Abstract
A plethora of convincing evidence exists to support the view that temporal organization is a characteristic and genetically prescribed dimension of biological organization (Pittendrigh, 1961, 1954, 1958; Hastings, 1970; and for a review see Bünning, 1964). Temporal organization in the biome, therefore, does not stem from cyclic environmental phenomena but, to the contrary, has its genesis within the biological entity. This is not to say that the time structure is immutable by environmental factors. Environmental changes such as those in light and temperature can and do serve as signals to which the biological clocks are cued. If, as the evidence indicates, the time structure of organisms is genetically determined, it is reasonable to view it as a functional dimension of biological organization in which order is developed and in which order must be maintained by means of periodic re-establishment. It is, therefore, a dimension of biological organization in which disorder may also develop with functional consequences deleterious and, under certain circumstances, disasterous to the organism.
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Samis, H.V. (1978). Introduction. In: Samis, H.V., Capobianco, S. (eds) Aging and Biological Rhythms. Advances in experimental medicine and biology, vol 108. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4460-6_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4460-6_1
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