Daily rhythms of physiological parameters in the dromedary camel under natural and laboratory conditions

•We studied the daily rhythmicity of 20 physiological variables in camels.•We compared the effects of natural desert conditions with controlled conditions.•Different physiological variables exhibited different degrees of daily rhythmicity.•Different physiological variables also peaked at different times of the day.•The rhythm of body temperature persisted in the absence of environmental rhythmicity.

Camels are well adapted to hot arid environments and can contribute significantly to the economy of developing countries in arid regions of the world. Full understanding of the physiology of camels requires understanding of the internal temporal order of the body, as reflected in daily or circadian rhythms. In the current study, we investigated the daily rhythmicity of 20 physiological variables in camels exposed to natural oscillations of ambient temperature in a desert environment and compared the daily temporal courses of the variables. We also studied the rhythm of core body temperature under experimental conditions with constant ambient temperature in the presence and absence of a light-dark cycle. The obtained results indicated that different physiological variables exhibit different degrees of daily rhythmicity and reach their daily peaks at different times of the day, starting with plasma cholesterol, which peaks 24 min after midnight, and ending with plasma calcium, which peaks 3 h before midnight. Furthermore, the rhythm of core body temperature persisted in the absence of environmental rhythmicity, thus confirming its endogenous nature. The observed delay in the acrophase of core body temperature rhythm under constant conditions suggests that the circadian period is longer than 24 h. Further studies with more refined experimental manipulation of different variables are needed to fully elucidate the causal network of circadian rhythms in dromedary camels.