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Temperature Volume 7, 2020 - Issue 4
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Comprehensive Review

Circadian rhythmicity of body temperature and metabolism

Roberto RefinettiDepartment of Psychology, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USACorrespondence[email protected]
ORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2875-2389View further author information
ORCID Icon
Pages 321-362 | Received 06 Jan 2020, Accepted 12 Mar 2020, Published online: 17 Apr 2020

Figures & data

Table 1. Studies documenting the existence of daily rhythmicity of body temperature

Figure 1. Four-day segments of the records of body temperature of two white-tailed antelope squirrels (Ammospermophilus leucurus, 120 g average body mass) housed individually in the laboratory at 25°C. The data were collected and are plotted with 6-minute resolution. The white and black bars at the top indicate the light and dark phases of the prevailing light-dark cycle

Figure 1. Four-day segments of the records of body temperature of two white-tailed antelope squirrels (Ammospermophilus leucurus, 120 g average body mass) housed individually in the laboratory at 25°C. The data were collected and are plotted with 6-minute resolution. The white and black bars at the top indicate the light and dark phases of the prevailing light-dark cycle

Figure 2. One day segment of the records of body temperature of a white-tailed antelope squirrel housed individually in the laboratory at 25°C. The data were collected and are plotted with 6-minute resolution

Figure 2. One day segment of the records of body temperature of a white-tailed antelope squirrel housed individually in the laboratory at 25°C. The data were collected and are plotted with 6-minute resolution

Table 2. Parameters of the body temperature rhythm of 93 species of mammals and birds

Figure 3. Parameters of the body temperature rhythm as a function of body mass as determined for 86 mammalian species in 206 published studies. Top: daily range of oscillation of the body temperature rhythm. Bottom: mean level of the body temperature rhythm

Figure 3. Parameters of the body temperature rhythm as a function of body mass as determined for 86 mammalian species in 206 published studies. Top: daily range of oscillation of the body temperature rhythm. Bottom: mean level of the body temperature rhythm

Figure 4. Rectal temperature of a female bovine (Bos taurus) as measured on three time scales: month-to-month (evening measurements conducted monthly for two years), day-to-day (evening measurements conducted daily for 10 days), and hour-to-hour (measurements conducted every 3 hours over a single day). The abscissas of the three plots are marked in months, days, and hours, respectively

Figure 4. Rectal temperature of a female bovine (Bos taurus) as measured on three time scales: month-to-month (evening measurements conducted monthly for two years), day-to-day (evening measurements conducted daily for 10 days), and hour-to-hour (measurements conducted every 3 hours over a single day). The abscissas of the three plots are marked in months, days, and hours, respectively

Table 3. Studies documenting the existence of circadian (free-running) rhythmicity of body temperature

Table 4. Studies documenting the existence of daily rhythmicity of whole-organism metabolism

Figure 5. Mean level (upper plot) and range of oscillation (lower plot) of the daily rhythm of metabolism as a function of body mass in various mammalian species. The range of oscillation is expressed as a percentage of the daily mean (“Percent range”). The data were obtained from 17 published studies and converted to the common unit of W/kg

Figure 5. Mean level (upper plot) and range of oscillation (lower plot) of the daily rhythm of metabolism as a function of body mass in various mammalian species. The range of oscillation is expressed as a percentage of the daily mean (“Percent range”). The data were obtained from 17 published studies and converted to the common unit of W/kg

Figure 6. Mean body temperatures associated with different levels of locomotor activity during the dark phase (blue) and the light phase (yellow) of the light-dark cycle for four species. Error bars indicate SEM

Figure 6. Mean body temperatures associated with different levels of locomotor activity during the dark phase (blue) and the light phase (yellow) of the light-dark cycle for four species. Error bars indicate SEM

Figure 7. Daily rhythms of body temperature and selected ambient temperature of a degu (Octodon degus) housed in a temperature-gradient chamber. The white and black bars at the top indicate the light and dark phases of the prevailing light-dark cycle (14L:10D)

Figure 7. Daily rhythms of body temperature and selected ambient temperature of a degu (Octodon degus) housed in a temperature-gradient chamber. The white and black bars at the top indicate the light and dark phases of the prevailing light-dark cycle (14L:10D)

Figure 8. Records of body core temperature, metabolic heat production, and dry heat loss of a laboratory rat kept in constant darkness at an ambient temperature of 24°C for three consecutive days. The data were collected and are plotted with 6-minute resolution after smoothing by a 4 hour moving averages filter to eliminate high-frequency oscillations

Figure 8. Records of body core temperature, metabolic heat production, and dry heat loss of a laboratory rat kept in constant darkness at an ambient temperature of 24°C for three consecutive days. The data were collected and are plotted with 6-minute resolution after smoothing by a 4 hour moving averages filter to eliminate high-frequency oscillations

Figure 9. Diagram of the cellular mechanism of circadian regulation of metabolism in the mouse. From Peek and colleagues [Citation679]. Reprinted with permission from AAAS

Figure 9. Diagram of the cellular mechanism of circadian regulation of metabolism in the mouse. From Peek and colleagues [Citation679]. Reprinted with permission from AAAS

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