Time in the Living World

Chronobiology is the study of biological rhythms which are governed by endogenous pacemakers and entrained by geophysical correlates of the environment. Thus, there are circadian (daily), lunar-monthly and circannual rhythms characterizing the biology and behaviour of organisms. Erwin Bunning, an eminent biologist, wrote in 1973, ‘As recently as 15 to 20 years ago, to proclaim the existence of an endogenous diurnal rhythm was regarded, even by well-known biologists, as subscribing t a mystical or metaphysical notion’. Today it is recognized that biological time-keeping is a universal property of life on earth. Chronbiology research is now at the cutting edge of fields of enquiry ranging from microbial genetics to ethology to the treatment of human psychiatric illnesses. It is emerging as the most interdisciplinary of all biological disciplines and is the subject of countless papers in well-reputed science journals. The purpose of this book is not to compete with the speciality journals which provide the latest information in the field. The aim is to excite the curiosity of younger people and tempt them to enter the world of biological rhythm research and break new ground. The book is unconventional as it is a monograph containing the author’s long years of research on this fascinating subject. It contains case studies ranging from the tidal and circadian rhythms in the swimming activity of an intertidal crab, to how accurately humans living in social isolation for long periods can ‘tell time’.