Circadian rhythms in the short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda

Abstract

Circadian rhythms of wheel running and feeding were measured in the short-tailed shrew. Shrews were strongly nocturnal, and their activity rhythms entrained to both long-day (LD 16:8) and short-day (LD 6:18) photocycles. Under conditions of continuous light (LL) or darkness (DD), the activity rhythms free-ran with average periodicities of 25.1 hours and 24.1 hours, respectively. In LL the level of activity was depressed, and in some cases wheel running was completely inhibited. No significant sex differences were observed in the period or amplitude of the monitored circadian rhythms. All shrews fed throughout the day and night; however, unlike in previous reports, ultradian periods of feeding behavior were not found. The results are related to Aschoff's four observations for the effect of light on activity rhythms in nocturnal rodents.