Socially synchronized circadian oscillators

Abstract

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.

Annual rhythms that underlie phenology: biological time-keeping meets environmental change

“…Just like daily rhythms [70], annual rhythms regulate functions whose value often depends on interactions with conspecifics, ranging from temporal mating associations to colony or flock formation for reproduction and movement [55]. Many organisms thus synchronize their activities to those of conspecifics.…”

Diapause in Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

“…Studies with other social insects might provide some clues. For example, it has been suggested that foraging honeybees may somehow synchronize their biological rhythms and inform nestmates about external environmental conditions through their body movements (Bloch et al, 2013). Another possibility could be some sort of chemical signaling that would induce entire nest populations to enter or terminate diapause.…”

Observing quantum synchronization blockade in circuit quantum electrodynamics

“…Synchronization of coupled self-sustained oscillating systems is a ubiquitous phenomenon in nature and appears in fields as diverse as biology [1][2][3], economics [4], sociology [5] and physics, where it was first scientifically described [6]. In the latter field an interesting question is what happens with synchronization in the quantum regime, i.e.…”