Timing Responses Flashcards
Define timing responses
When plants and animals coordinate their behaviour to synchronise with environmental cycles in order to best exploit their habitat
What are endogenous rhythms?
Timing responses that use an internal mechanism such as a biology clock to synchronise with environmental cycles
What are exogenous rhhythms?
Timing responses what use external environmental stimuli to coordinate when they are active or inactive
Name the type of rhythm that is about 12 hours and 50 minutes long and follows tidal cycles
Circatidal rhythm
Define a circadian rhythm
Behavioural cycle that is about 24 hours long
Define a circa-annual rhythm
Behavioural cycle that is about 365 days long
When an organism is active during the day we call their activity pattern what?
Diurnal
When an organism is active during the night we call their activity pattern what?
Nocturnal
When an organism is active during the dawn and dusk we call their activity pattern what?
Crepuscular
What is an actogram?
A visual display of when an organism what active/inactive
What is the free-running period?
The length of the endogenous rhythm - when an organism is free of any environmental clues but their behavioural pattern persists
What is a zeitgeber?
The environmental stimuli that resets a biological clock to ensure the organism’s behavioural pattern is synchronised with the environmental cycle
What is entrainment?
The resetting of the biological clock by the zeitgeber
What is a phase shift?
When an organism begins its activity period earlier or later
Why do organisms have an endogenous rhythm or internal biological clock
To anticipate when there activity pattern should begin so they can maximise feeding time, increase the chances of being active when their prey is but their predators aren’t and prevent them being active when their gas exchange system might be prone to desiccation.
