Seasonal and Daily Variations in Plasma Melatonin in the High-Arctic Svalbard Ptarmigan ( Lagopus mutus hyperboreus )

• Published in: Journal of Biological Rhythms
• Main Authors: Reierth, Eirik, Van’t Hof, Thomas J., Stokkan, Karl-Arne
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 1999
• Subjects: Physiology (medical); Physiology; Arctic; Midwinter; Svalbard; Lagopus mutus
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/074873099129000731; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/074873099129000731

This study presents the daily rhythm of melatonin secretion throughout one year in a bird from the northern hemisphere, the Svalbard ptarmigan ( Lagopus mutus hyperboreus), which lives naturally at 76-80°N. Eight Svalbard ptarmigan were caged outdoors at 70°N and blood sampled throughout one day eac...