Throughout history, the influence of the full Moon on humans and animals has featured in folklore and myths. Yet it has become increasingly apparent that many organisms really are influenced indirectly, and in some cases directly, by the lunar cycle. Breeding behaviour among some marine animals has been demonstrated to be controlled by internal circalunar biological clocks, to the point where lunar-daily and lunar-monthly patterns of Moon-generated tides are embedded in their genes. Yet, intriguingly, Moon-related behaviours are also found in dry land and fresh water species living far beyond the influence of any tides. In Moonstruck, Ernest Naylor dismisses the myths concerning the influence of the Moon, but shows through a range of fascinating examples the remarkable real effects that we are now finding through science. He suggests that since the advent of evolution on Earth, which occurred shortly after the formation of the Moon, animals evolved adaptations to the lunar cycle, and considers whether, if Moon-clock genes occur in other animals, they also might exist in us?

Moonstruck: How lunar cycles affect life

Science & Math

Naylor, Ernest

Biological Sciences

Oxford University Press

Do intertidal organisms simply respond to the rise and fall of tides, or do they possess biological timing and navigation mechanisms that allow them to anticipate when conditions are most favourable? How are the patterns of growth, development and reproduction of some marine plants and animals related to changes in day-length or to phases of the moon? The author describes how marine organisms, from single cells to vertebrates, on sea shores, in estuaries and in the open ocean, have evolved inbuilt biological clockwork and synchronisation mechanisms which control rhythmic processes and navigational behaviour, permitting successful exploitation of highly variable and often hostile environments. Adopting a hypothesis-testing and experimental approach, the book is intended for undergraduate and postgraduate students of marine biology, marine ecology, animal behaviour, oceanography and other biological sciences and also as an introduction for researchers, including physiologists, biochemists and molecular biologists entering the field of chronobiology.

Chronobiology of Marine Organisms

Cambridge University Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Naylor, Ernest. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Naylor, Ernest

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Naylor, Ernest. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Moonstruck: How lunar cycles affect life

Moonstruck: How lunar cycles affect life

Chronobiology of Marine Organisms