scholarly journals SELECTION AND GENETIC CHARACTERISTICS OF FOXES AT CAGE BREEDING

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 177-184
Author(s):  
T. V. Shevchuk

Fur is not only a wonderful decoration of clothing, but also one of the insulating factors. Choosing fur, women are guided not only aesthetic considerations, but also practicality of the product. It has a number of physical and organoleptic parameters and commodity characteristics determined genetically. Fox fur is long with degree of density of 60 units and wear – up to 20 years. Colour, tracery, friability, silkiness, and veil availability or silveriness are determined by animal’s interior. The purpose of our research was to establish breeding and genetic characteristics of foxes of different colour types at cage breeding. The earliest object of farming was a fox. It is spread in Europe, Asia and America in the wild. Typically, a wild fox is red colour, but sometimes you can find dark individuals among them – black and brown (in Europe, Asia and America – Alaska), silver-black (in Canada) and intermediate forms between red and black. A characteristic feature of all foxes is a white tail tip. A fox (Vulpes vulpes, Linnaeus, 1758) belongs to the genus Vulpes of the family Canidae of the order Carnivora. There are 6 species belonging to the genus Vulpes; there are 4 breeds (silver-black, burgundy, pearl and kolikott) and 7 types in the State Register. Recessive mutation foxes by colour can be divided into three groups by analogy with minks. Blue group includes pearl colour types of foxes. Pearl colour is very close to a silver-black phenotypically, but has the weakened tone of black axial hair, so it seems that colour is gray-blue or gray-brown. Foxes divided into two recessive forms: kolikott-brown and burgundy in brown group. A burgundy fox has a bright (red-brown) colour than kolikott. Eyes of kolikott are blue, and burgundy fox has yellow-brown ones. A wild red fox is characterized by red colour of various shades from fiery red to almost gray. There are six main types of colour of a red fox: fiery – reddish red; red – bright red, but without fiery hue; red – light red or reddish-yellow; light – light sand-yellow; red and grey – grey with reddish belt along a spine; grey – grey with a dim red back. Variability of colour of wild foxes is largely associated with habitat. The ears and ends of paws (to a carpal joint on front paws and to rear hock) are black. A tip tail is usually white or grey because of grey fluff or certain parts of pigmented hair. Black hair is quite often on a tail and body. Fluff is various shades of grey or brown all over the body. Albinos are found among foxes as among other animals. They have a pure white colour fluff, depigmented end of nose and claw, light blue eyes with a reddish tint. The colour of white foxes is recessive in relation to the colour of wild foxes. Other names of this fox are Georgian White, Bakuriani. This breed was obtained in Bakuriani fur farm in the forties of the twentieth century. Their coloration is white with black ears and black spots on a face, a back and legs. Creamy shades are considered undesirable. It has been established that homozygotes in this type of colour tend to die. There are two known fox breeds determining colour: silver-black and black-brown. The silver-black fox originates from wild foxes in Canada, black-brown one – in Eurasia and Alaska. Therefore, black-brown foxes are often called Alaskan silver-black in foreign literature. The silver-black and black-brown foxes can differ externally only that the black-brown fox has hair bundle of brown colour, located near inner edge of a base of an auricle. Sometimes significant development of red (different tone and intensity) spots behind ears, on sides, scapulas and at root of the tail is observed in some black-brown foxes. Awn hair with white area in the middle of them is called silver. Feature of fox silveriness is that it can be extended across a back, sides (silver hair can’t be on a belly), on a neck or to grab only some parts of body. For successful breeding of fur-bearing animals in captivity it needs to know their biological characteristics. Keeping of fox under conditions of fur farms began recently. Furry animals are in the earliest stages of domestication, so they have retained many features and physiological properties characterizing animals in the wild. One of the features is nature of nervous activity. Animals of cage keeping have features of wild, so they can’t be picked up without certain warnings; they do not respond to the call of a person, someone of them is evil, while others show timidity. The second feature of furry animals of cage keeping is related to nature of nutrition. The third feature of furry animals is seasonality of their basic life processes – reproduction, moulting, and metabolism. Conclusions. 1. There are three main groups of foxes according to colour: black, blue and brown at cage breeding. 2. Foxes of original red, silver-black, pearl and "ice" colours are perspective among all colour types in selection.

