Synchronization of circadian bioluminescence as a group-foraging strategy in cave glowworms

Flies of the genus Arachnocampa are sit-and-lure predators that use bioluminescence to attract flying prey to their silk webs. Some species are most common in rainforest habitat and others inhabit both caves and rainforest. We have studied the circadian regulation of bioluminescence in two species: one found in subtropical rainforest with no known cave populations and the other found in temperate rainforest with large populations in limestone caves. The rainforest species is typical of most nocturnal animals in that individuals are entrained by the light:dark (LD) cycle to be active at night; in this case, their propensity to bioluminesce is greatest at night. The dual-habitat species shows an opposite phase response to the same entrainment; its bioluminescence propensity rhythm is entrained by LD exposure to peak during the day. Nevertheless, in LD environments, individuals do not bioluminesce during the day because ambient light inhibits their bioluminescence (negative masking), pushing bioluminescence into the dark period. This unusual and unexpected phenomenon could be related to their association with caves and has been suggested to be an adaptation of the circadian system that promotes synchronization of a colony's output of bioluminescence. Here, we use controlled laboratory experiments to show that individuals do synchronize their bioluminescence rhythms when in visual contact with each other. Entrainment of the bioluminescence rhythm to the biological photophase causes colony-wide synchronization, creating a daily sinusoidal rhythm of the intensity of bioluminescence in the many thousands of individuals making up a colony. This synchronization could provide a group-foraging advantage, allowing the colony to glow most brightly when the prey are most likely to be active.