Which rodents are nocturnal

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Right: actograms across experimental conditions. Pink and blue backgrounds indicate data from animals inside the respirometry chamber, with and without access to wheels, respectively.

A Representative individual that did not switch phase inside the respirometry chamber. Pink line in the left figure indicates introduction of the wheel to the chamber. B Representative individual that switched from nocturnal to diurnal inside the respirometry chamber. There was a 7-day interval outside the respirometry chamber before the wheel introduction due to technical problems.

Pink broken line in the right figure separates days with and without wheels. D-indices ranged from Inside the respirometry chamber, D-indices ranged from One individual showed a particularly dramatic change in the D-Index, switching from Finally, data of one individual that was not measured without wheel was included, highlighted with a dashed line. D-Index for each individual in the different conditions are connected by a line.

Points in orange indicate the values for animal which showed the highest discrepancy in D-Indices across conditions. In addition to the daily variation, periodically peaked for episodes of more than one hour corresponding to bouts of high general activity and T b.

Mean of tuco-tucos was 1. Mean of females 1. In S1 Table , we present the mean values of and T b for each individual, during days with and without access to running wheels. Lower wheel-running and associated phase inversion occurred both in the animals exposed to the wheel immediately upon being placed in the respirometry chamber and in those animals that were provided a wheel after three days in respirometry chamber.

A Mean daily wheel-running levels are associated with nocturnality. B Mean body temperatures during each stage. There is no clear correlation with D-Indices. C Mean during each stage. D Mean amount of general activity per day during each stage. Despite showing day-time activity under field conditions, tuco-tucos consistently display nocturnal patterns when housed in the laboratory irrespective of access to running-wheels [ 8 — 10 ].

In the present study, we report the first displays of diurnality in the lab, which occurred exclusively during our respirometry experiment Fig 1. Some individuals in the new environment of the sealed respirometry chamber completely suppressed running-wheel activity and switched to diurnality as revealed by T b , and general activity rhythms; while others remained nocturnal as usual in the laboratory and continued to run on the wheel Fig 3. In some rodent species, all individuals are diurnal in the field whereas in the laboratory some become nocturnal while others remain diurnal.

Interestingly, when offered unrestricted access to running wheels, some diurnal individuals become nocturnal grass rats, Arvicanthis niloticus [ 38 ]; degus, Octodon degus [ 39 ]; and mongolian gerbils, Meriones ungiculatus [ 4 ].

Their proposal was based on investigations of degus, a species that is known to switch phase from nocturnal to diurnal activity when provided access to a running wheel while in DD yet without any change to the basic free-running rhythm period. The spontaneous suppression of wheel-running activity was displayed by all individuals that switched to diurnality i.

This phenomenon occurred in both of our trials in two consecutive years. It is noteworthy that general motor activity was maintained and switched to a diurnal pattern in all individuals that stopped running on the wheel Fig 1.

General activity levels did not change upon placement in the respirometry chamber, even in those animals that suppressed wheel-running. Our finding of a phase inversion nocturnal to diurnal in tuco-tucos when housed within a respirometry chamber illustrates a novel association between running-wheels and timing of activity not observed in any of the previous work on degus, grass rats and Mongolian gerbils.

In common with the above species, the greatest levels of activity are always associated with nocturnality Fig 4. It has been proposed that a shift to nocturnality in response to elevated activity is associated to thermoregulation by consolidating the activity during a time of day when body temperature is naturally lower in diurnal species [ 39 ],[ 47 — 49 ].

However, this seems to be unlikely in tuco-tucos, based on our previous finding [ 10 ], that activity has a greater impact on body temperature during the dark phase, suggesting that the allocation of activity during the night would decrease, instead of enhance, heat loss.

Based on: [ 1 , 39 , 56 , 57 ] for Octodon degus ; [ 2 , 38 ] for Arvicanthis niloticus ; [ 3 , 58 ] for Acomys russatus ; [ 4 ] for Meriones ungiculatus ; [ 9 , 10 ] for Ctenomys aff.

Interestingly, both the most extreme diurnal and the most extreme nocturnal D-indices Fig 2 are associated with the animals having access to a wheel while in the respiratory chamber.

A small body of literature shows that the mere presence of the wheel in the environment can have behavioral and neurogenic effects [ 50 ]. Mice kept in an environment in which a locked wheel is present show less anxiety and enhanced fear memory than those kept in a cage without the wheel [ 51 — 52 ]. In our case, however, the suppression of running occurred spontaneously, in contrast to locking the wheel. This opens even more possibilities for future studies on running-independent effects of the wheel.

A survey of the literature of the effects of O 2 and CO 2 content of air on circadian patterns reveal mostly changes in amplitude, with rhythmic depression as a consequence of hypoxia or hypercapnia in rats [ 53 , 54 ]. However, minute phase changes have been observed in free-running golden hamsters exposed to pulses of hypoxic air [ 55 ].

Perceived changes in the gas composition of the environment could serve as a triggering mechanism to incite an alertness response needed for predator avoidance or tunnel maintenance and, possibly, lead to changes in the temporal pattern of activity, as suggested by our results in the sealed chamber. Several interesting insights have emerged from our simultaneous measurements of the interconnected , T b , general motor and wheel-running rhythms. Our results clearly demonstrate that switches in timing of activity phase can occur concomitantly with spontaneous suppression of wheel-running.