Development ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 319-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Jerka-Dziadosz ◽  
N. Garreau de Loubresse ◽  
J. Beisson

kin241 is a monogenic nuclear recessive mutation producing highly pleiotropic effects on cell size and shape, generation time, thermosensitivity, nuclear reorganization and cortical organization. We have analyzed the nature of the cortical disorders and their development during division, using various specific antibodies labelling either one of the cortical cytoskeleton components, as was previously done for analysis of cortical pattern formation in the wild type. Several abnormalities in basal body properties were consistently observed, although with a variable frequency: extra microtubules in either the triplets or in the lumen; nucleation of a second kinetodesmal fiber; abnormal orientation of the newly formed basal body with respect to the mother one. The latter effect seems to account for the major observed cortical disorders (reversal, intercalation of supplementary ciliary rows). The second major effect of the mutation concerns the spatiotemporal map of cortical reorganization during division. Excess basal body proliferation occurs and is correlated with modified boundaries of some of the cortical domains identified in the wild type on the basis of their basal body duplication pattern. This is the first mutant described in a ciliate in which both the structure and duplication of basal bodies and the body plan are affected. The data support the conclusion that the mutation does not alter the nature of the morphogenetic signal(s) which pervade the dividing cell, nor the competence of cytoskeletal structures to respond to signalling, but affects the local interpretation of the signals.


Author(s):  
M.P. Sutunkova ◽  
B.A. Katsnelson ◽  
L.I. Privalova ◽  
S.N. Solovjeva ◽  
V.B. Gurvich ◽  
...  

We conducted a comparative assessment of the nickel oxide nanoparticles toxicity (NiO) of two sizes (11 and 25 nm) according to a number of indicators of the body state after repeated intraperitoneal injections of these particles suspensions. At equal mass doses, NiO nanoparticles have been found to cause various manifestations of systemic subchronic toxicity with a particularly pronounced effect on liver, kidney function, the body’s antioxidant system, lipid metabolism, white and red blood, redox metabolism, spleen damage, and some disorders of nervous activity allegedly related to the possibility of nickel penetration into the brain from the blood. The relationship between the diameter and toxicity of particles is ambiguous, which may be due to differences in toxicokinetics, which is controlled by both physiological mechanisms and direct penetration of nanoparticles through biological barriers and, finally, unequal solubility.


2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Groenewegen ◽  
Dan Harley ◽  
Richard Hill ◽  
Graeme Coulson

Context Assisted colonisation has the potential to protect species from intractable threats within their historical ranges. The Australian mainland subspecies of the eastern barred bandicoot (Perameles gunnii) is extinct in the wild, with surviving populations restricted to small sites protected by predator–barrier fences. PVA modelling shows that a self-sustaining bandicoot population would require an area free of the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes) of at least 2500ha. French Island is outside the historic range of the species, but is fox-free and contains around 9000ha of potentially suitable habitat. Aims This study will assess the suitability of French Island as a potential site for a self-sustaining eastern barred bandicoot population by conducting a 1-year assisted colonisation trial to assess habitat use, body condition and survival. Methods Between July and September 2012, 18 adult bandicoots were released. We radio-tracked bandicoots using intraperitoneal radio-transmitters for up to 122 days and trapped fortnightly. Key results The release group met the three measures of success: (1) appropriate habitat use; (2) recovery of post-release bodyweight; and (3) founder survival exceeding 100 days. Habitat use and body condition throughout the trial reflected that of mainland populations, and seven bandicoots survived longer than 100 days. Mortality was greatest in the first month, with veterinary investigations confirming two deaths due to cat predation, two deaths from toxoplasmosis and one unknown cause of death. Bandicoots that survived longer than 100 days occupied higher, drier ground than those that did not. Toxoplasmosis cases were associated with lower topographic position on the site. Conclusions Our results suggest that French Island provides suitable habitat for the establishment of a population of eastern barred bandicoots. On French Island, toxoplasmosis was identified as an important source of mortality in addition to cat predation, and warrants further investigation. Implications Given the costs and challenges of predator control and the maintenance of predator exclusion fences, assisted colonisation to one or more fox-free islands remains the most viable option to establish self-sustaining bandicoot populations. Our results highlight the value in conducting trial releases ahead of major translocations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tali Leibovich-Raveh ◽  
Ashael Raveh ◽  
Dana Vilker ◽  
Shai Gabay

