Dear MARMAM Community As one of the research topic editors, I would like to announce our research topic entitled "TheInfluence of Lunar Phases on Activity Patterns of Mammals", which is presently accepting manuscripts focusing on all groups of mammals, including marine mammals. Background This Research Topic aims to delve into the intricate relationshipbetween lunar phases and the biological and behavioral changes in mammals.Several species are known to modify their activities based on the cyclicalchanges in the moonlight's intensity, but comprehensive understanding of thisphenomenon remains limited. The Topic will focus on examining activity patterns of a variety ofmammalian species, spanning different habitats and ecological niches. Thenocturnal and crepuscular species, for whom moonlight can significantly impactthe visibility, will be our central focus. We intend to explore the changes intheir sleep patterns, feeding behavior, social interactions, and other movementactivities in response to the lunar cycle. Species activity levels and timing of these activities can respondto moonlight (either positively or negatively), which is interesting butstraightforward. Light intensity is dependent on the lunar phase but will alsobe affected by the habitat/vegetation cover, the seasonal light regimeespecially in northern/southern latitudes, and by the weather conditions/clouding. Anexciting question to ask in this Topic, is whether or not there is also aneffect of the lunar phase irrespective of light intensity - we will investigateif these changes are mere responses to the variation in light conditions or ifthere exists a deeper biological clock aligned with the lunar cycle, as seen insome marine species. Implications of these behaviors on predator-prey dynamics,reproductive habits, and species survival strategies will also be assessed,providing a broad understanding of the topic. This Research Topic holds potential to augmentthe existing literature on wildlife biology, behavior ecology, and conservationplanning by integrating lunar influences into the equation of understandingwildlife behavior patterns. Deadline and author guidelines The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 30 June 2026, and all accepted manuscripts will receive a 25% discount on APC for submitting to this research topic. Accepted manuscripts will be published in one of these Frontiers' journals, Frontiersin Mammal Science or Frontiersin Ecology and Evolution, depending on authors' preference. More information on this research topic, including author guidelines and acceptable article types, can be found at https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/66266/the-influence-of-lunar-pha... Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or ideas for a manuscript(s). Best,Fannie _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Fannie W. Shabangu, PhD (He/Him) Marine BiologistDepartment of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Cape Town, South Africa E-mail address: fannie.shabangu@yahoo.com Mobile: +27 74 220 0210 Research Fellow Mammal Research InstituteWhale Unit University of PretoriaHatfield, South Africa