Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Age And Seasonal Change In The Chronobiology Of A Spider With An Exceptionally Long-Period Circadian Clock, Shae Crain
Age And Seasonal Change In The Chronobiology Of A Spider With An Exceptionally Long-Period Circadian Clock, Shae Crain
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study examines locomotor activity in samples of Frontinella pyramitela collected over its active season (April-October) to investigate whether seasonality and/or age may help explain the exceptional variability typically found in spider clock systems. Despite its noteworthy variability (%CV= 7.7), we have found that Frontinella has a mean free-running period of 28.4±2.18 hours that does not significantly vary over time. There is no correlation between day length and free-running period, indicating that varying length of FRP is not a function of photoperiod length. In LD 12:12 h, the window of activity is significantly smaller in April, gradually widening as the …