Effects of temperature on the circadian rhythm of pig-tailed macaques Macaca nemestrina.

Activity rhythms of pig-tailed macaques, Macaca nemestrina, were recorded under three different conditions: 1) constant illumination (LL) and constant ambient temperature; 2) light-dark (LD) cycles with 12 h of bright light and 12 h of dim light (LD 12:12) at constant ambient temperature; 3) cycles with 12 h of high (32 degrees C) and 12 h of low temperature (17 degrees C) in LL. In constant conditions the period of the free-running rhythm was positively correlated with light intensity. Ambient temperature had no systematic effect on the period in LL of 0.45 and 45 lx; when measured in 100 or 450 lx, the period was consistently longer at 32 than at 17 degrees C. Temperature cycles with a range of 15 degrees C resulted in entrainment in three adult animals, but not at all tests; two adults and a couple of young animals were never entrained. Entrainment by temperature was less accurate than that by LD. The results demonstrate that a temperature cycle can entrain the circadian activity rhythm of an homeothermic mammalian species but that it is a very weak zeitgeber compared with LD cycle.