scholarly journals Morphology and Morphometry of Caeca in the Tufted Duck Aythya Fuligula

2009 ◽  
Vol 54-55 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 21-31
Author(s):  
Ewa Działa-Szczepańczyk ◽  
Anna Charuta

Morphology and Morphometry of Caeca in the Tufted Duck Aythya Fuligula In this study, we examined the caeca of 44 individuals of Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula): 29 males (23 adult and 6 young) and 15 females (8 adult and 7 young). We analyzed the correlations between lengths of left (CLL) and right (CRL) caeca vs. the dimensions of the bird's body: body weight (BW), body length (BL), sternum length (SL) and tarsus length (TL), in relation to the sex of the animals. We also analyzed the asymmetry of caeca and determined its direction and strength, using a fluctuating asymmetry coefficient. Despite the observed sexual dimorphism in the body size, we found neither sex-related differences in the length of caeca, nor any significant correlation between the CLL and CRL vs. body size (BW, BL, SL, TL). 42 birds (94.5%) were asymmetrical with respect to the length of caeca, and in 37 (84.1%) the left caecum was longer. The fluctuating asymmetry coefficient for the length of these organs in the examined group was 0.413.

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 56-62
Author(s):  
O. I. Fedorova ◽  
◽  
E. A. Orlova ◽  
I. D. Antonova ◽  
◽  
...  

Coloured minks are widespread – more than 200 colour variations in hair colour are known. Currently, breeding in fur farming continues. One of the most recent breeding achievements is the albino pastel mink. An important characteristic of the new breed is the body size and growth of the organism during the postnatal period, which does not occur evenly but goes through certain phases. In different periods of growth, the organism requires appropriate conditions, in the presence of which further development occurs. As a result of studies of mink growth from birth to adulthood, data necessary for the correct organization of measures for rearing and feeding the animals are accumulated. When analysing the growth dynamics of young animals, it has been established that sexual dimorphism in body weight of males and females of the albino-pastel genotype is absent at one day of age. The most intensive increase in body weight in female and male albino-pastel minks occurs from day 50 to day 80. The increase in body weight continues after 3–4 months of life, with males more intense than females.


1971 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 651-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. HUGHES ◽  
R. GAYMER ◽  
MARGARET MOORE ◽  
A. J. WOAKES

1. The O2 consumption and CO2 release of nine giant tortoises Testudo gigantea (weight range 118 g-35·5 kg) were measured at a temperature of about 25·5°C. Four European tortoises Testudo hermanni (weight range 640 g-2·16 kg) were also used. The mean RQ values obtained were 1·01 for T. gigantea and 0·97 for T. hermanni. These values were not influenced by activity or size. 2. The data was analysed by plotting log/log regression lines relating body weight to O2 consumption. Both maximum and minimum metabolic rates recorded for each individual T. gigantea showed a negative correlation with body weight. For active rates the relation was O2 consumption = 140·8W0·97, whereas for inactive animals O2 consumption = 45·47W0·82. 3. The maximum rates were obtained from animals that were observed to be active in the respirometer and the minimum rates from animals that remained quiet throughout. The scope for activity increased with body size, being 82 ml/kg/h for animals of 100 g and 103 ml/kg/h for 100 kg animals. The corresponding ratio between maximum and minimum rates increases from about 2 to 6 for the same weight range. 4. Values for metabolic rate in T. hermanni seem to be rather lower than in T. gigantea. Analysis of the relative proportion of the shell and other organs indicates that the shell forms about 31% of the body weight in adult T. hermanni but only about 18% in T. gigantea of similar size. The shell is not appreciably heavier in adult T. gigantea (about 20%). 5. Data obtained for inactive animals is in good agreement with results of other workers using lizards and snakes. Previous evidence suggesting that chelonians show no reduction in metabolic rate with increasing size is not considered to conflict with data obtained in the present work.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu_an Zhang ◽  
Zijie Sun ◽  
Chen Zhang ◽  
Shujun Yin ◽  
Wenzhi Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract In stock farming, the body size parameters and weight of yaks can reasonably reflect the growth and development characteristics, production performance and genetic characteristics of yaks. However, it is difficult for herders to measure the body size and weight of yaks by traditional manual methods. Fortunately, with the development of edge computing, herders can use mobile devices to estimate the yak’s body size and weight. The purpose of this paper is to provide a machine vision-based yak weight estimation method for the edge equipment and establish a yak estimation comprehensive display system based on the user’s use of the edge equipment in order to maximize the convenience of herdsmen’s work. In our method, a set of yak image foreground extraction and measurement point recognition algorithm suitable for edge equipment were developed to obtain yak’s measurement point recognition image, and the ratio between body sizes was transmitted to the cloud server. Then, the body size and weight of yaks were estimated using the data mining method, and the body size estimation data were constantly displayed in the yak estimation comprehensive display system. 25 yaks in different age groups were randomly selected from the herd to perform experiments. The experimental results show that the foreground extraction method can obtain segmentation image with good boundary, and the yak measurement point recognition algorithm has good accuracy and stability. The average error between the estimated values and the actual measured values of body height, oblique length, chest depth, cross height and body weight is 1.95%, 3.11%, 4.91%, 3.35% and 7.79%, respectively. Compared with the traditional manual measurement method, the use of mobile end to estimate the body size and weight of yaks can improve the measurement efficiency, facilitate the herdsmen to breed yaks, reduce the stimulation of manual measurement on yaks, and lay a solid foundation for the fine breeding of yaks in Sanjiangyuan region.


