Projektdatenbank (ab 2004)

Projektnummer

0060350

Zusammenfassung

The subterranean ecotope lacks typical environmental factors (e.g. daily changes of light-darkness or temperature) that its inhabitants could use as a zeitgeber. It is proposed that the circadian rhythm of strictly subterranean African mole rats (Bathyergidae) depends on daily fluctuations of the geomagnetic field, which can be suppressed by shielding and reintroduced by simulating such fluctuations. If this hypothesis is true, it would explain why previous studies have failed to demonstrate clear rhythms in subterranean mammals: all studies have been performed inside buildings where i...