What marine midges can tell us about clocks and calendars

The non-biting marine midge Clunio marinus lives along Europe's tide-shapen coasts, where precise timing is of existential importance: Reproduction and oviposition must occur when the tide is at its lowest. The tides, and therefore also low tide, are influenced by both the sun and the moon. To foresee the ideal time of reproduction, Clunio has two internal clocks: a circadian (daily) clock, comparable to a watch, set by the sun, and a circalunar (monthly) clock, comparable to a calendar, set by the moon.

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