Behaviour of some external characteristics in Essex pigs

1944 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Olbrycht

1. The colour pattern in the Essex breed shows continuous variation in width and in shape of the belt, in size and number of the distal white points, in pigmentation of the skin and in the occurrence of all-black colour.2. The variation in ear shape extends from long, hanging ears to small, erect (prick) ears.3. ‘Rose back’ was observed in a small percentage of pure-bred Essex pigs.4. Observed results of crossing Wessex with Essex pigs, and the similarity in variation of colour of the two breeds, indicate that the factors upon which the colour depends are the same in Essex and in Wessex, and that there is no genetical difference in colour in these two breeds.

2008 ◽  
Vol 364 (1516) ◽  
pp. 519-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah M Rowland

Of the many visual characteristics of animals, countershading (darker pigmentation on those surfaces exposed to the most lighting) is one of the most common, and paradoxically one of the least well understood. Countershading has been hypothesized to reduce the detectability of prey to visually hunting predators, and while the function of a countershaded colour pattern was proposed over 100 years ago, the field has progressed slowly; convincing evidence for the protective effects of countershading has only recently emerged. Several mechanisms have been invoked for the concealing function of countershading and are discussed in this review, but the actual mechanisms by which countershading functions to reduce attacks by predators lack firm empirical testing. While there is some subjective evidence that countershaded animals match the background on which they rest, no quantitative measure of background matching has been published for countershaded animals; I now present the first such results. Most studies also fail to consider plausible alternative explanations for the colour pattern, such as protection from UV or abrasion, and thermoregulation. This paper examines the evidence to support each of these possible explanations for countershading and discusses the need for future empirical work.


2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otavio Augusto Vuolo Marques ◽  
Ronaldo Fernandes ◽  
Roberta Richard Pinto

Abstract The morphometry and diet of two sympatric species of Chironius (C. flavolineatus and C. quadricarinatus) from Brazilian Cerrado are described. The two snake species differ in external morphology, as Chironius flavolineatus was the largest species (body, tail and eyes) whereas C. quadricarinatus the heaviest. Each species also showed marked sexual size dimorphism. In terms of dietary ecology, both species feed exclusively on frogs with a heavy preference for hylids and may have tendency to eat small items, as noticed in other colubrine species. These two snake species showed a brownish colour pattern and exhibited no ontogenetic variation, suggesting that juveniles and adults use similar substrates. Chironius flavolineatus and C. quadricarinatus present a semi-arboreal habit, with active foraging behaviour, feeding in the ground most of time. Chironius flavolineatus uses higher vegetation for resting and, based on morphological results, seems to be more arboreal than C. quadricarinatus.


2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1757) ◽  
pp. 20122730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Kelley ◽  
John L. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Sami Merilaita
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Danika L. Bannasch ◽  
Christopher B. Kaelin ◽  
Anna Letko ◽  
Robert Loechel ◽  
Petra Hug ◽  
...  

AbstractDistinctive colour patterns in dogs are an integral component of canine diversity. Colour pattern differences are thought to have arisen from mutation and artificial selection during and after domestication from wolves but important gaps remain in understanding how these patterns evolved and are genetically controlled. In other mammals, variation at the ASIP gene controls both the temporal and spatial distribution of yellow and black pigments. Here, we identify independent regulatory modules for ventral and hair cycle ASIP expression, and we characterize their action and evolutionary origin. Structural variants define multiple alleles for each regulatory module and are combined in different ways to explain five distinctive dog colour patterns. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that the haplotype combination for one of these patterns is shared with Arctic white wolves and that its hair cycle-specific module probably originated from an extinct canid that diverged from grey wolves more than 2 million years ago. Natural selection for a lighter coat during the Pleistocene provided the genetic framework for widespread colour variation in dogs and wolves.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Puyu Cao ◽  
Rui Zhu

Parallel compressor theory (PCT) is commonly used to estimate effects of inlet distortion on compressor performance. As well as compressor, the actual inflow to pump is also nonuniform and unfavorable for performances. Nowadays, insufficient understanding of nonuniform inflow effects on pump performance restricts its development. Therefore, this paper applies PCT to predict external characteristics and evaluate internal flow instability of waterjet pump under nonuniform inflow. According to features of nonuniform inflow, the traditional PCT is modified and makes waterjet pump sub-divided into two circumferential tubes owning same performances but with different inlet velocity (representing nonuniform inflow). Above all, numerical simulation has been conducted to validated the applicability and accuracy of PCT in head prediction of waterjet pump under nonuniform inflow, since area-weighted sum of each tube head (i.e., theoretical pump head) is highly consistent with simulated result. Moreover, based on identifications of when and which tube occurs stall, PCT evaluates four stall behaviors of waterjet pump: partial deep stall, partial stall, pre-stall and full stall. Furthermore, different stall behavior generates different interactions between head variation of each tube, resulting in a multi-segment head curve under nonuniform inflow. The modified PCT with associated physical interpretations are expected to provide a sufficient understanding of nonuniform inflow effects on pump performances.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 886
Author(s):  
Cui Dai ◽  
Chao Guo ◽  
Yiping Chen ◽  
Liang Dong ◽  
Houlin Liu

The strong noise generated during the operation of the centrifugal pump harms the pump group and people. In order to decrease the noise of the centrifugal pump, a specific speed of 117.3 of the centrifugal pump is chosen as a research object. The bionic modification of centrifugal pump blades is carried out to explore the influence of different bionic structures on the noise reduction performance of centrifugal pumps. The internal flow field and internal sound field of bionic blades are studied by numerical calculation and test methods. The test is carried out on a closed pump test platform which includes external characteristics and a flow noise test system. The effects of two different bionic structures on the external characteristics, acoustic amplitude–frequency characteristics and flow field structure of a centrifugal pump, are analyzed. The results show that the pit structure has little influence on the external characteristic parameters, while the sawtooth structure has a relatively great influence. The noise reduction effect of the pit structure is aimed at the wide-band noise, while the sawtooth structure is aimed at the discrete noise of the blade-passing frequency (BPF) and its frequency doubling. The noise reduction ability of the sawtooth structure is not suitable for high-frequency bands.


Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4317 (2) ◽  
pp. 379
Author(s):  
MIGUEL VENCES ◽  
JÖRN KÖHLER ◽  
FRANK GLAW

We present molecular evidence for the presence of two species morphologically similar to Spinomantis bertini in Andohahela National Park, south-eastern Madagascar, differing by 5.5−6.3% pairwise DNA sequence divergences in the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. One of these was observed at higher elevations of ca. 1650 m above sea level, whereas the other was found at lower elevations of ca. 715 m a.s.l., close to the type locality of S. bertini (Isaka-Ivondro), and in one other location (Andreoky, ca. 1050 a.s.l.). We herein assign these low- to mid-elevation specimens to S. bertini based on their occurrence near the type locality and general agreement in colour pattern with the type specimen of Gephyromantis bertini Guibé, 1947. The high-elevation form is described as Spinomantis beckei sp. nov. based on its molecular divergence and reciprocal monophyly with respect to S. bertini, lower expression of greenish dorsal colour and less distinct frenal stripe. Based on a comparison of published call descriptions for S. bertini and our recordings of S. beckei, we hypothesize that S. bertini has a lower note repetition rate in advertisement calls. Molecular data suggest that the S. bertini species complex is more diverse than previously recognized, with at least two more candidate species identified: S. sp. Ca7 from Ranomafana National Park, and a newly identified candidate species S. sp. Ca12 from Pic d’Ivohibe Special Reserve. 


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