Moonstruck : How Lunar Cycles Affect Life by Ernest Naylor read DOC, DJV, TXT
9780198724216 English 0198724217 Does the Moon influence behaviour? Is there some grain of truth behind the rich folklore about the light of the full Moon? In our artificially lit cities, we tend to forget how important moonlight can be. Werewolves are undoubtedly a fantasy, but, as the marine biologist Ernest Naylor explains, scientists are unearthing patterns of behaviour in a number of animals that are linked to the lunar cycle. Many respond indirectly through the tides; others adjust their behaviour in direct response to the amount of moonlight. These remarkable new insights highlight how life on Earth evolved to be exouisitely adapted to the physical influences of our Moon. Long considered an enigmatic area of research the scientific study of lunar biological clocks has come into its own. Naylor shows that there are real biological explanations behind some of those fishermen's traditions of when to set sail to bag the biggest catch. Book jacket., 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 marineanimals 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 livingfar 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 theformation of the Moon, animals evolved adaptations to the lunar cycle, and considers whether, if Moon-clock genes occur in other animals, might they also exist in us?
9780198724216 English 0198724217 Does the Moon influence behaviour? Is there some grain of truth behind the rich folklore about the light of the full Moon? In our artificially lit cities, we tend to forget how important moonlight can be. Werewolves are undoubtedly a fantasy, but, as the marine biologist Ernest Naylor explains, scientists are unearthing patterns of behaviour in a number of animals that are linked to the lunar cycle. Many respond indirectly through the tides; others adjust their behaviour in direct response to the amount of moonlight. These remarkable new insights highlight how life on Earth evolved to be exouisitely adapted to the physical influences of our Moon. Long considered an enigmatic area of research the scientific study of lunar biological clocks has come into its own. Naylor shows that there are real biological explanations behind some of those fishermen's traditions of when to set sail to bag the biggest catch. Book jacket., 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 marineanimals 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 livingfar 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 theformation of the Moon, animals evolved adaptations to the lunar cycle, and considers whether, if Moon-clock genes occur in other animals, might they also exist in us?