Data from: The bear circadian clock doesn't 'sleep' during winter dormancy ...

Background: Most biological functions are synchronized to the environmental light:dark cycle via a circadian timekeeping system. Bears exhibit shallow torpor combined with metabolic suppression during winter dormancy. We sought to confirm that free-running circadian rhythms of body temperature (Tb)...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jansen, Heiko T.
Format: Dataset
Language:English
Published: Dryad 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.mg430
https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.mg430
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Summary:Background: Most biological functions are synchronized to the environmental light:dark cycle via a circadian timekeeping system. Bears exhibit shallow torpor combined with metabolic suppression during winter dormancy. We sought to confirm that free-running circadian rhythms of body temperature (Tb) and activity were expressed in torpid grizzly (brown) bears and that they were functionally responsive to environmental light. We also measured activity and ambient light exposures in denning wild bears to determine if rhythms were evident and what the photic conditions of their natural dens were. Lastly, we used cultured skin fibroblasts obtained from captive torpid bears to assess molecular clock operation in peripheral tissues. Circadian parameters were estimated using robust wavelet transforms and maximum entropy spectral analyses. Results: Captive grizzly bears housed in constant darkness during winter dormancy expressed circadian rhythms of activity and Tb. The rhythm period of juvenile bears was ... : FronZool2016_FINZ-D-16-00043R2xlsx and csv files containing bear actigraphy and light data (lux) to accompany manuscript. Also included are body temperature data. ...