to Nora V Carlson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Oakland University , Rochester, Michigan, USA
Jennifer Vonk
Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, Michigan, USA
Ph.D. Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, UK
Lauren Guillette

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Carlson, N.V. (2017). Crepuscular. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_901-1

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_901-1
Received: 09 August 2017
Accepted: 10 August 2017
Published: 28 August 2017
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social Sciences