Uncertain breeding: a short history of reproduction in monotremes

Although much is known about the biology of monotremes, many important aspects of their reproduction remain unclear. Studies over the last century have provided valuable information on various aspects of monotreme reproduction including the structure and function of their reproductive system, breeding behaviour, sex determination and seasonality. All three living genera of monotremes have been successfully maintained in captivity, often for long periods, yet breeding has been rare and unpredictable. When breeding has occurred, however, significant gains in knowledge have ensued; for example a more accurate estimate of the gestation period of the platypus and the incubation period for the Tachyglossus egg. One of the great challenges for zoos has been to understand why breeding of monotremes is difficult to achieve. Analysis of breeding successes of platypuses and short-beaked echidnas provides some insights. The evidence suggests that although annual breeding seasons are regionally predictable, individual adult females breed unpredictably, with some showing breeding intervals of many years. The reason for this variation in individual breeding intervals may be resource-dependant, influenced by social factors or may even be genetically induced. Better knowledge of factors that influence breeding intervals may improve the success of monotreme captive breeding programmes. More certainty in captive breeding is also an important issue for enterprises wishing to trade in Australian wildlife since current legislation limits export of Australian fauna for display to at least second-generation captive-bred individuals. Given their unique evolutionary position, knowledge of reproduction in monotremes needs to be gained in advance of any future population declines so that appropriate strategies can be developed to ensure their survival.

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Effect of captivity on morphology: negligible changes in external morphology mask significant changes in internal morphology

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.172470 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (5) ◽

pp. 172470 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Stephanie K. Courtney Jones ◽

Adam J. Munn ◽

Phillip G. Byrne

Keyword(s):

Sexual Dimorphism ◽

Captive Breeding ◽

Morphological Changes ◽

External Morphology ◽

Wild Animals ◽

Internal Morphology ◽

In Captivity ◽

Two Generations ◽

Breeding Programmes ◽

Source Populations

Captive breeding programmes are increasingly relied upon for threatened species management. Changes in morphology can occur in captivity, often with unknown consequences for reintroductions. Few studies have examined the morphological changes that occur in captive animals compared with wild animals. Further, the effect of multiple generations being maintained in captivity, and the potential effects of captivity on sexual dimorphism remain poorly understood. We compared external and internal morphology of captive and wild animals using house mouse ( Mus musculus ) as a model species. In addition, we looked at morphology across two captive generations, and compared morphology between sexes. We found no statistically significant differences in external morphology, but after one generation in captivity there was evidence for a shift in the internal morphology of captive-reared mice; captive-reared mice (two generations bred) had lighter combined kidney and spleen masses compared with wild-caught mice. Sexual dimorphism was maintained in captivity. Our findings demonstrate that captive breeding can alter internal morphology. Given that these morphological changes may impact organismal functioning and viability following release, further investigation is warranted. If the morphological change is shown to be maladaptive, these changes would have significant implications for captive-source populations that are used for reintroduction, including reduced survivorship.

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Parents’ presence affects embryos’ development in Salaria fluviatilis (Asso, 1801), a fish with parental care

Animal Biology ◽

10.1163/15707563-00002447 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 64 (3) ◽

pp. 295-309

Author(s):

Noëlle Fabre ◽

Eduardo García-Galea ◽

Dolors Vinyoles

Keyword(s):

Parental Care ◽

Embryo Development ◽

Physical Condition ◽

Standard Length ◽

Captive Breeding ◽

Yolk Sac ◽

Sexual Determination ◽

In Captivity ◽

Breeding Programmes ◽

Head Height

In fishes, the parents’ presence generally improves embryos’ survival through parental care, but it is also associated with some disadvantages such as clutch cannibalism and loss of male physical condition. Captive breeding of the river blennySalaria fluviatilismight improve if these disadvantages were avoided by artificially replacing parental care benefits in the lab. Before accepting this procedure, it should be studied whether embryo development is dependent or not on any other unknown effect related to the parents’ presence. In this study, the ontogenetic sequence and several morphological structures – standard length, head height, jaw length and yolk-sac volume – from embryos reared both in the presence and in the absence of the parents were compared. At day 11 after oviposition, in the parents’ absence treatment, well-developed embryos were obtained, but a smaller size of the yolk-sac, a greater head height and a tendency to have a greater jaw length than in the parents’ presence treatment were found. These results suggest that the parents’ presence might affect embryo development and perhaps offspring sexual determination. Given these differences, the practise of depriving clutches from their parents in captivity breeding programmes should be questioned.

