Moonstruck: How Lunar Cycles Affect Life

257 Pages·2015·2.39 MB·English

by  Ernest Naylor

MOONSTRUCK

HOW LUNAR CYCLES AFFECT LIFE
ERNEST NAYLOR
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CONTENTS
Preface ix
ListofFigures xvii
. Moon Myths and Legends 
. The Big Splash 
. The Moon, the Unicorn, and Tidal Memories 
. Aristotle’s Urchins and Dancing Worms 
. Strangers on the Shore 
. Moon-Related Biological Rhythms with
and without Tides 
. Moonlight Avoidance and Moon Counting 
. Homing by the Moon 
. The Moon and the Human Condition 
Glossary 
NotesandReferences 
Index 

PREFACE
‘Tell me Silent Moon, what are you doing in the sky, Silent
Moon?’ GiacomoLeopardi(–).
‘Beliefs...inaninfluenceoftheMoononlifeonEarth...areby
nomeansallmoonshine.’ H.MunroFox,.
As an introduction to possible effects of the Moon on living
organisms,nothingcouldhavebeenmoreeffectiveformethan
a memorable event that occurred during my undergraduate
days. At that time the Student Biological Society of the
University of Sheffield was fortunate enough to lure Professor
(later Sir) Alister Hardy, a distinguished marine biologist from
Oxford University,to deliver an invited lecture.Fullyexpecting
alectureonhisresearch concerningoceanplankton,theCom-
mitteedelegatedtome,asanaspiringmarinebiologist,thetask
ofdeliveringthevoteofthankstothespeakerafterhistalk.Duly
flattered, but apprehensive, a short refresher course on Hardy’s
pioneering studies of instrumentation for collecting ocean
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