Clock-Controlled Orientation in Space

Abstract

One of the most obvious expressions of rhythmicity in animal behavior is the periodic change in amount of locomotor activity. Locomotion, however, as a vectorial quantity, consists not only of amount (i.e., frequency of movements and velocity) but also of direction, and inevitably, it changes the relationship between the animal and its spatial environment. Thus, in some cases in which the amount of movement, and in all cases in which the direction of movement, is influenced by the periodically changing inner state of an organism, the underlying rhythm directly affects the animal's orientation in space. It will be shown here that influences of this kind exist and that they are of remarkable adaptive significance.