Methods in field chronobiology

Dominoni, D. M. , Åkesson, S., Klaassen, R., Spoelstra, K. and Bulla, M. (2017) Methods in field chronobiology. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 372(1734), 20160247. (doi: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0247) (PMID:28993491)

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Abstract

Chronobiological research has seen a continuous development of novel approaches and techniques to measure rhythmicity at different levels of biological organization from locomotor activity (e.g. migratory restlessness) to physiology (e.g. temperature and hormone rhythms, and relatively recently also in genes, proteins and metabolites). However, the methodological advancements in this field have been mostly and sometimes exclusively used only in indoor laboratory settings. In parallel, there has been an unprecedented and rapid improvement in our ability to track animals and their behaviour in the wild. However, while the spatial analysis of tracking data is widespread, its temporal aspect is largely unexplored. Here, we review the tools that are available or have potential to record rhythms in the wild animals with emphasis on currently overlooked approaches and monitoring systems. We then demonstrate, in three question-driven case studies, how the integration of traditional and newer approaches can help answer novel chronobiological questions in free-living animals. Finally, we highlight unresolved issues in field chronobiology that may benefit from technological development in the future. As most of the studies in the field are descriptive, the future challenge lies in applying the diverse technologies to experimental set-ups in the wild.This article is part of the themed issue 'Wild clocks: integrating chronobiology and ecology to understand timekeeping in free-living animals'.

Item Type:Articles
Keywords:GPS-tracking, clocks, fibroblasts, incubation, radar, remote sensing.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Dominoni, Dr Davide
Authors: Dominoni, D. M., Åkesson, S., Klaassen, R., Spoelstra, K., and Bulla, M.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
Journal Name:Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Publisher:The Royal Society
ISSN:0962-8436
ISSN (Online):1471-2970
Published Online:09 October 2017
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2017 The Authors
First Published:First published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 372(1734): 20160247
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

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