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Мотив смрти у романима српске модерне: Дошљаци Милутина Ускоковића

Slavica Wratislaviensia ◽

10.19195/0137-1150.168.39 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 168 ◽

pp. 461-473

Author(s):

Jelena Jovanović (Vulović)

Keyword(s):

20Th Century ◽

The Novel ◽

Main Character ◽

Narrative Strategies ◽

Short History ◽

Contemporary Theory ◽

Cognitive Narratology ◽

History Of ◽

And Function ◽

Theory Of Literature

The motif of death in Serbian modernist novels: Newcomers by Milutin UskokovićThis paper discusses the way the motif of death is shaped in the novel Newcomers by Milutin Uskoković, whose narrative strategies represent well the poetics of prose texts from the beginning of the 20th century. Analysis is conducted based on the conclusions of classical, but also postclassical specifically, cognitive narratology. The central point of this research is the domination of internal focalization which, by changing the narrator’s position, significantly changes the position and function of the main character. All other features of the text derive precisely from creating this kind of narrative situation. A short history of reading this text is provided within the study of narrative procedures that shaped the motif of death in the aforementioned novel. This should point towards a new shift in its interpretation, which was enabled by the achievements of contemporary theory of literature. Мотив смерти в романах сербского модерна:Пришельци Милутина УскоковичаВ статье рассматриваются способы описания мотива смерти в романах сербского модернизма. Самым значительным среди ряда романов считается роман Милутинa Ускоковичa „Пришельцы“, иллюстрирующий поэтику прозаических текстов начала прошлого века, в которых мотивы исчезновения такие как физическая смерть, отъезд, безумие были почти неизбежными. В анализе автор опирается на выводы классической, но и постклассической точнее когнитивной нарратологии. Объектом исследования, прежде всего, является доминирование внутренней фокализации, заменяющей место повествователя, что в конечном итоге в значительной мере, меняет позицию и функцию героя. Кроме исследования наративных стратегий, в статье представлен обзор рецепции этого текста, прослеживается динамика в восприятии романа, которая оформлена в соответствии с принципами современной теории литературы.

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A short history of studies on intelligence and brain in honeybees

Apidologie ◽

10.1007/s13592-020-00794-x ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Randolf Menzel

Keyword(s):

Structure And Function ◽

Behavioral Biology ◽

Short History ◽

Brain Functions ◽

Scientific Approach ◽

History Of ◽

Methodological Approaches ◽

Future Outcomes ◽

And Function ◽

The Brain

AbstractReflections about the historical roots of our current scientific endeavors are useful from time to time as they help us to acknowledge the ideas, concepts, methodological approaches, and idiosyncrasies of the researchers that paved the ground we stand on right now. The 50-year anniversary of Apidologie offers the opportunity to refresh our knowledge about the history of bee research. I take the liberty of putting the founding year of Apidologie in the middle of the period I cover here. The nascent period of behavioral biology around the late 19th to the early twentieth century was intimately connected with a loss of concepts related to the mental functions of the brain, concepts that were rooted in Darwin’s theory of gradualism in the living world including cognition in animals. This loss was celebrated both in ethology and behaviorism as the gateway to scientific impartiality. Using this apparently strict scientific approach, impressive discoveries were made by observing and strictly quantifying the behavior of bees. The first forays into the brain, however, uncovered a richness of structure and function that reached far beyond stereotypical input/output connections and opened the way to compensating the conceptual restrictions imposed on us by traditional ethology. Honeybee research provides us with a particularly exciting story in this context. The cognitive turn in behavioral biology is intimately connected to the increasing knowledge of how the brain works, also in honeybee research. What has been achieved so far is just the beginning, but it gives us a glimpse of a promising future. Teamwork between neuroscientists and behavioral biologists is needed to elucidate brain functions such as the expectation of future outcomes and intentionality as an entry to animal intelligence reflecting the flexibility and adaptability in behavior also seen in honeybees.

