MOONSTRUCK HOW LUNAR CYCLES AFFECT LIFE ERNEST NAYLOR 1 3 GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford,OXDP, UnitedKingdom OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford. ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship, andeducationbypublishingworldwide.Oxfordisaregisteredtrademarkof OxfordUniversityPressintheUKandincertainothercountries #ErnestNaylor Themoralrightsoftheauthorhavebeenasserted FirstEditionpublishedin Impression: Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedin aretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,withoutthe priorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress,orasexpresslypermitted bylaw,bylicenceorundertermsagreedwiththeappropriatereprographics rightsorganization.Enquiriesconcerningreproductionoutsidethescopeofthe aboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment,OxfordUniversityPress,atthe addressabove Youmustnotcirculatethisworkinanyotherform andyoumustimposethissameconditiononanyacquirer PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyOxfordUniversityPress MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY,UnitedStatesofAmerica BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Dataavailable LibraryofCongressControlNumber: ISBN –––– PrintedinGreatBritainby ClaysLtd,StIvesplc LinkstothirdpartywebsitesareprovidedbyOxfordingoodfaithand forinformationonly.Oxforddisclaimsanyresponsibilityforthematerials containedinanythirdpartywebsitereferencedinthiswork. ForElizabethandHelen 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 ix