short-term rhythms meaning

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danghuynh88

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Hi teacher !!!

Can you explain to me the meaning of short- term rhythms as in "short-term rhythms of time and their effect on flora and fauna", please

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Tarheel

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Since I have neither heard nor seen that term before, some context would be useful. Could you use it in a sentence?
 
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danghuynh88

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I think I wrote a sentence using it in my post already, "short-term rhythms of time and their effect on flora and fauna", or full sentence here

Chronobiology might sound a little futuristic – like something from a science fiction novel, perhaps – but it’s actually a field of study that concerns one of the oldest processes life on this planet has ever known: short-term rhythms of time and their effect on flora and fauna.
(IELTS exam)
 

Rover_KE

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As it appeared in an exam, we need to know what the question relating to that quote was.
 

danghuynh88

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Hi Rover

There is no question about it. The quote is a part of paragraphs in the reading passage called "Making time for Science". It seem to be academic so I couldn't figure out exactly its meaning.

"Chronobiology might sound a little futuristic – like something from a science fiction novel, perhaps – but it’s actually a field of study that concerns one of the oldest processes life on this planet has ever known: short-term rhythms of time and their effect on flora and fauna.

This can take many forms. Marine life, for example, is influenced by tidal patterns. Animals tend to be active or inactive depending on the position of the sun or moon. Numerous creatures, humans included, are largely diurnal – that is, they like to come out during the hours of sunlight. Nocturnal animals, such as bats and possums, prefer to forage by night. A third group are known as crepuscular: they thrive in the low-light of dawn and dusk and remain inactive at other hours..."
 

Rover_KE

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Right — so your question was answered in the second paragraph.

What more can we add?
 

Charlie Bernstein

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Yes. And it might also refer to tidal cycles, which are more complicated.
 

Tarheel

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Please note that a sentence must have a verb.
 
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