Circadian Rhythm in Feeding Behavior of Daphnia dentifera

Alaina C. Pfenning-Butterworth, Kristina Amato, Clayton E. Cressler

Research output: Contribution to journalLetterpeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Circadian rhythms enable organisms to mediate their molecular and physiological processes with changes in their environment. Although feeding behavior directly affects within-organism processes, there are few examples of a circadian rhythm in this key behavior. Here, we show that Daphnia have a nocturnal circadian rhythm in feeding behavior that corresponds with their diel vertical migration (DVM), an important life history strategy for predator and UV avoidance. In addition, this feeding rhythm appears to be temperature compensated, which suggests that feeding behavior is robust to seasonal changes in water temperature. A circadian rhythm in feeding behavior can impact energetically demanding processes like metabolism and immunity, which may have drastic effects on susceptibility to disease, starvation risk, and ultimately, fitness.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)589-594
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Biological Rhythms
Volume36
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2021

Keywords

  • Biodare2
  • Daphnia
  • behavior
  • circadian rhythm
  • diel vertical migration
  • feeding

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physiology
  • Physiology (medical)

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