Zeitgebers

Radio Clip: What's a Zeitgeber?

Er....what? A zeitgeber, pronounced (tsīt'gā"bur), is an an environmental cue like the length of daylight or the degree of temperature, that helps to regulate the cycles of an organism's biological clock. These cues can indicate a change in season and tells animals of all kinds, even people, to get ready for that change. Colder overnight or morning temperatures and decreasing sunlight are both cues to certain wildlife. During the fall the days get shorter this change in ”photo-period” tells birds to migrate. Similar clues tell bears to eat tons of food before the cold winter, and remind deer, elk and antelope that time has come to mate and grow their winter coats.