Author(s):  
Douglas F. Peiró ◽  
J. Antonio Baeza ◽  
Fernando L. Mantelatto

Austinixa aidaeinhabits burrows of the ghost shrimpCallichirus majorat Perequê-açu beach, Ubatuba, Brazil. We described the host-use pattern and sexual dimorphism ofA. aidaeto test for monogamy given the generality of this mating system in the subfamily Pinnothereliinae (family Pinnotheridae) to whichA. aidaebelongs. Against expectations,A. aidaelives as solitary individuals within burrows more frequently than expected by chance alone. Additional observations suggested thatA. aidaeexhibits a polygynandrous mating system with males moving among burrows in search of receptive females. First, only 21% of the burrows harboured heterosexual pairs of crabs and the body size of paired crabs was poorly correlated. This suggests pair instability and frequent shifts among burrows by male and/or female crabs, as reported before for other symbiotic crustaceans in which the body size of paired crabs is poorly correlated. Second, males paired with females that were sexually receptive (without embryos) or that have been receptive recently (carrying early embryos) were found more frequently than expected by chance alone. The above agrees with that reported for species in which sexual pairing does not last long. Third, sexual dimorphism in terms of claw size and coloration was evident. Claws were larger in males than in females, a condition that argues in favour of male–male competition inA. aidae. In addition, the body coloration of males was more similar to the sand grains of the beach than that of females. This sex-specific coloration suggests that males are ‘better adapted' than females to roam on the surface of the beach in search of burrows because their coloration should diminish the risk of detection by predators. Experiments are needed to reveal the details of the polygynandrous mating system herein inferred forA. aidaeand to understand those conditions favouring particular reproductive strategies in symbiotic decapod crustaceans.


1992 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 573 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Gu ◽  
W Danthanarayana

Effects of rearing conditions of larvae on the body weight and flight duration of the light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana (Walker), were evaluated in the laboratory. The body weight of both male and female moths at emergence decreased with increasing temperature from 15 to 28-degrees-C during larval stages; in contrast, flight duration increased with rising temperature. There was no effect of larval density on flight duration, although the body weight of moths decreased as density increased. Variation in water content of artificial diet showed a significant influence on flight duration of female moths, but not on body weight in either sex. Flight duration was different only for females when their larvae were reared on young leaves of four host plants. Female moths from larvae on Rumex crispus and Plantago lanceolata flew for significantly longer periods than those from larvae on Trifolium repens and Pyrus malus. Larvae fed on young leaves yielded adults that flew for longer periods than those fed on senescent leaves. Inconsistency in relationships between body weight and flight duration of moths with respect to influences of different environmental factors during the larval stages indicates that flight capacity is unlikely to be influenced by body size in this species.


