Evidence for a circadian oscillation in the gonadal response of the tropical weaver bird (Ploceus philippinus) to programmed photoperiod.

Abstract

The effect of an asymmetrical skeleton photoperiod scheduleee was studied on the gonadal development in a tropical finch, the weaver bird (Ploceus philippinus). The schedul comprised a short nonstimulatory primary photoperiod of 6 hrs and a secondary much shorter lightperiod given as a 15-min light pulse at different times in the dark period. The light pulse 11 hrs after the basic period resulted in gonadal stimulation, while light pulse in contimuation with the basic period or 8, 14 or 21 hrs after the basicperiod was not stimulatory. The "photoinducible phase" was much more precisely outlined by shifting the birds from an 8-h to a 10-h pulse, and from an 11-h to 12-h pulse and was found to be very short, lasting about an hour falling between 11 and 12 hrs after the primary light period. The short photoinducible phase may be of an adaptive value since in the tropics the difference between the shortest and the longest daylength is also rather small (3 hrs and 15 min at Varanasi, 25degrees N). Clearly the weaver bird possesses a fine time-measuring device involving an endogenous circadian rhythm in photosensitivity. In nature, spermatogenesis in this bird also begins in March when the daylength exceeds 11 hrs (thus perhaps coinciding with the photoinducible phase). In rather small, photoperiod may not serve as a cue to trigger seasonal reproductive periodicity, it seems that photoperiod can act as a Zeitgeber for the initiation of spermatogenesis in the weaver bird at least.