Alagaili, Abdulaziz N.Mohammed, Osama B.Bennett, Nigel CharlesOosthuizen, Maria Kathleen2014-04-012014-04-012014-03Alagaili, AN, Mohammed, OB, Bennett, NC & Oosthuizen, MK 2014, 'Down in the wadi : the locomotory activity rhythm of the Arabian spiny mouse, Acomys dimidiatus from the Arabian Peninsula', Journal of Arid Environments, vol. 102, pp. 50-57.0140-1963 (print)1095-922X (online)10.1016/j.jaridenv.2013.11.007http://hdl.handle.net/2263/37337The circadian rhythm of locomotory activity in the Arabian spiny mouse, a desert living species, was investigated under controlled laboratory conditions. Ten individuals were subjected to successive light cycles. When subjected to a 12L:12D light cycle, locomotor activity was confined mainly to the dark phase (mean 94.2% 1.6%). During a period of constant darkness (DD), all animals expressed free running rhythms of locomotor activity (mean 23h49 0h04). Following a second LD cycle, the light and dark phases were inversed (12D:12L). Activity shifted with the lights and was masked during the light phase, re-entrainment was rather slow (up to 10 days). The effect of varying ambient temperature (20 e35 C) on the locomotor activity under a 12L:12D cycle revealed that temperature had no distinct effect on the level of locomotor activity. When the dark component of the day was lengthened to 8L:16D, the mean percentage of activity during the dark increased to 96.0 0.8%, while a significant decrease in night time activity was observed when the dark phase length was decreased to 16L:8D (78.29 2.52%). The Arabian spiny mouse therefore behaves as other desert dwelling rodents and can be described as truly nocturnal.en© 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Notice : this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Journal of Arid Environments. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Journal of Arid Environments, vol. 102, pp. 50-57, 2014. doi : 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2013.11.007AcomysCircadian rhythmLightedark cycleLocomotor activitySaudi ArabiaSpiny mousePostprint Article