[quote=johnsd16
Remeber light trasducting in vision is pigement facilitated also, not just photosynthesis. [/quote]
Here in lies a major part of the problem...selective "reading". You can make a legitimate argument that vision involves pigment facilitated energy transduction but you CANNOT make the further argument that bonds are formed...synaptic events are fundamentally electrical...light stimulation of the retina causes a "burst" of electrical activity (electron flow) to the brain conducted via neurons. This is so far removed from carbon fixation that it isn't funny.
The triggering event (environmental signal) for "priming" is the lack of photo stimulation of the retina. If you have an alternate mechanism to explain how gene expression relative to seasonal change occurs, now is the time for you to bring it forth. You see this IS how science progresses; evidence for a hypothesis has been presented; IT stands until new or other evidence disproves the interpretation. The ball is in your court.
You need to tell us what "sense" receives which environmental signal; taste / smell, touch, sound, site or something new possibly gravitational pull or changes in the magnetic field.
Since there is a direct and obvious link between the amount of solar energy striking any particular region of the globe and ambient temperature and since photoperiod change is both continual and gradual, it has been hypothesized that by monitoring light, individuals can effectively forecast and thereby adapt, in an efficient way, to specific changes in their environment. They grow a coat in advance of winter, shed their coat as the warmer spring approaches and grow a lighter coat for summer...as the days get shorter (gradually cooler) and get longer (gradually warmer). Some critters even change coat colors on a seasonal basis. The same goes for reproductive cycles, torpor and migration to list only a few; it’s all about light as the signal and adaptations that optimize behaviors relative energy conservation! These hypotheses have been well studied with the concomitant accumulation of mountains of supporting data; some of which have been reported in this thread, albeit with varying degrees of diminished factual accuracy and copious applications of mythology.
Now then, if you wish to continue with your denial of photoperiod and animal behavior, science demands that you come forth with a different hypothesis and supportive data.