Time management in a co-housed social rodent species (Arvicanthis niloticus).

ABSTRACT: Sociality has beneficial effects on fitness, and timing the activities of animals may be critical. Social cues could influence daily rhythmic activities via direct effects on the circadian clock or on processes that bypass it (masking), but these possibilities remain incompletely addressed. We investigated the effects of social cues on the circadian body temperature (Tb) rhythms in pairs of co-housed and isolated grass rats, Arvicanthis niloticus (a social species), in constant darkness (DD). Cohabitation did not induce synchronization of circadian Tb rhythms. However, socio-sexual history did affect circadian properties: accelerating the clock in sexually experienced males and females in DD and advancing rhythm phase in the females in a light-dark cycle. To address whether synchronization

SUBMITTER: Castillo-Ruiz A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5775316 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature