Nocturnality is an animal behavior Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior, and a sub-topic of zoology characterized by activity during the night and sleeping during the day. The opposite is diurnality Diurnality is an animal behavior characterized by activity during the day and sleeping at night. Animals that are not diurnal might be nocturnal or crepuscular (active primarily during twilight, i.e., at dusk and dawn). Many animal species are diurnal, including many mammals, insects, reptiles and birds. The diurnal pattern is often controlled. The intermediate crepuscular Crepuscular is a term used to describe some animals that are primarily active during twilight, that is at dawn and at dusk. The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight." Crepuscular is thus in contrast with diurnal and nocturnal behavior. Crepuscular animals may also be active on a bright moonlit night. Many schedule (twilight activity) is also common. Some species are active both in daytime and at night. Living at night can be seen as a form of niche differentiation The term niche differentiation , as it applies to the field of ecology, refers to the process by which natural selection drives competing species into different patterns of resource use or different niches. This process allows two species to partition certain resources so that one species does not out-compete the other as dictated by the, where a species' niche is partitioned not by resources but by time Time has been defined as the continuum in which events occur in succession from the past to the present and on to the future. Time has also been defined as a one-dimensional quantity used to sequence events, to quantify the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify and measure the motions of objects and other changes itself, i.e. temporal division of the ecological niche In ecology, a niche is a term describing the relational position of a species or population in its ecosystem to each other; e.g. a dolphin could potentially be in another ecological niche from one that travels in a different pod if the members of these pods utilize significantly different food resources and foraging methods. A shorthand definition. It can also be viewed as a form of crypsis In ecology, crypsis is the ability of an organism to avoid observation or detection by other organisms. A form of antipredator adaptation, methods range from camouflage, nocturnality, subterranean lifestyle, transparency, or mimicry. The word can also be used in the context of eggs and pheromone production, in other words an adaptation to avoid or enhance predation In ecology, predation describes a biological interaction where a predator feeds on its prey (the organism that is attacked). Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of its prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption. The other main. There are other reasons for nocturnality as well, such as keeping out of the heat of the day. This is especially true in deserts A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Deserts are defined as areas with an average annual precipitation of less than 250 millimetres per year, or as areas where more water is lost by evapotranspiration than falls as precipitation. In the Köppen, where many animals' nocturnal behavior prevents them from losing precious water during the hot, dry daytime. This is an adaptation Adaptation is the evolutionary process whereby a population becomes better suited to its habitat. This process takes place over many generations, and is one of the basic phenomena of biology that enhances osmoregulation Osmoregulation is the active regulation of the osmotic pressure of an organism's fluids to maintain the homeostasis of the organism's water content; that is it keeps the organism's fluids from becoming too diluted or too concentrated. Osmotic pressure is a measure of the tendency of water to move into one solution from another by osmosis. The.[1]
Many species which are otherwise diurnal exhibit some nocturnal behaviour; for example, many seabirds Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations. The first seabirds evolved in the Cretaceous period, and modern and sea turtles The superfamily Chelonioidea has a world-wide distribution; sea turtles can be found in all oceans except for the polar regions.[citation needed] Some species travel between oceans. The Flatback turtle is found solely on the northern coast of Australia attend breeding sites or colonies nocturnally to reduce the risk of predation (to themselves or their offspring) but are otherwise diurnal.
Nocturnal animals generally have highly developed senses of hearing Hearing is one of the traditional five senses. It is the ability to perceive sound by detecting vibrations via an organ such as the ear. The inability to hear is called deafness and smell Olfaction is the sense of smell. This sense is mediated by specialized sensory cells of the nasal cavity of vertebrates, and, by analogy, sensory cells of the antennae of invertebrates. Many vertebrates, including most mammals and reptiles, have two distinct olfactory systems - the main olfactory system, and the accessory olfactory system (mainly, and specially adapted eyesight Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision . The various physiological components involved in vision are referred to collectively as the visual system, and are the focus of much research in. In zoos The term zoological garden refers to zoology, the study of animals, a term deriving from the Greek zōon and lógos (λóγος, "study"). The abbreviation "zoo" was first used of the London Zoological Gardens, which opened for scientific study in 1828 and to the public in 1847. The number of major animal collections open to, nocturnal animals are usually kept in special night-illumination enclosures to reverse their normal sleep-wake cycle A circadian rhythm is a roughly 24-hour cycle in the biochemical, physiological, or behavioural processes of living entities, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria . The term "circadian" comes from the Latin circa, "around", and diem or dies, "day", meaning literally "approximately one day". The and to keep them active during the hours when visitors will be attempting to see them. Some animals, such as cats The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felines and felids, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and ability to hunt vermin and household pests. Cats have been associated with humans for at least 9,500 years, and are currently the most popular pet in the, have eyes that can adapt to both night and day levels of illumination (see metaturnal). Others, e.g. bushbabies and bats Bats are flying mammals in the order Chiroptera . The forelimbs of bats are webbed and developed as wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums and colugos, glide rather than fly, and can only glide for short distances. Bats do, can only function at night.
