Circadian rhythm and surface activity in soil-dwelling caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona)

Abstract

The degree to which burrowing, soil-dwelling caecilian amphibians spend time on the surface is little studied, and circadian rhythm has not been investigated in multiple species of this order or by manipulating light–dark cycles. We studied surface-activity rhythm of the Indian caecilians Ichthyophis cf. longicephalus and Uraeotyphlus cf. oxyurus (Ichthyophiidae) and Gegeneophis tejaswini (Grandisoniidae), under LD, DD and DL cycles. We examined daily surface activity and the role of light–dark cycles as a zeitgeber. All three species were strictly nocturnal and G. tejaswini displayed the least surface activity. Four out of thirteen individuals, two I. cf. longicephalus, one G. tejaswini and one U. cf. oxyurus, displayed a more or less distinct surface-activity rhythm in all three cycles, and for the nine other animals the activity patterns were not evident. An approximately 24 h free-run period was observed in the three species. When the light–dark cycle was inverted, surface activity in the three species shifted to the dark phase. The findings of this study suggest that caecilians have a weak circadian surface-activity rhythm, and that the absence of light can act as a prominent zeitgeber in these burrowing, limbless amphibians.