AbstractWe make magnitude-related decisions every day, for example, to choose the shortest queue at the grocery store. When making such decisions, which magnitudes do we consider? The dominant theory suggests that our focus is on numerical quantity, i.e., the number of items in a set. This theory leads to quantity-focused research suggesting that discriminating quantities is automatic, innate, and is the basis for mathematical abilities in humans. Another theory suggests, instead, that non-numerical magnitudes, such as the total area of the compared items, are usually what humans rely on, and numerical quantity is used only when required. Since wild animals must make quick magnitude-related decisions to eat, seek shelter, survive, and procreate, studying which magnitudes animals spontaneously use in magnitude-related decisions is a good way to study the relative primacy of numerical quantity versus non-numerical magnitudes. We asked whether, in an animal model, the influence of non-numerical magnitudes on performance in a spontaneous magnitude comparison task is modulated by the number of non-numerical magnitudes that positively correlate with numerical quantity. Our animal model was the Archerfish, a fish that, in the wild, hunts insects by shooting a jet of water at them. These fish were trained to shoot water at artificial targets presented on a computer screen above the water tank. We tested the Archerfish's performance in spontaneous, untrained two-choice magnitude decisions. We found that the fish tended to select the group containing larger non-numerical magnitudes and smaller quantities of dots. The fish selected the group containing more dots mostly when the quantity of the dots was positively correlated with all five different non-numerical magnitudes. The current study adds to the body of studies providing direct evidence that in some cases animals’ magnitude-related decisions are more affected by non-numerical magnitudes than by numerical quantity, putting doubt on the claims that numerical quantity perception is the most basic building block of mathematical abilities.


Author(s):  
Ana L. Ibáñez ◽  
Diana Y. Montero

This study documents the presence of crypsis in Mugil curema juveniles under laboratory culture. Initially, the juveniles were located in one brown tank (BT1), later almost half of the individuals were placed in a white tank (WT) where they showed a pigmentation change to white. After being moved to another brown tank (BT2), the juveniles changed to their brown original colour, but kept a few small white spots on the dorsal axis of the body. The ventral head melanophore pattern also changed in the white specimens. Temperature (°C), oxygen (mg l−1) and Illuminance light (Lux m−2), total length (mm) and total weight (g) were determined by tank. Chromaticity was measured in L*(relative luminance) a*(measurement relating to the redness or greenness of the light) b*(measurement relating to the yellowness or blueness of the light) coordinates where all three values are required to completely describe an object’s colour. One-way ANOVA showed no differences for temperature, oxygen and illuminance light among tanks. Length and weight were similar for BT1 and WT but both were different from BT2. The white juveniles depicted similar L* as the WT background as well as the dorsal area of the brown pigmentation and converted juveniles to the brown tanks BT1 and BT2, respectively. Therefore, the fish's body relative luminance matches the background. To our knowledge this behaviour has not been reported before for any fish mullet either cultured or living in the wild.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-83
Author(s):  
T. E. C.

Leeches were used in the treatment of many pediatric conditions until relatively recently. Many physicians prescribed leeches, especially in the treatment of the purported symptoms caused by teething. William Moss,1 for example, advised applying two or three leeches at one time on the foot or heel of teething infants where "bleeding is a remedy much to be depended on when the symptoms of heat, fever, drowsiness, and startings are urgent." The following is an excellent description of the indications for leeching in children, as given by Dr. James Kennedy in 1825: Leeching, so as to abstract blood from a particular part sustaining inflammation, fulness, or pain, is very useful in many diseases especially those of children. . . . When the leech is of the right or medicinal kind, its body has a blackish brown colour, marked on the back with six yellow spots, and edged with a yellow line on each side:—these spots, however, as well as the lines, grow faint and almost disappear at certain seasons. . . . The mouth forms, as it were, the body of a pump and its tongue the sucker; and, by the working of this . . . mechanism, the blood is made to rise up into the conduit which conveys it to the animal's stomach. . . . Leeches may be employed in every case where topical bleedings are required, or where venesection cannot be performed. Before applying them, all the parts should be carefully washed;—first, with hot water and soap, for the purpose of removing, as much as possible, the particles of the cutaneous excretion which the leech instinctively dislikes, especially if impregnated in any degree with the odour of medicine;—and secondly, with milk and water as warm as can be endured, with the object of stimulating the superficial vessels and filling them with red blood.


