scholarly journals The effect of ambient temperature on locomotor activity patterns in reproductive and non-reproductive female Damaraland mole-rats

2015 ◽  
Vol 297 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. Oosthuizen ◽  
N. C. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Reproductive Female

scholarly journals Seasonal variations of locomotor activity rhythms in melatonin-proficient and -deficient mice under seminatural outdoor conditions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Joshua Metzger
Keyword(s):  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Daily Activity ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Laboratory Mouse ◽  
Activity Period ◽  
Mouse Strains ◽  
Frankfurt Am Main ◽  
Seasonal Differences ◽  
Laboratory Conditions

Locomotor activity patterns of laboratory mice are widely used to analyze circadian mechanisms, but most investigations have been performed under standardized laboratory conditions. Outdoors, animals are exposed to daily changes in photoperiod and other abiotic cues that might influence their circadian system. To investigate how the locomotor activity patterns under outdoor conditions compare to controlled laboratory conditions, we placed 2 laboratory mouse strains (melatonin-deficient C57Bl and melatonin-proficient C3H) in the garden of the Dr. Senckenbergische Anatomie in Frankfurt am Main. The mice were kept singly in cages equipped with an infrared locomotion detector, a hiding box, nesting material, and with food and water ad libitum. The locomotor activity of each mouse was recorded for 1 year, together with data on ambient temperature, light, and humidity. Chronotype, chronotype stability, total daily activity, duration of the activity period, and daily diurnality indices were determined from the actograms. C3H mice showed clear seasonal differences in the chronotype, its stability, the total daily activity, and the duration of the activity period. These pronounced seasonal differences were not observed in the C57Bl. In both strains, the onset of the main activity period was mainly determined by the evening dusk, whereas the offset was influenced by the ambient temperature. The actograms did not reveal infra-, ultradian, or lunar rhythms or a weekday/weekend pattern. Under outdoor conditions, the 2 strains retained their nocturnal locomotor identity as observed in the laboratory. Our results indicate that the chronotype displays a seasonal plasticity that may depend on the melatoninergic system. Photoperiod and ambient temperature are the most potent abiotic entraining cues. The timing of the evening dusk mainly affects the onset of the activity period; the ambient temperature during this period influences the latter’s duration. Humidity, overall light intensities, and human activities do not affect the locomotor behavior.

scholarly journals Seasonal Variations of Locomotor Activity Rhythms in Melatonin-Proficient and -Deficient Mice under Seminatural Outdoor Conditions

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Metzger ◽  
Helmut Wicht ◽  
Horst-Werner Korf ◽  
Martina Pfeffer
Keyword(s):  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Daily Activity ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Laboratory Mouse ◽  
Activity Period ◽  
Mouse Strains ◽  
Frankfurt Am Main ◽  
Seasonal Differences ◽  
Laboratory Conditions

Locomotor activity patterns of laboratory mice are widely used to analyze circadian mechanisms, but most investigations have been performed under standardized laboratory conditions. Outdoors, animals are exposed to daily changes in photoperiod and other abiotic cues that might influence their circadian system. To investigate how the locomotor activity patterns under outdoor conditions compare to controlled laboratory conditions, we placed 2 laboratory mouse strains (melatonin-deficient C57Bl and melatonin-proficient C3H) in the garden of the Dr. Senckenbergische Anatomie in Frankfurt am Main. The mice were kept singly in cages equipped with an infrared locomotion detector, a hiding box, nesting material, and with food and water ad libitum. The locomotor activity of each mouse was recorded for 1 year, together with data on ambient temperature, light, and humidity. Chronotype, chronotype stability, total daily activity, duration of the activity period, and daily diurnality indices were determined from the actograms. C3H mice showed clear seasonal differences in the chronotype, its stability, the total daily activity, and the duration of the activity period. These pronounced seasonal differences were not observed in the C57Bl. In both strains, the onset of the main activity period was mainly determined by the evening dusk, whereas the offset was influenced by the ambient temperature. The actograms did not reveal infra-, ultradian, or lunar rhythms or a weekday/weekend pattern. Under outdoor conditions, the 2 strains retained their nocturnal locomotor identity as observed in the laboratory. Our results indicate that the chronotype displays a seasonal plasticity that may depend on the melatoninergic system. Photoperiod and ambient temperature are the most potent abiotic entraining cues. The timing of the evening dusk mainly affects the onset of the activity period; the ambient temperature during this period influences the latter’s duration. Humidity, overall light intensities, and human activities do not affect the locomotor behavior.

scholarly journals Trade-Off between Foraging Activity and Infestation by Nest Parasites in the Primitively Eusocial BeeHalictus scabiosae

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Lienhard ◽  
Lea Mirwald ◽  
Thomas Hötzl ◽  
Ilse Kranner ◽  
Gerald Kastberger
Keyword(s):  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Time Windows ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Small Time ◽  
Foraging Activity ◽  
Morning Temperature ◽  
Eastern Austria ◽  
Halictine Bees ◽  
Primitively Eusocial ◽  
Match Factor

Diurnal activities ofHalictus scabiosaebees and their nest parasites (major bee-flies, cuckoo wasps, ichneumon wasps,Sphecodesbees, and velvet ants) were investigated at a study site with 159 nests in Eastern Austria. Foraging activity correlated with ambient temperature only before midday and decreased in the afternoon. The activity of nest-infesting parasites increased during the day and correlated with ambient temperature. The match factorfmbetween the ratios of the foraging activities ofH. scabiosaeand the ratios of aspects of morning temperature was assessed on three consecutive days with different weather. The activity patterns of halictine bees and their nest parasites differed: the parasites exhibited only small time windows in which their activities were synchronised with those of their hosts. The bees exhibited an anticyclic behaviour and collected food in times of low parasite pressure and decreased foraging activity when parasite pressure increased.

