A two-peak circadian system in body temperature and activity in the domestic cat, Felis catus L.

Randall, Walter; Cunningham, J. Thomas; Randall, Steffanie; Luttschwager, John; Johnson, Ralph F.

doi:10.1016/0306-4565(87)90020-9

Cited by 22 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Besides, the rhythmic behaviours of eating and locomotor activity of the cats were notably impacted by twilight, as already observed in the literature [2,5,9,11,15,17,24]. The many authors who reported peaks of activity at dawn and dusk sometimes characterised these specific moments as key periods in biological and ecological processes as prey activity, food condition, body temperature, or colonic motility [4,9,11,16,26]. In our colony, when looking at the daily activity and eating graphs according to the hour of the day, consumption and activity peaks were indeed noted mainly preceding sunrise (between 04:00 h and 06:00 h) and sunset (between 16:00 h and 21:00 h), especially in the most active group (B).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…[19,12,37]) or crepuscular [15]. Yet, this ambiguity may simply be due to the faculty of an individual to show various activity patterns at various times [26] or even result from the adaptability the cat, a predator, must show regarding the variety of the rhythms of its prey in the wild [16]: rodents are usually nocturnal while song birds are diurnal. Besides, a simple diurnal-nocturnal dichotomy is not applicable to all mammals: some species like the degu (Octodon degus), the golden spiny mouse (Acomys russatus), or the tayra (Eira barbara) and grison (Galictis) can shift from diurnal to nocturnal activity patterns under particular environmental conditions [14,15,33].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Daily rhythms in food intake and locomotor activity in a colony of domestic cats

et al. 2019

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Background: Daily rhythms have been widely investigated in various mammals but, surprisingly, literature is scarce and conflicting regarding the domestic cat, Felis catus. This may come from the difficulty to analyse rhythms in a species showing high interindividual variability and from the common idea that the rhythms of the cat are rather random. To elucidate the subject, two groups of indoor cats (14 in total) living in a cattery room, were followed on a 24 h/7 day basis, using advanced telemetry technologies, i.e. passive RFID, automated weighing of electronic scales and UWB technology with accuracy ensuring a good reliability of the results. Results: While covering on average 1.74 ± 0.4 km and eating 46.4 ± 3.6 g (≈ 179 kcal) of dry food per day, findings indicate 24 h periodicity in the locomotor and feeding rhythms of the cats. Systematically, their locomotor behaviour was more rhythmic than their eating behaviour (p < 0.01), possibly reflecting the flexibility of the eating patterns of the cat initially enabling it to adapt to daily rhythms of its prey. In their daily patterns, the indoor individuals showed two main troughs of activity and food intake-in the middle of the day and in the middle of the night-and two main peaks: one in the morning (especially before sunrise and food renewal), the other in the evening (following the end of the work day of the animal staff and before sunset), supporting previous work demonstrating peaks at dusk and dawn and confirming the crepuscular nature of the species. No general pattern emerged according to a more nocturnal versus diurnal organisation. Conclusions: Bimodality, more than chronotypes, seems therefore to best characterise the activity and feeding rhythms of the species as it was demonstrated in the individuals among the different categorisations. By validating the use of new tracking technologies as well as of adapted chronobiological parameters to assess the daily rhythm of cats living indoors, this study opens the way for more adequate analyses of cat behaviour through time under various conditions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Daily rhythms in food intake and locomotor activity in a colony of domestic cats

et al. 2019

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“…Feral cats may inherently have a bimodal circadian rhythm (Randall et al . ), but they can exhibit crepuscular and nocturnal patterns (Jones & Coman ; Burrows et al . ) or irregular cathemeral activity (Molsher et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This relationship was evident in areas where dingo control was more effective, and was not apparent in areas where dingo control had less effect, providing further support for the inference that feral cats were responding to reduced dingo presence. Feral cats may inherently have a bimodal circadian rhythm (Randall et al 1987), but they can exhibit crepuscular and nocturnal patterns (Jones & Coman 1982;Burrows et al 2003) or irregular cathemeral activity (Molsher et al 2005;Moseby, Stott & Crisp 2009), to adapt to different needs such as predator avoidance (Langham 1992).…”

