Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

What is an Ecosystem?01:17

What is an Ecosystem?

39.7K
Overview
39.7K
Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses02:45

Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses

34.7K
The circadian—or biological—clock is an intrinsic, timekeeping, molecular mechanism that allows plants to coordinate physiological activities over 24-hour cycles called circadian rhythms. Photoperiodism is a collective term for the biological responses of plants to variations in the relative lengths of dark and light periods. The period of light-exposure is called the photoperiod.
34.7K
Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation02:19

Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation

4.1K
The biological clock is involved in many aspects of regulating complex physiology in all animals. It was in 1935 when German zoologists, Hans Kalmus and Erwin Bünning, discovered the existence of circadian rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster. However, the internal molecular mechanisms behind the circadian clock remained a mystery until 1984, when Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young discovered the expression of the Per gene oscillating over a 24-hour cycle. In subsequent...
4.1K
What are Biogeochemical Cycles?00:54

What are Biogeochemical Cycles?

32.5K
The most common elements in organic molecules, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus, are only available in the ecosystem in limited amounts. Therefore, these nutrients must be recycled through both biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem, in processes generally called biogeochemical cycles.
32.5K
The Soil Ecosystem02:23

The Soil Ecosystem

20.4K
Plants obtain inorganic minerals and water from the soil, which acts as a natural medium for land plants. The composition and quality of soil depend not only on the chemical constituents but also on the presence of living organisms. In general, soils contain three major components:
20.4K
Ecological Disturbance02:26

Ecological Disturbance

17.1K
An ecological disturbance is a temporary disruption in the environment resulting from abiotic, biotic, or anthropogenic factors, causing a pronounced change in an ecosystem. The impact of an ecological disturbance, which can depend on its intensity, frequency, and spatial distribution, plays a significant role in shaping the species diversity within the ecosystem.
17.1K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Breaking the intergenerational cycle of extinction of experience: Actions needed and pathways forward.

Cambridge prisms. Extinction·2026
Same author

Three decades of classifying threatened species: lessons learned from and about the IUCN Red List criteria for quantifying extinction risk.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same author

BehaveAI enables rapid detection and classification of objects and behavior from motion.

PLoS biology·2026
Same author

Mitigating the environmental and ecological impacts of evolving city-scale streetlighting installations.

Journal of the Royal Society, Interface·2026
Same author

Severe and widespread reductions in night-time activity of nocturnal moths under modern artificial lighting spectra.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same author

An ecology fit for a crisis.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 16, 2025

Parallel Measurement of Circadian Clock Gene Expression and Hormone Secretion in Human Primary Cell Cultures
06:53

Parallel Measurement of Circadian Clock Gene Expression and Hormone Secretion in Human Primary Cell Cultures

Published on: November 11, 2016

8.4K

Ecosystem functioning across the diel cycle in the Anthropocene.

Daniel T C Cox1, Kevin J Gaston1

  • 1Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK.

Trends in Ecology & Evolution
|September 18, 2023
PubMed
Summary

Ecosystem functions vary between day and night, but research challenges limit understanding. Anthropogenic pressures, like artificial lighting at night, disrupt these diel cycles and impact ecosystem processes.

Keywords:
activity patternscathemeraldiurnalnocturnaltime partitioning

More Related Videos

Human Circadian Phenotyping and Diurnal Performance Testing in the Real World
10:16

Human Circadian Phenotyping and Diurnal Performance Testing in the Real World

Published on: April 7, 2020

8.5K
A Strain Gauge Monitor SGM for Continuous Valve Gape Measurements in Bivalve Molluscs in Response to Laboratory Induced Diel-cycling Hypoxia and pH
07:59

A Strain Gauge Monitor SGM for Continuous Valve Gape Measurements in Bivalve Molluscs in Response to Laboratory Induced Diel-cycling Hypoxia and pH

Published on: August 1, 2018

9.0K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 16, 2025

Parallel Measurement of Circadian Clock Gene Expression and Hormone Secretion in Human Primary Cell Cultures
06:53

Parallel Measurement of Circadian Clock Gene Expression and Hormone Secretion in Human Primary Cell Cultures

Published on: November 11, 2016

8.4K
Human Circadian Phenotyping and Diurnal Performance Testing in the Real World
10:16

Human Circadian Phenotyping and Diurnal Performance Testing in the Real World

Published on: April 7, 2020

8.5K
A Strain Gauge Monitor SGM for Continuous Valve Gape Measurements in Bivalve Molluscs in Response to Laboratory Induced Diel-cycling Hypoxia and pH
07:59

A Strain Gauge Monitor SGM for Continuous Valve Gape Measurements in Bivalve Molluscs in Response to Laboratory Induced Diel-cycling Hypoxia and pH

Published on: August 1, 2018

9.0K

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Environmental Science
  • Ecosystem Dynamics

Background:

  • Ecosystem functioning differs significantly between daytime and nighttime due to environmental and biological variations.
  • Research on nocturnal ecosystem processes is limited by the inherent challenges of nighttime fieldwork.
  • Anthropogenic pressures often exhibit diel asymmetry, exerting greater influence during specific day or nighttime periods.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the current understanding of diel (daily) variations in key ecosystem functions.
  • To identify the primary diel periods for specific ecosystem functions like herbivory, pollination, and carbon assimilation.
  • To investigate the impact of diel asymmetry in anthropogenic pressures on ecosystem functions.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on diel variations in ecosystem functioning.
  • Analysis of the temporal occurrence of key ecological processes (predation, herbivory, pollination, seed dispersal, carbon assimilation).
  • Assessment of how anthropogenic pressures, varying across the diel cycle, affect these functions.

Main Results:

  • Herbivory and carbon assimilation predominantly occur during nighttime and daytime, respectively.
  • Pollination is primarily a daytime activity.
  • Predation and seed dispersal exhibit unclear diel patterns, requiring further investigation.
  • Diel asymmetry in anthropogenic pressures, such as artificial lighting and differential warming, impacts ecosystem functions.

Conclusions:

  • Diel variations are crucial for understanding ecosystem functioning, with distinct processes dominating day and night.
  • Anthropogenic pressures, particularly those with diel asymmetry, pose significant threats to ecosystem health by disrupting natural cycles.
  • Further research is needed to fully elucidate the diel patterns of certain functions and the complex interactions with human impacts.