Disrupted seasonal biology impacts health, food security and ecosystems

T J Stevenson; M E Visser; W Arnold; P Barrett; S Biello; A Dawson; D L Denlinger; D Dominoni; F J Ebling; S Elton; N Evans; H M Ferguson; R G Foster; M Hau; D T Haydon; D G Hazlerigg; P Heideman; J G C Hopcraft; N N Jonsson; N Kronfeld-Schor; V Kumar; G A Lincoln; R MacLeod; S A M Martin; M Martinez-Bakker; R J Nelson; T Reed; J E Robinson; D Rock; W J Schwartz; I Steffan-Dewenter; E Tauber; S J Thackeray; C Umstatter; T Yoshimura; B Helm

doi:10.1098/rspb.2015.1453

Disrupted seasonal biology impacts health, food security and ecosystems

Proc Biol Sci. 2015 Oct 22;282(1817):20151453. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2015.1453.

Authors

T J Stevenson¹, M E Visser², W Arnold³, P Barrett⁴, S Biello⁵, A Dawson⁶, D L Denlinger⁷, D Dominoni⁸, F J Ebling⁹, S Elton¹⁰, N Evans⁸, H M Ferguson⁸, R G Foster¹¹, M Hau¹², D T Haydon⁸, D G Hazlerigg¹³, P Heideman¹⁴, J G C Hopcraft⁸, N N Jonsson⁸, N Kronfeld-Schor¹⁵, V Kumar¹⁶, G A Lincoln¹⁷, R MacLeod⁸, S A M Martin², M Martinez-Bakker¹⁸, R J Nelson¹⁹, T Reed²⁰, J E Robinson⁸, D Rock²¹, W J Schwartz²², I Steffan-Dewenter²³, E Tauber²⁴, S J Thackeray⁸, C Umstatter²⁵, T Yoshimura²⁶, B Helm⁸

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK tyler.stevenson@abdn.ac.uk.
² Department of Animal Ecology, Nederlands Instituut voor Ecologie, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
³ Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
⁴ Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
⁵ School of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
⁶ Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Penicuik, Midlothian, UK.
⁷ Department of Entomology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
⁸ Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
⁹ School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
¹⁰ Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Durham, UK.
¹¹ Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹² Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany.
¹³ Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, University of Tromso, Tromso, Norway.
¹⁴ Department of Biology, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
¹⁶ Department of Zoology, University of Delhi, Delhi, India.
¹⁷ School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
¹⁸ Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
²⁰ Aquaculture and Fisheries Development Centre, University of College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
²¹ School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
²² Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
²³ Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany.
²⁴ Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
²⁵ Agroscope, Tanikon, CH-8356 Ettenhausen, Switzerland.
²⁶ Department of Applied Molecular Biosciences, University of Nagoya, Nagoya, Japan.

Abstract

The rhythm of life on earth is shaped by seasonal changes in the environment. Plants and animals show profound annual cycles in physiology, health, morphology, behaviour and demography in response to environmental cues. Seasonal biology impacts ecosystems and agriculture, with consequences for humans and biodiversity. Human populations show robust annual rhythms in health and well-being, and the birth month can have lasting effects that persist throughout life. This review emphasizes the need for a better understanding of seasonal biology against the backdrop of its rapidly progressing disruption through climate change, human lifestyles and other anthropogenic impact. Climate change is modifying annual rhythms to which numerous organisms have adapted, with potential consequences for industries relating to health, ecosystems and food security. Disconcertingly, human lifestyles under artificial conditions of eternal summer provide the most extreme example for disconnect from natural seasons, making humans vulnerable to increased morbidity and mortality. In this review, we introduce scenarios of seasonal disruption, highlight key aspects of seasonal biology and summarize from biomedical, anthropological, veterinary, agricultural and environmental perspectives the recent evidence for seasonal desynchronization between environmental factors and internal rhythms. Because annual rhythms are pervasive across biological systems, they provide a common framework for trans-disciplinary research.

Keywords: annual; biological rhythm; circannual; desynchrony; fitness; one-health.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Agriculture
Animals
Biodiversity
Climate Change
Ecosystem*
Food Supply*
Humans
Periodicity*
Plants
Seasons*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

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