scholarly journals Locomotor activity patterns of captive East African root rats,Tachyoryctes splendens(Rodentia: Spalacidae), from Tanzania, East Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 94 (6) ◽  
pp. 1393-1400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jestina Venance Katandukila ◽  
Nigel Charles Bennett ◽  
Christian Timothy Chimimba ◽  
Christoper Guy Faulkes ◽  
Maria Kathleen Oosthuizen
Keyword(s):  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
East Africa ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
East African

Diel locomotor activity patterns of wild brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) in an electronic shuttlebox

Hydrobiologia ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Bachman ◽  
William W. Reynolds ◽  
Martha E. Casterlin
Keyword(s):  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Brown Trout ◽  
Salmo Trutta ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Brown Trout Salmo Trutta

scholarly journals Effects of DCM Leaf Extract of Gnidia glauca (Fresen) on Locomotor Activity, Anxiety, and Exploration-Like Behaviors in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Rats

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wycliffe Makori Arika ◽  
Cromwell Mwiti Kibiti ◽  
Joan Murugi Njagi ◽  
Mathew Piero Ngugi
Keyword(s):  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
High Fat Diet ◽  
Leaf Extract ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Phytochemical Analysis ◽  
High Fat ◽  
Neurologic Disorders ◽  
Obese Rats

Obesity is the main component of metabolic syndromes involving distinct etiologies that target different underlying behavioral and physiological functions within the brain structures and neuronal circuits. An alteration in the neuronal circuitry stemming from abdominal or central obesity stimulates a cascade of changes in neurochemical signaling that directly or indirectly mediate spontaneously emitted behaviors such as locomotor activity patterns, anxiety, and exploration. Pharmacological agents available for the treatment of neurologic disorders have been associated with limited potency and intolerable adverse effects. These have necessitated the upsurge in the utilization of herbal prescriptions due to their affordability and easy accessibility and are firmly embedded within wider belief systems of many people. Gnidia glauca has been used in the management of many ailments including obesity and associated symptomatic complications. However, its upsurge in use has not been accompanied by empirical determination of these folkloric claims. The present study, therefore, is aimed at determining the modulatory effects of dichloromethane leaf extract of Gnidia glauca on locomotor activity, exploration, and anxiety-like behaviors in high-fat diet-induced obese rats in an open-field arena. Obesity was experimentally induced by feeding the rats with prepared high-fat diet and water ad libitum for 6 weeks. The in vivo antiobesity effects were determined by oral administration of G. glauca at dosage levels of 200, 250, and 300 mg/kg body weight in high-fat diet-induced obese rats from the 6th to 12th week. Phytochemical analysis was done using gas chromatography linked to mass spectroscopy. Results indicated that Gnidia glauca showed anxiolytic effects and significantly increased spontaneous locomotor activity and exploration-like behaviors in HFD-induced obese rats. The plant extract also contained phytocompounds that have been associated with amelioration of the main neurodegenerative mediators, viz., inflammation and oxidative stress. These findings provide “qualified leads” for the synthesis of new alternative therapeutic agents for the management of neurologic disorders. However, there is a need to conduct toxicity studies of Gnidia glauca to establish its safety profiles.

Environmental Influence on Locomotor Activity in Nephrops Norvegicus (Crustacea: Decapoda)

1980 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. H. Moller ◽  
E. Naylor
Keyword(s):  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Light Intensity ◽  
Environmental Influence ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Nephrops Norvegicus ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Emergence Patterns ◽  
Role Of Light ◽  
Trawl Catches

Diel variations in the emergence of the burrowing prawn Nephrops norvegicus (L.) have been investigated by direct field observations (Chapman & Rice, 1971; Chapman, Johnstone & Rice, 1975; Chapman & Howard, 1979; Atkinson & Naylor, 1976), and indirectly by sequential trawling during 24 h periods (Höglund & Dybern, 1965; Simpson, 1965; Hillis, 1971; Farmer, 1974; Atkinson & Naylor, 1976; Oakley, 1979). Peak emergence appears to be related to temporal and depth-dependent variations in daylight penetration, since Nephrops are apparently nocturnal in shallow waters, crepuscular as the depth increases, and diurnal at the greatest depths of their occurrence. This lends support to the suggestion that emergence occurs at an optimum light intensity (Hillis, 1971; Chapman, Priestley & Robertson, 1972; Chapman, et al., 1975; Chapman & Howard, 1979). However, additional factors influencing emergence of Nephrops from their burrows have also to be taken in account, since laboratory studies of locomotor activity in Nephrops have consistently revealed nocturnal activity patterns in light-dark (LD) regimes, with light inhibiting locomotor activity even at extremely low irradiance levels (Arechiga & Atkinson, 1975; Atkinson & Naylor, 1973, 1976; Naylor & Atkinson, 1976). Moreover, Hammond & Naylor (1977 a) have presented qualitative evidence that the nocturnal locomotor activity peak appears to be synchronized by falling light intensity at dusk. The differences between these experimental results and emergence patterns deduced from trawl catches and underwater observations of Nephrops have not been fully resolved by studies of the role of light intensity and of gradual light transitions (Arechiga & Atkinson, 1975; Hammond & Naylor, 1977 a, b). Thus the behavioural responses of Nephrops both in the field and in the laboratory need to be assessed in relation to more accurately quantified light changes. Also, despite earlier evaluation of the problem (Atkinson & Naylor, 1976; Hammond & Naylor, 1977a) it is necessary to reconsider the possibility that the patterns of locomotor activity recorded in the laboratory are influenced by experimental conditions, as has been demonstrated for minnows (Jones, 1956), and flatfish (Verheijen & de Groot, 1967).

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