Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Zeitgeber
Gesundheit! Wait a minute, that’s a different word and meaning......
A Zeitgeber is an environmental event, agent, or interaction that triggers a set/reset of an organism’s biological clock. Examples would be sunrise or sunset, creating a different, fundamental environmental context. So, typically these are fundamental “cues” to changing one’s level of activity....whether that be sleeping or hunting, for instance.
We’re talking external factors in biorhythms here. Literally, the word means “time giver”.
This compares to “circadium rhythm” with is a repeated, internal biological “clock” or sense of time, built around patterns. That's why our body is confused when we go on long airplane rides around the world, like I have done for much of my life. Some people say I am perpetually confused.....
For me, being on or near the water so much of the time, nothing quite beats the zeitgeber of a sunrise or sunset! Come walk a beach with me to see if you agree!
Tension Zone
Well, that sounds like it could be a lot of things...political, family relations, or that pain you have getting off a bicycle! ;o)
So, what is a Tension Zone? Of nature/environmental concerns, it is the area where two zones or layers in climate or water contexts are meeting. For instance, from the common temperature zones (many of us think of them as planting zones or “floristic zones”), where those areas are meeting to approximate such realities in the environment.
Here in Michigan, the temperature zones change north of Grand Rapids is roughly horizontally across the state....to the south is one zone and to the north is another zone. I suppose this adds to the meaning or definition of “Up North” in a way. The lake effect along the great lakes shore line is also a key influencer.
This creates an environment that is somewhat of a hybrid area for nature to compete and exist in. It may form a unique area where plants, trees, insects, etc. merge and overlap in a space that is found to be marginally habitable. This brings together new arrays of competition, perhaps cross-breeding, and other variations.
Lakes too can have tension zones. Most folks are aware that the temperature is stratified in layers, especially in deep water like Sea Michigan. Where those layers meet, so too can be a unique mix of fish, plankton, plants, and other organisms...who find the tension zone marginally “OK”, one way or the other. And again, potentially overlapping. It depends on if one is cold seeking, or warmth seeking.
The weather and water temperatures are of course, always moving, always in motion. Yet, there are somewhat standard places for such zones, depending on the time of the year. With climate change, it is clear that the tension zones are also moving...warming northward in the case of on land, and also south (down) in the deep waters. Much of this is not due to nature, but instead due to “man-unkind”, with direct correlations of human impact on the environment. Among the concerns is that invasive species that like it warm, are heading north to where they have not, or rarely, existed. How do cold zone plants, animals, fish, etc. adapt as it warms? How will the biodiversity evolve? We as learners and protectors of the environment must stay engaged.