How Light at Night Sets the Circalunar Clock in the Marine Midge <i>Clunio marinus</i>.

ABSTRACT: Many organisms inhabiting the interface between land and sea have evolved biological clocks corresponding to the period of the semilunar (14.77 days) or the lunar (29.53 days) cycle. Since tidal amplitude is modulated across the lunar cycle, these circasemilunar or circalunar clocks not only allow organisms to adapt to the lunar cycle, but also to specific tidal situations. Biological clocks are synchronized to external cycles via environmental cues called zeitgebers. Here, we explore how light at night sets the circalunar and circasemilunar clocks of Clunio marinus, a marine insect that relies on these clocks to control timing of emergence. We first characterized how moonlight intensity is modulated by the tides by measuring light intensity in the natural habitat of C. ma

SUBMITTER: Peralta CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11834338 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature