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Timing in Tidal, Semilunar, and Lunar Rhythms

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Annual, Lunar, and Tidal Clocks

Abstract

Tidal, semilunar, and lunar rhythms are particularly pronounced in intertidal organisms, which are affected by strong fluctuations of environmental factors with the tides. For a number of species it has been shown that their tidal, semilunar, or lunar rhythms in behavior and reproduction are not a direct response to the tides, but reflect the action of endogenous biological clocks. This chapter reviews current knowledge on the properties and mechanisms of circatidal and circa(semi)lunar clocks as shown by laboratory experiments and highlights major open questions for future research.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The synonymous term ‘lunidian’ is avoided in this overview. It correlates these rhythms with the lunar-day rhythm corresponding with the 24.8-h period between two consecutive culminations of the moon, which are the basic cause of the 12.4-h cycle of the tide-producing forces. However, all rhythms of intertidal organisms are primarily responses to the phases of the local tides with all their local modulations. The parallelism with the culmination period of the moon is of secondary importance.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Köln, Köln, Germany

    Dietrich Neumann

Authors
  1. Dietrich Neumann
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan

    Hideharu Numata

  2. Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

    Barbara Helm

Additional information

Sadly, Dietrich Neumann passed away while he was still working on this chapter. Tobias Kaiser kindly has taken on the responsibility for the chapter and, thanks to his efforts, it has been brought to completion.

Correspondence can be addressed to: Tobias Kaiser, Max F. Perutz Laboratories, Wien, Austria, e-mail: tobias.kaiser@univie.ac.at

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Neumann, D. (2014). Timing in Tidal, Semilunar, and Lunar Rhythms. In: Numata, H., Helm, B. (eds) Annual, Lunar, and Tidal Clocks. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55261-1_1

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