Social influences on circadian behavioural rhythms in vertebrates

Favreau, Angélique; Richard‐Yris, Marie‐Annick; Bertin, Aline; Houdelier, Cécilia; Lumineau, Sophie

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.01.004

Cited by 65 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…The information available on the social modulation of endogenous rhythms in birds mostly relates to circadian (e.g. Menaker & Eskin 1966;Gwinner 1967;Favreau et al 2009) or circannual (mostly migratory) rhythms (e.g. Gwinner 1996;Wikelski et al 2008), with few data on other types of cycles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mysterious attendance cycles in Cory's shearwater, Calonectris diomedea: an exploration of patterns and hypotheses

et al. 2009

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Cory's shearwater logger periodicity seabird Selvagem Grande social interaction synchrony Several species of seabirds show cyclic patterns of attendance at their nesting colonies. We examined the patterns of variation in the numbers of Cory's shearwater at three colonies (two oceanic and one located on the continental shelf), including the world's largest, at Selvagem Grande, Madeira, Portugal and considered several hypotheses concerning their causal mechanisms. At Selvagem Grande, cycles were exceptionally marked and regular, with a periodicity ranging from 7.8 to 11 days, and involved both breeders and nonbreeders. In contrast, variation in numbers was aperiodic at a nearby and much smaller colony (Selvagem Pequena), and also at the colony located off the Portuguese coast (Berlenga Island). We found no relationships between number of birds ashore and environmental variables such as wind direction and speed or lunar cycle. Cycles did not seem to be driven by oscillations in food availability or accessibility, given that they did not correlate with daily chick growth rates (which were acyclic) or diet. Despite their regularity, cycles were slightly out of phase in different sectors of Selvagem Grande, which suggests that social interactions at the colony could act as an entrainment agent for an endogenous rhythm, and so cycles are probably more likely to occur in large and dense colonies. Observations are consistent with the hypothesis that cycles facilitate social interactions by maximizing the probability of encounters at the colony. However, the exact mechanisms through which these remarkable cycles are controlled are still completely unknown, and clearly further research is needed. Ó

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mysterious attendance cycles in Cory's shearwater, Calonectris diomedea: an exploration of patterns and hypotheses

et al. 2009

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“…The literature on the effects of social interactions on circadian rhythmicity, predominately but not exclusively studies of pairs of mammals in the laboratory, has been critically reviewed previously [2][3][4][5]. While social stimuli have been reported to alter various rhythm parameters in experimental animals and humans, mutual synchronization-such that the phase relationship between subjects remains constant over time under constant environmental conditions-appears to be unusual.…”

Section: Searching For Syncmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socially synchronized circadian oscillators

et al. 2013

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Daily rhythms of physiology and behaviour are governed by an endogenous timekeeping mechanism (a circadian 'clock'). The alternation of environmental light and darkness synchronizes (entrains) these rhythms to the natural day-night cycle, and underlying mechanisms have been investigated using singly housed animals in the laboratory. But, most species ordinarily would not live out their lives in such seclusion; in their natural habitats, they interact with other individuals, and some live in colonies with highly developed social structures requiring temporal synchronization. Social cues may thus be critical to the adaptive function of the circadian system, but elucidating their role and the responsible mechanisms has proven elusive. Here, we highlight three model systems that are now being applied to understanding the biology of socially synchronized circadian oscillators: the fruitfly, with its powerful array of molecular genetic tools; the honeybee, with its complex natural society and clear division of labour; and, at a different level of biological organization, the rodent suprachiasmatic nucleus, site of the brain's circadian clock, with its network of mutually coupled single-cell oscillators. Analyses at the 'group' level of circadian organization will likely generate a more complex, but ultimately more comprehensive, view of clocks and rhythms and their contribution to fitness in nature.

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“…Various degrees of social entrainment have been reported for a number of species indicating that social influences on t are not restricted to hamsters (for reviews, see [1][2][3][4]). Similar to reports in other species [18], we found that the effects of the social environment occurred in a subset of hamsters, supporting the notion that there are individual differences in the sensitivities of the circadian system to social factors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…light, food availability and temperature) to optimally time the organism's daily rhythms in physiology and behaviour. Field and laboratory studies have shown that interactions between individuals can also influence the timing of daily rhythms and thus may be critical for the adaptive function of the clock, but elucidating the circadian role(s) and mechanism(s) of social cues has been problematic (for reviews, see [1][2][3][4]). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social forces can impact the circadian clocks of cohabiting hamsters

2014

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A number of field and laboratory studies have shown that the social environment influences daily rhythms in numerous species. However, underlying mechanisms, including the circadian system's role, are not known. Obstacles to this research have been the inability to track and objectively analyse rhythms of individual animals housed together. Here, we employed temperature dataloggers to track individual body temperature rhythms of pairs of cohabiting male Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) in constant darkness and applied a continuous wavelet transform to determine the phase of rhythm onset before, during, and after cohabitation. Cohabitation altered the predicted trajectory of rhythm onsets in 34% of individuals, representing 58% of pairs, compared to 12% of hamsters single-housed as 'virtual pair' controls. Deviation from the predicted trajectory was by a change in circadian period (t), which tended to be asymmetric-affecting one individual of the pair in nine of 11 affected pairs-with hints that dominance might play a role. These data implicate a change in the speed of the circadian clock as one mechanism whereby social factors can alter daily rhythms. Miniature dataloggers coupled with wavelet analyses should provide powerful tools for future studies investigating the principles and mechanisms mediating social influences on daily timing.

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Social influences on circadian behavioural rhythms in vertebrates

Cited by 65 publications

References 44 publications

Mysterious attendance cycles in Cory's shearwater, Calonectris diomedea: an exploration of patterns and hypotheses

Mysterious attendance cycles in Cory's shearwater, Calonectris diomedea: an exploration of patterns and hypotheses

Socially synchronized circadian oscillators

Social forces can impact the circadian clocks of cohabiting hamsters

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