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Osama B. Mohammed أسامة بدري محمد

Professor

Faculty Member

كلية العلوم
Building 5, Office 2B 158
publication
Journal Article

Down the wadi: The locomotory activity rhythm of the Arabian spiny mouse, Acomys dimidiatus from the Arabian Penisula. Journal of Arid Environments, 102: 50-57.

Abstract
The circadian rhythm of locomotory activity in the Arabian spiny mouse, a desert living species, was investigated under controlled laboratory conditions. Ten individuals were subjected to successive light cycles. When subjected to a 12L:12D light cycle, locomotor activity was confined mainly to the dark phase (mean 94.2% ± 1.6%). During a period of constant darkness (DD), all animals expressed free running rhythms of locomotor activity (mean 23h49 ± 0h04). Following a second LD cycle, the light and dark phases were inversed (12D:12L). Activity shifted with the lights and was masked during the light phase, re-entrainment was rather slow (up to 10 days). The effect of varying ambient temperature (20–35 °C) on the locomotor activity under a 12L:12D cycle revealed that temperature had no distinct effect on the level of locomotor activity. When the dark component of the day was lengthened to 8L:16D, the mean percentage of activity during the dark increased to 96.0 ± 0.8%, while a significant decrease in night time activity was observed when the dark phase length was decreased to 16L:8D (78.29 ± 2.52%). The Arabian spiny mouse therefore behaves as other desert dwelling rodents and can be described as truly nocturnal.

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