High resolution, week-long, locomotion time series from Japanese quail in a home-box environment

FLESIA, A.G.; KEMBRO, J.M.; GUZMAN, D. A.; AON, M.A.; PELLEGRINI, S.; MARIN R.H.

Scientific Data

Springer Nature

Año: 2016 vol. 3

Living systems exhibit non-randomly organized biochemical, physiological, and behavioral processes that follow distinctive patterns. In particular, animal behavior displays both fractal dynamics and periodic rhythms yet the relationship between these two dynamic regimens remain unexplored. Herein we studied locomotor time series of visually isolated Japanese quails sampled every 0.5s during 6.5 days (>106 data points). These high-resolution, week-long, time series allow simultaneous evaluation of ultradian rhythms as well as fractal organization. Irrespective of visual isolation, all animals exhibited synchronization in ultradian rhythms. Time series analyses showed that all birds exhibit the same circadian and ultradian behavioral rhythms (12, 8, 6, 4.8, 4h and lower), and similar overall fractal dynamics (for scales 30s to >4.4h) in the form of a self-similar branching pattern. A synthetic time series constructed from the addition of circadian and ultradian oscillations to a temporal fractal showed similar long-range correlations and similar branching pattern in the wavelet analysis. This is the first demonstration that avian behavior presents fractal organization that predominates at shorter time scales and coexists with synchronized ultradian rhythms. This chronobiological pattern is advantageous for keeping the organisms endogenous rhythms in phase with internal and environmental periodicities, notably the feeding, light-dark and sleep-wake cycles.