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Light intensity and sexual maturity
Author(s) -
Williams B. J.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330300119
Subject(s) - sexual maturity , biology , photic zone , latitude , estrous cycle , endocrinology , darkness , melatonin , medicine , zoology , ecology , geography , botany , nutrient , phytoplankton , geodesy
There are confirmable clines, by latitude, of melanin concentration in pigmentation for man as well as other mammals and birds. This has been suggested to be, in man, a result of the importance of vitamin D synthesis which can be inhibited by darker skins in higher latitudes. Experiments on mice suggest that another mechanism may be operative; greater photic stimulation of the pineal lowers the age at first estrus and may confer a reproductive advantage in this way.