Biological Clocks In Marine Organisms

Describes biological rhythms and clocks evolved by marine organisms in relation to tidal, daily, lunar and seasonal life cycle events.

Biochemical mechanisms within the bodies of plants and animals program almost all their activities to specific phases of periodic events such as the time of day, the state of the tide, and the season of the year. Those organisms living within the intertidal zone--the area between high and low tides--face many environmental challenges that are eased tremendously by such chronobiological means. This monograph provides an authoritative, up-to-date account of research on the workings of intertidal animals' biological clocks. The book begins with a description of how tides are generated, and how the difficulties involved in studying organismic tide-associated rhythms may be overcome. The rest of the work focuses on rhythms and their properties, and the nature of the clocks that govern them. Comprehensive in scope, the book synthesizes over 350 research papers and contains over 129 figures. It is intended as a sequel to the author's well-known 1974 monograph Biological Clocks in Marine Organisms, incorporating the many advances in the field since the publication of the earlier volume. Aquatic ecologists, animal behaviorists, comparative physiologists, marine biologists, chronobiologists, and interested general readers will all want to read this important new work.

Do intertidal organisms simply respond to the rise and fall of tides, or do they possess biological timing and navigation mechanisms that allow them to anticipate when conditions are most favourable? How are the patterns of growth, development and reproduction of some marine plants and animals related to changes in day-length or to phases of the moon? The author describes how marine organisms, from single cells to vertebrates, on sea shores, in estuaries and in the open ocean, have evolved inbuilt biological clockwork and synchronisation mechanisms which control rhythmic processes and navigational behaviour, permitting successful exploitation of highly variable and often hostile environments. Adopting a hypothesis-testing and experimental approach, the book is intended for undergraduate and postgraduate students of marine biology, marine ecology, animal behaviour, oceanography and other biological sciences and also as an introduction for researchers, including physiologists, biochemists and molecular biologists entering the field of chronobiology.

Each organism has its own internal biological clock, which is reset by environmental cues (Zeitgebers), thus keeping it synchronized with the external environment. It is a chemically based oscillating system within cells, relying on molecular feedback loops. Circadian biological clocks exist in most organisms.What is so special about the clock in f

The Biological Clock describes the rhythmic processes in a great variety of plants and animals. This book is an outgrowth of the 1969 James Arthur Lecture Series on "Time and its Mysteries" held at New York University. This three-chapter work begins with the basic principles of biological rhythms and clocks, along with various diagrams to illustrate some aspects of circadian rhythms in animals. The second chapter discusses the hypothesis of environmental timing of the clock. This chapter explores numerous research studies on phenomenon of biological rhythms, the nature of the rhythmic mechanism, and hormonal regulation. The third chapter examines the cellular-biochemical clock hypothesis and its contribution in the progress of understanding the complexity of biological rhythm. This book is intended primarily for biologists, behaviorists, and researchers.

"With the fresh perspective of a curious and insightful non-scientist, Mr. Klein examines the question of what force, time or tide, actually provides more influence over cellular biomechanics."--Global Books in Print.

Popular science at its most exciting: the breaking new world of chronobiology - understanding the rhythm of life in humans and all plants and animals. The entire natural world is full of rhythms. The early bird catches the worm -and migrates to an internal calendar. Dormice hibernate away the winter. Plants open and close their flowers at the same hour each day. Bees search out nectar-rich flowers day after day. There are cicadas that can breed for only two weeks every 17 years. And in humans: why are people who work anti-social shifts more illness prone and die younger? What is jet-lag and can anything help? Why do teenagers refuse to get up in the morning, and are the rest of us really 'larks' or 'owls'? Why are most people born (and die) between 3am-5am? And should patients be given medicines (and operations) at set times of day, because the body reacts so differently in the morning, evening and at night? The answers lie in our biological clocks the mechanisms which give order to all living things. They impose a structure that enables us to change our behaviour in relation to the time of day, month or year. They are reset at sunrise and sunset each day to link astronomical time with an organism's internal time.

Biological Clocks introduces the subject of human chronobiology. It describes biological clocks; why we have clocks; how biological clocks relate to sleep disorders, depression, and jet lag; and how the reader can measure his/her own rhythms.