In this project, we test our lab’s central hypothesis using two complementary species, the night-active laboratory mouse and the day-active African striped mouse. Critically, SCN rhythms peak at the same time of day in each species, suggesting that temporal niche preference is organized downstream from the SCN. We propose that SCN signals must be differentially encoded by neurons in the dorsomedial hypothalamus that subsequently generate appropriately-timed, species-specific behavioral rhythms.