1994 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 307 ◽  
Author(s):  
PD Olsen ◽  
RB Cunningham ◽  
CF Donnelly

This paper describes three comprehensive new models of the allometric relationships between egg volume, clutch volume and shape, and body weight. Mean egg dimensions, clutch sizes and adult body weights were obtained for 326 species, mainly of four bird types: raptors (including owls), shorebirds, frogmouths (including nightjars), and storks (including the New World vultures). These are groups in which there is a wide range of body sizes and of sexual dimorphism in body size (in direction and degree). Female body weight alone accounted for 92% of the variation in egg volume. Sexual dimorphism in body size, phylogenetic relationship, and clutch size were significant contributors to the model of egg volume; their addition increased the explained variance to over 98%. The model was curvilinear (quadratic) in form, rather than linear as assumed in previous models. Larger species laid smaller eggs than expected under a simple power function. For the fitted model, within bird types, generic groupings had parallel curvilinear slopes but differing intercepts. Between bird types, the slopes differed. Clutch volume was scaled to body weight; all the bird types had a common slope, which was curvilinear. Body weight and dimorphism accounted for 89.5% of the variation in clutch volume. For all bird types, eggs became proportionally longer in shape as body weight increased, according to a simple power law. The relevance of these relationships to hypotheses on the evolution and adaptive significance of sexual dimorphism and to the trade-off between egg size and clutch size is discussed briefly.


2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 37-47
Author(s):  
Ewa Działa-Szczepańczyk

Gut Morphometrics in the Long-Tailed DuckClangula HyemalisWintering on the Polish Baltic CoastThe study included guts of 140 individuals of the long-tailed duckClangula hyemalisobtained in autumn and winter of 1993-2000 in the western part of the Polish Baltic Coast. The following morphometric characters were analysed: duodenum length (DL), combined jejunum and ileum length (JIL), small intestine length (SIL), combined terminal intestine and cloaca length (TCL), and combined length (CBL) and weight (CBW) of both caeca. In the analysis the birds' sex and age were taken into consideration, as well as their body size characterised by body weight, body length, and sternum length. Ontogenetic differences in the gut morphometric characters were more pronounced in males than in females, and immature drakes were characterised by higher average values of JIL and CBW, compared to adult males. Besides the CBL and CBW, sexual dimorphism was manifest in the body size and other gut measurements - those parameters achieved higher average values in males than in females. No such differences were recorded with respect to relative parameters: DL, SIL, and TCL expressed as the percentage of the birds' body length. In case of JIL, CBL, and CBW no relation with any of the body size parameters was found. No relevant relations between SIL and JIL, and the measurements of CBL and TCL were noticed.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu_an Zhang ◽  
Zijie Sun ◽  
Chen Zhang ◽  
Shujun Yin ◽  
Wenzhi Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract In stock farming, the body size parameters and weight of yaks can reasonably reflect the growth and development characteristics, production performance and genetic characteristics of yaks. However, it is difficult for herders to measure the body size and weight of yaks by traditional manual methods. Fortunately, with the development of edge computing, herders can use mobile devices to estimate the yak’s body size and weight. The purpose of this paper is to provide a machine vision-based yak weight estimation method for the edge equipment and establish a yak estimation comprehensive display system based on the user’s use of the edge equipment in order to maximize the convenience of herdsmen’s work. In our method, a set of yak image foreground extraction and measurement point recognition algorithm suitable for edge equipment were developed to obtain yak’s measurement point recognition image, and the ratio between body sizes was transmitted to the cloud server. Then, the body size and weight of yaks were estimated using the data mining method, and the body size estimation data were constantly displayed in the yak estimation comprehensive display system. 25 yaks in different age groups were randomly selected from the herd to perform experiments. The experimental results show that the foreground extraction method can obtain segmentation image with good boundary, and the yak measurement point recognition algorithm has good accuracy and stability. The average error between the estimated values and the actual measured values of body height, oblique length, chest depth, cross height and body weight is 1.95%, 3.11%, 4.91%, 3.35% and 7.79%, respectively. Compared with the traditional manual measurement method, the use of mobile end to estimate the body size and weight of yaks can improve the measurement efficiency, facilitate the herdsmen to breed yaks, reduce the stimulation of manual measurement on yaks, and lay a solid foundation for the fine breeding of yaks in Sanjiangyuan region.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolf U. Blanckenhorn