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Geschiedenis Van Leerstofselectie Voor Het Vreemde-Talenonderwijs

Toegepaste Taalwetenschap in Artikelen ◽

10.1075/ttwia.3.04men ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

pp. 37-46

Author(s):

J.P. Menting

Keyword(s):

Foreign Language ◽

Middle Ages ◽

Language Teaching ◽

Foreign Language Teaching ◽

Short History ◽

Short Discussion ◽

International Language ◽

History Of ◽

And Function ◽

Selection Of

A short history is sketched of the selection of vocabulary in foreign language teaching. The author briefly touches on the position and function of Latin in classical times and the changes thereof in the Renaissance. Gradually, from the end of the Middle Ages French took over as an international language. So French had to be taught. And vocabulary to be selected. Frequency of occurrence as a principle of selection was not consciously applied, however, before the 20th century. The remainder of the article deals with the history of the frequency lists in this century and explains the methods used, the difficulties, the advancement since computers assist the selector, and the appli-cations to foreign language teaching. The author concludes with a short discussion of why selection is still a problem and according to him still necessary.

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Conservation by Captive Breeding: a General Survey

Oryx ◽

10.1017/s0030605300006098 ◽

1967 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 87-96 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Richard Fitter

Keyword(s):

Captive Breeding ◽

European Bison ◽

General Survey ◽

Second Best ◽

Wild Horse ◽

In Captivity ◽

In The Wild ◽

Breeding Programmes ◽

Père David’S Deer ◽

Arabian Oryx

Breeding rare animals in captivity is only a second best but essential if they cannot be preserved in the wild, and in this zoos have an important part to play. Richard Fitter, hon. secretary of the Fauna Preservation Society, describes some of the most successful captive breeding programmes so far—Pére David's deer, European bison, Przewalski wild horse and Arabian oryx—and urges zoos to give serious attention now to the more difficult tasks of breeding primates and carnivores, of which several species, notably orang utans and the larger apes are endangered. He also suggests that zoos should anticipate the day when species now common become rare by establishing captive breeding programmes that would make them self-supporting in these animals.

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Captive husbandry and breeding of the Nguru spiny pygmy chameleon Rhampholeon acuminatus

Herpetological Bulletin ◽

10.33256/hb158.2427 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 24-27

Author(s):

Jay Redbond

Keyword(s):

Captive Breeding ◽

Critically Endangered ◽

Ex Situ ◽

Pet Trade ◽

Total Length ◽

In Captivity ◽

Breeding Programmes ◽

Conservation Breeding ◽

Published Account

The Nguru spiny pygmy chameleon (Rhampholeon acuminatus) is endemic to the Nguru mountains in Tanzania. It is assessed as Critically Endangered and is collected from the wild for the pet trade. An ex-situ population of this species was recently established at The Wild Planet Trust, Paignton Zoo, in the hope of learning more about the husbandry and biology of this species. We report on the captive husbandry of adults and the successful breeding, hatching and rearing of juveniles. Females carried four eggs but laid them in pairs. When eggs were incubated at 19.2-22.8 °C, hatchlings emerged roughly 180 days after laying. The hatchlings had a total length of about 30 mm and weighed 0.2-0.3 g. To our knowledge, this is the first published account of captive breeding for this species. The husbandry methods described could be used to establish populations of this and other Rhampholeon species in captivity, which in turn would reduce the demand for wild caught (Rhampholeon), as well as inform future conservation breeding programmes for this species.

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