The onset of increased melatonin secretion after the onset of darkness in sheep depends on the photoperiod.

In sheep, melatonin secretion occurs rapidly after the onset of darkness, but the interval fluctuates according to different authors. The aim of this study was to determine this interval in sheep subjected to a long or a short photoperiod. Blood samples were taken at the right jugular vein every 100 s for 1 hr after the onset of darkness. The experiment was repeated on three consecutive days either in long (LD 16:8) or in short photoperiod (LD 8:16) on the same animals. Melatonin secretion was found to begin within 11 min under long photoperiod and 20 min under short period. It can be concluded that the onset of melatonin secretion depends on the duration of the photoperiod.