AbstractA Preprint reviewed and recommended by Peer Community Evolutionary Biology: http://dx.doi.org/10.24072/pci.evolbiol.100027Evidence for selective disadvantages of large body size remains scarce in general. Previous phenomenological studies of the yellow dung fly Scathophaga stercoraria have demonstrated strong positive sexual and fecundity selection on male and female size. Nevertheless, the body size of flies from a Swiss study population has declined by almost 10% from 1993 to 2009. Given substantial heritability of body size, this negative evolutionary response of an evidently positively selected trait suggests important selective factors being missed (e.g. size-selective predation or parasitism). A periodic epidemic outbreak of the fungus Entomophthora scatophagae allowedassessment of selection exerted by this parasite fatal to adult flies. Fungal infection varied over the season from ca. 50% in the cooler and more humid spring and autumn to almost 0% in summer. The probability of dying from fungal infection increased with adult body size. All infected females died before laying eggs, so there was no fungus impact on female fecundity beyond its impact on mortality. Large males showed the typical mating advantage in the field, but this pattern of positive sexual selection was nullified by fungal infection. Mean fluctuating asymmetry of paired appendages (legs, wings) did not affect the viability, fecundity or mating success of yellow dung flies in the field. This study demonstrates rare parasite-mediated disadvantages of large adult body size in the field. Reduced ability to combat parasites such as Entomophthora may be an immunity cost of large size in dung flies, although the hypothesized trade-off between fluctuating asymmetry, a presumed indicator of developmental instability and environmental stress, and immunocompetence was not found here.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-189
Author(s):  
Junardi Junardi

AbstrakCacing Nipah Pendek Namalycastis abiuma memiliki tubuh yang elastis dan mudah putus sehingga diperlukan pendekatan morfometri tubuh lain untuk menentukan panjang tubuh sesungguhnya. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk menentukan panjang tubuh total cacing nipah pendek dengan menggunakan bobot tubuh, jumlah total segmen berseta, panjang tiga segmen anterior pertama (L3) dan lebar segmen berseta atau setiger ke-10 (S-10). Spesimen yang digunakan dipilih hanya individu yang lengkap dan utuh. Pengukuran dilakukan dibawah mikroskop dengan lensa okular yang dilengkapi dengan mikrometer. Data dianalisis dengan analisis korelasi. Cacing yang digunakan sebanyak 258 individu yang terdiri atas 190 immature, 54 submature dan 14 mature dengan ukuran panjang tubuh rata-rata berturut-turut 108,62±34,80 mm, 172,27±42,78 mm dan 123,14±57,40 mm. Cacing betina ditemukan memiliki ukuran tubuh lebih besar dari jantan. Panjang tubuh N. abiuma dapat diduga dengan bobot tubuh, panjang L3 dan lebar S-10 dengan nilai koefisien korelasi (r) berturut-turut 0,82, 0,73 dan 0,78. Pendekatan morfometri dapat digunakan untuk menentukan ukuran tubuh N. abiuma.Abstract The short nypa palm worm Namalycastis abiuma has an elastic and fragile body. Therefore, an alternative approach of morphometrical techniques is needed to determine the total body length. This research aimed to estimate the total body length of the short nypa palm worm based on body weight, the total number of segments, the length of the first three anterior segment (L3) and the tenth setiger width (S10). Body measurement was done using stereomicroscope fitted with the micrometer. Correlation analysis was done to describe the relationship between the length of L3 and the width of S10. A total of 258 complete and whole specimens consisted of 190 immature, 54 submature, and 14 mature individuals. The average body length of immature individuals was 108.62±34.80 mm, 172.27±42.78 mm for sub mature individuals, and 123.14±57.40 mm for mature individuals. Based on sexual dimorphism, the female body size is larger than male. The body length of N. abiuma can be estimated by body weight, the length of L3, and the  width of S10, with  correlation coefficient (r) of 0.82, 0.73 and 0.78, respectively. Morphometry approach can be used to determine the body size of N. abiuma. 


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