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Three experimental protocols were employed to clarify whether the circadian system is involved in photoperiodic time-measurement in the blackheaded bunting, Emberiza melanocephala. In a single-pulse paradigm, one 8-h light pulse was delivered at different times to groups of birds across three days of constant darkness (DD). Photoperiodic induction, as measured by a rise in plasma luteinizing hormone (LH), showed clear circadian rhythmicity. The second experiment examined the LH responses in birds exposed to lighting cycles using a Nanda-Hamner type of protocol and confirmed full photostimulation under 6L:30D. The third experiment measured the time of the first photo-induced rise in LH in birds subjected to 30 h of continuous light following entrainment under short days (6L:18D). This experiment aimed to identify the position of the photoinducible phase (Φi). LH first rose at hour 18 following dawn indicating that Φi lies in the middle of the day. Plasma concentrations of melatonin were also measured under 6L:18D and 6L:30D light cycles as another physiological marker of the circadian system in buntings. The pattern of melatonin secretion under these LD cycles showed properties consistent with the driving oscillator being circadian in nature. It is concluded that the circadian pacemaker driving the photoinducible rhythm in blackheaded bunting is strongly self-sustaining and free-runs under constant conditions.

This study was undertaken to examine the effect of electrical stimulation of the hypothalamus at different times of day on luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion in male castrated quail on short days (8L:16D). The posterior hypothalamus was stimulated with square-wave pulses of 80 microA for 2 min through chronically-implanted platinum microelectrodes. Stimulation was carried out on each quail at 4 (treatment A), 10 (B), or 14 h (C) after dawn. Plasma LH levels were increased markedly within 2 min of ending the stimulation but reached basal levels again over the next 20 min or so. The absolute increase was significantly greater in treatment B (10 h after lights on) than at the other times tested. This is consistent with a rhythm in hypothalamic responsivity. The results are discussed in the context of the rhythm of photoinducibility which occurs early in the night and which is used by quail as a photoperiodic clock to regulate seasonal reproduction.

A technique has been developed for the investigation of the photopigment involved in the photoperiodic control of reproduction in Japanese quail,Coturnix coturnix. When these photoreceptors were exposed to white or monochromatic light a clear relationship was found between light intensity and the extent of photo-induced luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion. A spectroradiometric investigation of the passage of light through the skull and brain enabled us to illuminate the hypothalamic region with equal numbers of photons at a range of wavelengths. Action spectra were then conducted and showed a photopigment with a peak sensitivity at wavelengths near 500 nm. An excellent match was obtained when the standard absorption spectrum for a rhodopsin was fitted to the action spectrum, suggesting a rhodopsin maximally sensitive at 492 nm. The absolute sensitivity of the photoreceptors was calculated at a range of wavelengths: with light at 500 nm, 2.85×10−12 μE·cm−2·s−1 triggered the photoperiodic response. This level of sensitivity is matched only by the rhodopsin visual pigments.