Apparently, in tuco-tucos activity timing and wheel-running associations appear in a reformulated perspective. A Photography of the respirometry chamber without the running wheel. The chamber consists in a standard home cage with an acrylic lid with fittings to allow the airflow. The chamber was kept in a light-tight cabinet, which was the same used in the non-respirometry steps of the experiments.

B Scheme of the experimental protocol. At first, the animal was kept in its home cage with access to a running-wheel. Then, it was placed in the respirometry chamber. One group was put in a chamber with running-wheel and the other in a chamber without a wheel. The group that started with the wheel would then have it removed, while the other would have the wheel added to the chamber. After the respirometry trials, measurements would continue in a standard home cage.

All the reviewers for criticisms and suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript. Analyzed the data: PT OT. Designed the respirometry setup: OT. Browse Subject Areas? Click through the PLOS taxonomy to find articles in your field. Abstract Several rodent species that are diurnal in the field become nocturnal in the lab. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.

Introduction The tuco-tuco Ctenomys aff. Materials and Methods Ethics statement All procedures followed the guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the use of wild mammals in research [ 27 ] and the U.

Monitoring of wheel-running, general activity and body temperature Tuco-tucos were surgically implanted with temperature sensitive transponders G2 E-Mitters, Mini-Mitter, Bend, OR to allow for continuous monitoring of core T b and gross motor activity.

Respirometry Rates of O 2 consumption were measured by open-flow respirometry during February and March of and Experiments We performed continuous 5—9 day long respirometry trials for each animal, previously entrained by CE, using two protocols.

Results Before the start of the respirometry trials, all animals displayed a nocturnal pattern with high T b , general activity and wheel-running concentrated in the dark phase. Download: PPT. Fig 1. Simultaneous measurements of daily rhythms in oxygen consumption , body temperature T b , gross motor and wheel-running activity of tuco-tucos. Fig 2. Variation of diurnality indices across the stages of the experiment. Fig 3. Wheel-running, mean T b and mean Oxygen consumption of tuco-tucos in relation to diurnality indexes.

Discussion Despite showing day-time activity under field conditions, tuco-tucos consistently display nocturnal patterns when housed in the laboratory irrespective of access to running-wheels [ 8 — 10 ]. Fig 4. Schematic view of different phase switch patterns associated with the presence of running wheels.

Supporting Information. S1 Fig. Respirometry chamber and schematic illustration of the experimental protocol. S2 Fig. Scheme of the respirometry system. S1 Table. Summary of the variables measured under different conditions, for each individual.

Circadian rhythms of body temperature and metabolic rate in naked mole-rats. Physiol Behav. View Article Google Scholar 1. This native species can be especially common around homes in Southeastern and South-Central United States. The wood rat or pack rat, Neotoma spp. Many native rodents might invade structures, such as taking insulation from crawlspaces for nesting material. A few examples approaching 2 pounds have been recorded in captivity, but these rats become older and heavier than would likely occur in the wild.

FACT: The common house mouse, Mus musculus , is present throughout the United States and is the most common commensal mouse pest to be found in and around structures. Native rodents such as deer mice and voles also can be seen in and around homes. Shrews also can be common and are not even rodents, but insectivores. Most rodenticides are only labeled for control of Norway rats, roof rats and house mice.

FACT: Rats and mice are more active when there is less danger about, which in many cases is at night. But they can dart about during daylight hours as well to secure food and shelter, especially if they have learned there are routes they can take and areas they can go where they will not be challenged. In some environments, such as nightclubs and theaters, rodents may take advantage of the fact that there is less human activity during the day.

Also, consider that rats and mice live in social groups where dominant animals may defend the best shelter, food areas and potential mates.

Less-dominant individuals might be forced to be active at more-dangerous times, such as during the day. Regardless of the time, their eyes and ears are always alert to the slightest sounds or movements. FACT: Individual rats and mice sleep only for short periods and might move about at any time of the day or night. They are more visible during the daytime, and so even small populations may give themselves away by sightings when people are up or businesses are open.

Rats and mice normally will move and forage about in the open much more extensively at night, but sightings are not a good indicator of how many rats or mice are living nearby. It can catch crayfish, frogs and other aquatic animals to supplement their food. Rats also can survive being carried long distances in floods or on river currents. They will cross ditches and swim drains and stretches of sewer flow to get where they are going.

Even mice will swim, and can withstand immersion in water for many hours. FACT: Rats and mice can breed year-round when there are adequate food, shelter and warm-temperature opportunities. Rats and mice cannot hibernate, and will spend more time inside burrows or structures to stay warm during cold weather, but still can explore their environments, looking for food and shelter. Invasions of buildings might be more noticed in the fall, particularly in northern areas after frost, when ground cover is reduced and crop fields have been cut.

Rats recognize their own colony members and their place in that society, but do not move or behave in any coordinated or cooperative fashion. Rats move individually along established routes, although one rat might be seen to quickly follow another.

Usually, the largest male rat is the top rat, or alpha male, which will defend his choice of territory, food sites and mates, and might chase subordinate males.