Variability of behavioral chronotypes of 16 mammalian species under controlled conditions

Refinetti, Roberto; Wassmer, Thomas; Basu, Priyoneel; Cherukalady, Rajeev; Pandey, Varun Kumar; Singaravel, Muniyandi; Giannetto, Claudia; Piccione, Giuseppe

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.04.019

Cited by 37 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 36 publications

(45 reference statements)

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“…Studies of chronotypes of free-living and captive wild animals are at the intersection between chronobiology and ecology [97,98,141,165,166]. In some studies, measures of associated fitness consequences have provided hints to the rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org Phil.…”

Section: (B) Chronotypementioning

confidence: 99%

Two sides of a coin: ecological and chronobiological perspectives of timing in the wild

Helm

Visser

Schwartz

et al. 2017

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

140

199

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Most processes within organisms, and most interactions between organisms and their environment, have distinct time profiles. The temporal coordination of such processes is crucial across levels of biological organization, but disciplines differ widely in their approaches to study timing. Such differences are accentuated between ecologists, who are centrally concerned with a holistic view of an organism in relation to its external environment, and chronobiologists, who emphasize internal timekeeping within an organism and the mechanisms of its adjustment to the environment. We argue that ecological and chronobiological perspectives are complementary, and that studies at the intersection will enable both fields to jointly overcome obstacles that currently hinder progress. However, to achieve this integration, we first have to cross some conceptual barriers, clarifying prohibitively inaccessible terminologies. We critically assess main assumptions and concepts in either field, as well as their common interests. Both approaches intersect in their need to understand the extent and regulation of temporal plasticity, and in the concept of 'chronotype', i.e. the characteristic temporal properties of individuals which are the targets of natural and sexual selection. We then highlight promising developments, point out open questions, acknowledge difficulties and propose directions for further integration of ecological and chronobiological perspectives through Wild Clock research.

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Section: (B) Chronotypementioning

confidence: 99%

Two sides of a coin: ecological and chronobiological perspectives of timing in the wild

Helm

Visser

Schwartz

et al. 2017

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

140

199

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This means that all individual sheep initiated activity each day within a short, 40-min window, whereas individual cats initiated activity over the full course of the day. Importantly, the relatively intermediate human chronotype spread of 6 h was the same as that of the laboratory rat, being wider than those of 7 of the other species and narrower than those of 8 of the other species [55].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…In human studies, which are predominantly based on surveys rather than actual activity records, it has been suggested that chronotype could be defined as the time of mid-sleep on free (non-working) days [13]. In animal studies [55] and human studies with actigraphic data [68], the time of activity onset on free days (every day for laboratory animals) has been of practical value and was chosen for this study.…”

Section: Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For determination of the average daily time of activity onset (chronotype), the squirrels were kept under a 12L:12D cycle for at least 4 consecutive weeks, and data from the second 2 weeks were used for analysis. Onset time was determined by a computer algorithm, as described previously [55]. For the computation, the program first smoothed the time series by means of a 7-h moving-averages procedure and phase-advanced it by 3.5 h to correct for the 3.5-h phasedelay caused by the moving-averages procedure.…”

Section: Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When it is recognized that interindividual differences in chronotype are reflections of differences in the phase angle of entrainment, it becomes apparent that differences in chronotype should be present not only in humans but also in other animal species. A few studies of chronotype in individual animal species have been conducted over the years [48][49][50][51][52][53][54], and in a recent study the activity rhythms of individuals of 16 mammalian species, ranging in size from mice to cattle, were examined under comparable environmental conditions [55]. The full spread of individual chronotypes within each species was computed as the interval containing 95% of the chronotypes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring determinants of behavioral chronotype in a diurnal-rodent model of human physiology

Refinetti

Earle

Kenagy

2019

Physiology & Behavior

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Numerous studies conducted with human participants have shown that differences in chronotype, defined as individual patterns of early or late beginning of daily activity, have implications for many biobehavioral processes, such as cognitive performance, mood, impulsivity, academic achievement of college students, and mental health. However, the determinants of individual variation in chronotype have not been investigated. Basic research on circadian rhythms has provided a basis for investigating the causes of chronotype variation, but experimental tests of pertinent hypotheses are difficult to conduct with human subjects. This limitation can be overcome by use of animal models. This study was conducted with a rodent species, the antelope ground squirrel (Ammospermophilus leucurus), that, like humans, is active during the daytime, exhibits a spread of chronotypes, and has a similar average free-running circadian period. We found chronotype to be a stable trait within individuals based on strong consistency of separate determinations made six months apart (correlation r = 0.91). We also found a moderate correlation of chronotype with the duration of the active phase (r =-0.51) and with free running period (r = 0.34), but weak correlation with rhythm robustness (r = 0.16), and no correlation with photic responsiveness or with masking responses. The best multiple regression model, incorporating the duration of the active phase, free-running period, and rhythm robustness, explained 38% of the variance in chronotype. Although 62% of the variance in chronotype remained unaccounted for, the results are encouraging because they document the possibility of using a diurnal rodent as a model for the investigation of the determinants of chronotype variation in humans.

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No relationship between chronotype and timing of breeding when variation in daily activity patterns across the breeding season is taken into account

Meijdam

Müller

Thys

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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There is increasing evidence that individuals are consistent in the timing of their daily activities, and that individual variation in temporal behavior is related to the timing of reproduction. However, it remains unclear whether observed patterns relate to the timing of the onset of activity or whether an early onset of activity extends the time that is available for foraging. This may then again facilitate reproduction. Furthermore, the timing of activity onset and offset may vary across the breeding season, which may complicate studying the above‐mentioned relationships. Here, we examined in a wild population of great tits (Parus major) whether an early clutch initiation date may be related to an early onset of activity and/or to longer active daylengths. We also investigated how these parameters are affected by the date of measurement. To test these hypotheses, we measured emergence and entry time from/into the nest box as proxies for activity onset and offset in females during the egg laying phase. We then determined active daylength. Both emergence time and active daylength were related to clutch initiation date. However, a more detailed analysis showed that the timing of activities with respect to sunrise and sunset varied throughout the breeding season both within and among individuals. The observed positive relationships are hence potentially statistical artifacts. After methodologically correcting for this date effect, by using data from the pre‐egg laying phase, where all individuals were measured on the same days, neither of the relationships remained significant. Taking methodological pitfalls and temporal variation into account may hence be crucial for understanding the significance of chronotypes.

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Variability of behavioral chronotypes of 16 mammalian species under controlled conditions

Cited by 37 publications

References 36 publications

Two sides of a coin: ecological and chronobiological perspectives of timing in the wild

Two sides of a coin: ecological and chronobiological perspectives of timing in the wild

Exploring determinants of behavioral chronotype in a diurnal-rodent model of human physiology

No relationship between chronotype and timing of breeding when variation in daily activity patterns across the breeding season is taken into account

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