Circadian rhythms are often tightly confined around a mean of 24 hours with little variation in traditional model organisms in the absence of environmental time cues. Some spider species fall well outside this normal range with mean periods of 18 hours and variation around these means of 6 hours or more. This extreme variation in circadian rhythm is not well-understood and is the focus of the current study. Using Parasteatoda tepidariorum as a model organism, we investigated whether variation in eight circadian parameters could be explained by genetic variability, environmental conditions, or an endogenous feature of the circadian system of P. tepidariorum. No significant correlation was found between mother spiders and their offspring for all circadian parameters, nor was a significant difference found among groups exposed to different environmental conditions. We conclude that circadian variation seen in P. tepidariorum is likely a result of an innate circadian feature such as relaxed selection for a precise, 24-hour circadian rhythm.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:etd-5792 |
| Date | 01 August 2023 |
| Creators | Jones, Caitlin |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Copyright by the authors. |
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