Section: A V O I D a N C E I N T I M Ementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of predator control on behaviour of an apex predator and indirect consequences for mesopredator suppression

Brook

Johnson

Ritchie

2012

Journal of Applied Ecology

204

189

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Summary1. Apex predators can benefit ecosystems through top-down control of mesopredators and herbivores. However, apex predators are often subject to lethal control aimed at minimizing attacks on livestock. Lethal control can affect both the abundance and behaviour of apex predators. These changes could in turn influence the abundance and behaviour of mesopredators. 2. We used remote camera surveys at nine pairs of large Australian rangeland properties, comparing properties that controlled dingoes Canis lupus dingo with properties that did not, to test the effects of predator control on dingo activity and to evaluate the responses of a mesopredator, the feral cat Felis catus. 3. Indices of dingo abundance were generally reduced on properties that practiced dingo control, in comparison with paired properties that did not, although the effect size of control was variable. Dingoes in uncontrolled populations were crepuscular, similar to major prey. In populations subject to control, dingoes became less active around dusk, and activity was concentrated in the period shortly before dawn. 4. Shifts in feral cat abundance indices between properties with and without dingo control were inversely related to corresponding shifts in indices of dingo abundance. There was also a negative relationship between predator visitation rates at individual camera stations, suggesting cats avoided areas where dingoes were locally common. Reduced activity by dingoes at dusk was associated with higher activity of cats at dusk. 5. Our results suggest that effective dingo control not only leads to higher abundance of feral cats, but allows them to optimize hunting behaviour when dingoes are less active. This double effect could amplify the impacts of dingo control on prey species selected by cats. In areas managed for conservation, stable dingo populations may thus contribute to management objectives by restricting feral cat access to prey populations. 6. Synthesis and applications. Predator control not only reduces indices of apex predator abundance but can also modify their behaviour. Hence, indicators other than abundance, such as behavioural patterns, should be considered when estimating a predator's capacity to effectively interact with lower trophic guilds. Changes to apex predator behaviour may relax limitations on the behaviour of mesopredators, providing enhanced access to resources and prey.

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“…The daily distribution of locomotor activity has been studied in numerous mammalian species [10][11][12], but few studies have been conducted on felids. A few general studies of activity rhythms have been conducted on felids in the wild [13][14][15] and in captivity [16][17][18], but detailed studies on various species have yet to be accomplished. We describe here a detailed analysis of the daily activity rhythms of the domestic cat and of eight of the ten feral felid species that are indigenous to South America [19], which belong to three different genera (Panthera, Puma, and Leopardus) and have different life styles in terms of active times, social structure, maternal investment, etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Daily rhythmicity of behavior of nine species of South American feral felids in captivity

Antonio

Cerutti

Scaglione

et al. 2017

Physiology & Behavior

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The authors analyzed the daily activity rhythms of the domestic cat and of eight of the ten feral felid species that are indigenous to South America. All species showed daily rhythmicity of activity in captivity under a natural light-dark cycle. The robustness of the rhythmicity varied from species to species, but the grand mean of 34% was within the range of robustness previously described for mammalian species ranging in size from mice to cattle. There was not a sharp division between diurnal and nocturnal felids. Instead, what was found was a gradient of diurnality going from the predominantly nocturnal margay (72% of activity counts during the night) to the predominantly diurnal jaguarundi (87% of activity counts during the day) with the remaining species lying in between these two extremes. The ecological implications of temporal niche variations are discussed.

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A two-peak circadian system in body temperature and activity in the domestic cat, Felis catus L.

Cited by 22 publications

References 32 publications

Daily rhythms in food intake and locomotor activity in a colony of domestic cats

Daily rhythms in food intake and locomotor activity in a colony of domestic cats

Effects of predator control on behaviour of an apex predator and indirect consequences for mesopredator suppression

Daily rhythmicity of behavior of nine species of South American feral felids in captivity

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