Author(s):  
Donald Worster

In the wild garden of an early America there coiled and crawled the devil’s own plenty of poisonous vipers—cottonmouths, copperheads, coral snakes, the whole nasty family of rattlers and sidewinders. A naturalist roaming far from the settlements regularly ran the risk of a fatal snake bite. Fortunately, he was reassured by the field experts of the day, the deadly reptile always furnishes its own antidote. It conceals itself in the very plants whose roots can counteract its poison, plants like the so-called “Indian snakeroot.” As the viper sank its sharp fangs into your leg, you simply pulled up the roots of that plant, quickly chewed them down, and laughed in the viper’s face. You were instantly immune. How many backwoods naturalists and hunters died from believing that bit of advice is not known. Science, ever improving its hypotheses, now suggests carrying a snakebite kit in your pack or calling in a helicopter. But before we dismiss the old advice as completely foolish, we might ask whether it might not have had some useful, genuine logic in it. Sometimes the remedy for wounds does indeed lie near at hand among the shrubs and weeds in which the reptile lives; and sometimes dangerous forces do indeed suggest, or even contain, their own antidote. Take, for instance, the case of North America’s continuing environmental degradation. What we humans have done over the past five hundred years to maim this continent and tear apart its fabric of life is in large degree the consequence of the Judeo-Christian religious ethos and its modern secular offspring—science, industrial capitalism, and technology. I would put almost all the blame on the modern secular offspring, but I have to agree that religion too has been a deadly viper that has left its marks on the body of nature. Paradoxically, I would add what no one else seems to have noticed: an Indian snakeroot for this venom has appeared in the reptile’s own nest. The antidote for environmental destruction has been a movement called environmentalism and that movement has, in the United States, owed much of its program, temperament, and drive to the influence of Protestantism.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 301 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. R. Paton ◽  
M. H. Cake ◽  
D. J. Bird ◽  
I. C. Potter

The anadromous Geotria australis, one of only three lamprey species representing the early agnathan (jawless) stage of vertebrate evolution in Australia and New Zealand, is declining in abundance. Its adults were caught soon after they had entered rivers on their non-trophic upstream migration and maintained in laboratory tanks for 13–15 months through to spawning. As adult G. australis are susceptible to haemorrhagic septicaemia, they were treated prophylactically and maintained in 3-m3 aquaria supplied with a flow-through charcoal filtration system and UV steriliser. Air temperature and the light:dark regime were constantly adjusted to parallel those in the environment. Males developed the very large suctorial disc and gular pouch characteristic of maturity and both sexes matured at the same time as in the wild. While males frequently showed aggressive behaviour towards each other, the same male and female mated on several occasions. The male coiled around the female and, with his urogenital papilla close to the female’s cloaca, twisted and vibrated, leading to egg release. These eggs formed coagulated clusters as in the wild, with many progressing through to the eight-cell stage. Remarkably, numerous G. australis were still alive 95–392 days after the end of the short spawning period, and one male after a further 119 days. Postspawning survival would be facilitated inter alia by extensive proteolysis, reflected in a shortening of the body. The data in this paper emphasise that G. australis is a highly atypical lamprey and provides invaluable information for conserving this declining species.


1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Baker

Free-living development of Rhabdias americanus and Rhabdias ranae was heterogonic and development of infective larvae was by matricidal endotoky. Both species were experimentally transmitted by skin penetration. Development of R. americanus in Bufo americanus and R. ranae in Rana sylvatica was similar. Growth of third- and fourth-stage larvae occurred in fascia and muscle tissue of the host during migration to the body cavity. Adult worms were recovered only from the body cavity and lungs; larvae were never observed in these locations. Worms probably entered the lungs by direct penetration. Gravid nematodes were observed only in the lungs. Both R. americanus and R. ranae were transmitted to toad and frog tadpoles, respectively, and worms developed to adulthood in tadpoles. Terrestrial snails (Oxyloma decampi Tryon and Discus cronkhitei Newcomb) were demonstrated as possible paratenic hosts for R. americanus. Rhabdias americanus, which does not occur in frogs, and R. ranae, which does not occur in toads in the wild at Guelph, were experimentally cross-transmitted to these amphibians and developed successfully to adults. Infective larvae of these species, however, did not as readily penetrate into the unusual host as the usual host. It is suggested that ecological barriers have prevented cross infections in the wild.


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