A person who exhibits nocturnal habits is referred to as a night owl The term is derived from the primarily nocturnal habits of the owl. Usually, people who are night owls keep awake past midnight and extreme night owls may stay awake until just before or after dawn. Night owls tend to feel most energetic just before they go to sleep at night; he or she is of the "eveningness" chronotype Chronotype is an attribute of human beings reflecting whether they are alert and prefer to be active early or late in the day. The continuum is often referred to as "morningness/eveningness" or "larks" and "owls" where morning people wake up early and are most alert in the first part of the day, and evening people are. Noctivities. ( Activities of a night time person, creature)
See also
- Diurnality Diurnality is an animal behavior characterized by activity during the day and sleeping at night. Animals that are not diurnal might be nocturnal or crepuscular (active primarily during twilight, i.e., at dusk and dawn). Many animal species are diurnal, including many mammals, insects, reptiles and birds. The diurnal pattern is often controlled
- Crepuscular Crepuscular is a term used to describe some animals that are primarily active during twilight, that is at dawn and at dusk. The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight." Crepuscular is thus in contrast with diurnal and nocturnal behavior. Crepuscular animals may also be active on a bright moonlit night. Many
- Vespertine (biology)
- Matutinal Matutinal is a term used in the life sciences, to describe an organism that is only or primarily active in the pre-dawn hours or early morning. The variant term matinal is used apparently only in entomology, often used in literature on the natural history and ecology of bees. There are numerous genera and species of bees which exhibit this
- List of nocturnal animals
- Delayed sleep phase syndrome Delayed sleep-phase syndrome , also known as delayed sleep-phase disorder (DSPD) or delayed sleep-phase type (DSPT), is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder, a chronic disorder of the timing of sleep, peak period of alertness, the core body temperature rhythm, hormonal and other daily rhythms relative to societal norms. People with DSPS tend to fall
References
- ^ N.A.Campbell (1996) Biology (4th edition) Benjamin Cummings NY. ISBN 0-8053-1957-3
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nocturnality |
Categories: Night | Ethology Categories: Behavioural sciences | Subfields of zoology |
Personal tools
- New features
- Log in / create account
Namespaces
">Variants
Views
">Actions
Navigation
- Main page A man engaged in waterskiing, a sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface. Waterskiing is a relatively young sport, having been invented in the early 20th century. The skis this person is wearing are specialized for ski jumping
- Contents A portal is an introductory page for a given topic. It complements the main article of the subject by introducing the reader to key articles, images, and categories that further describe the subject. They also include to-do lists that are used mostly by Wikipedia's editors
- Featured content Featured content represents the best that Wikipedia has to offer. These are the articles, pictures, and other contributions that showcase the polished result of the collaborative efforts that drive Wikipedia. All featured content undergoes a thorough review process to ensure that it meets the highest standards and can serve as an example of our
- Current events Worldwide current events | Topic-specific: Science and technology | Sports
- Random article
Interaction
- About Wikipedia
- Community portal
- Recent changes
- Contact Wikipedia
- Donate to Wikipedia
- Help
Toolbox
- What links here
- Related changes
- Upload file
- Special pages
- Permanent link
- Cite this page
Print/export
- Create a book
- Download as PDF
- Printable version
Languages
- العربية
- Dansk
- Deutsch
- Español
- Esperanto
- فارسی
- Français
- Hrvatski
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Íslenska
- Italiano
- Lietuvių
- Nederlands
- 日本語
- Norsk (bokmål)
- Polski
- Português
- Simple English
- Suomi
- Türkçe
- 中文