Physical and behavioral postnatal development of woodchucks (Marmota monax)

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 1040-1047 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Ferron ◽  
J.-P. Ouellet
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Postnatal Development ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Postnatal Growth ◽  
Behavioral Development ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Behavioral Repertoire ◽  
Marmota Monax

The physical and behavioral postnatal development of woodchucks (Marmota monax) was analyzed from birth to 42 days of age, the age at which weaning begins. Postnatal growth was evaluated by means of daily measurements of body weight, body length, tail length, and length of hind foot. Data on length of ear pinnae, vibrissae, and fur, and on the timing of appearance of some events of physical development are also presented. We considered postnatal development of locomotion, alertness, exploratory behavior, feeding, and comfort and social behavior. Our results indicate no sexual dimorphism in body size in young woodchucks, despite its occurrence in adults. Intraspecific comparisons reveal that woodchucks from different populations show marked variation in growth rate. The high level of intraspecific variation in developmental rates of sciurid rodents provides a warning to those performing interspecific comparisons. The data also suggest that the ratio of growth rate to adult body weight is not related to environmental severity. Behavioral development in M. monax is similar to that of ground squirrels but faster than that of tree squirrels and flying squirrels. There is also no direct relationship between size and timing of behavioral development in sciurid rodents. The behavioral repertoire of young woodchucks is simpler than that of young Spermophilus lateralis, another asocial species. It is possible that specific differences in rates of development of social interactions led to such differentiation in the repertoire of social behavior.

scholarly journals Reproduction and growth in a Neotropical arboreal mouse: Oecomys rutilus (Sigmodontinae: Cricetidae) in French Guiana

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
François Catzeflis
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
French Guiana ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Crystalline Lens ◽  
Postnatal Growth ◽  
Morphometric Measurements ◽  
Daily Growth ◽  
Foot Length ◽  
Average Litter Size ◽  
Hind Foot

Abstract: Postnatal growth and development of the small Neotropical mouse Oecomys rutilus (Sigmodontinae: Cricetidae) were investigated from birth to day 143, in the laboratory. Morphometric measurements at age of 3 days, of both sexes combined, revealed body weight to be 3.4 ± 0.3 g, mean tail length as 27.4 ± 1.1 mm, and mean hind foot length as 9.3 ± 0.7 mm. Body weight was found to increase steadily until at least 69 days, whereas the instantaneous growth rates of other measurements declined earlier: the daily growth of hind foot length declined to a minimum at age of 24 days, and the growth of tail and of ear declined by the age of 33 days. Average litter size for 12 captive births was 2.5, ranging from 2 to 3. The preserved eye crystalline lens was weighted in 23 captive-born animals of known age, allowing a rough estimate of the age of reproduction in wild-caught animals. Based on the inferred relation between eye-lens weight and age, the youngest reproductive (pregnant) wild-caught females had an estimated age of 90 and 95 days.

Postnatal growth rate and adult body weight in mammals: a new approach

Oecologia ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 390-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Pontier ◽  
J. M. Gaillard ◽  
D. Allain� ◽  
J. Trouvilliez ◽  
I. Gordon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Postnatal Growth ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Adult Body ◽  
Adult Body Weight

scholarly journals Effect of sow prolificacy and nutrition on preand postnatal growth of progeny – a review

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Rekiel ◽  
Justyna Więcek ◽  
Martyna Batorska ◽  
Józef Kulisiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Birth Weight ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Skeletal Muscles ◽  
Postnatal Growth ◽  
Maternal Environment ◽  
Nutritional Treatment

Abstract Weakened growth and development of embryos as well as of fetuses or their organs (IUGR) show a relationship with increasing sow fertility. When aiming to increase birth weight in piglets and reduce within-litter variation in piglet body weight, efforts should be made to maintain a favourable maternal environment (uterus-placenta-embryo). Intrauterine undernutrition can be limited through the hormonal and/or nutritional treatment of pregnant sows. This has an effect on prenatal myogenesis, resulting in better development of skeletal muscles, higher birth weight of piglets, and progression in postnatal growth rate.

Age estimation by measurement of pouch young of the Quokka (Setonix brachyurus).

1961 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
JW Shield ◽  
P Woolley
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Age Estimation ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Estimation Procedure ◽  
Full Term ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Young Growth

Removal of pouch young of Setonix can lead to the resumption of development of quiescent blastocysts. Thirty-six pouch young obtained in this way have been used in this study. As the time in days from resumption of development to parturition is known, accurate ages may be calculated without actual birth or copulation being observed. These 36 animals have been repeatedly measured during their pouch life, and body weight, pes length, and tail length over the full term of pouch occupancy are given as regressions of these measures versus age. Larger-scale regressions are given for the first 80 days of pouch life. A tabulation based on the three regressions and giving average measures at stated ages is also given. During pouch life there is no difference in growth rate between male and female pouch young. Growth proportions of field-reared and compound-reared animals of comparable nutritional status are also similar. It is therefore considered that growth rates are equal, and that the age-estimation procedure established on compound-reared animals is applicable to field animals.

scholarly journals Uterine and Postnatal Maternal Effects in Mice Selected for Differential Rate of Early Development

Genetics ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 153 (2) ◽  
pp. 905-917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian K Rhees ◽  
Cynthia A Ernst ◽  
Christina H Miao ◽  
William R Atchley
Keyword(s):  
Postnatal Development ◽  
Maternal Effects ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Postnatal Growth ◽  
Correlated Response ◽  
Control Line ◽  
Differential Rate ◽  
Early Postnatal Development ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Selection For

Abstract A series of mouse lines was produced by long-term restricted index selection for divergent rate of growth during early and late postnatal development. The selection program was based on the following treatments: E+ and E- lines were selected to alter birth to 10-day weight gain while holding late gain for both lines constant and a control line was established via random selection. Using embryo transfer and crossfostering methodology, we partitioned postnatal growth for E+, E-, and C lines into progeny genetic, uterine maternal, and nurse maternal components. Selection for differential early growth resulted in correlated response in uterine and nurse maternal effects on body weights, with significant genetic-by-environment interactions. Significant uterine effects were also observed in tail length measurements. Direct uterine effects on body weight were relatively small and resulted in growth rate differences early in development. Nurse effects were large, resulting in modification of progeny growth trajectory especially during early postnatal development. Genetic-by-uterine interactions were large and demonstrate progeny-specific effects of the prenatal uterine environment.

Seasonal variation in body weight, fat, and behavior of California ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi)

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (6) ◽  
pp. 1425-1433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay E. Holekamp ◽  
Scott Nunes
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Spermophilus Beecheyi ◽  
Fat Pad ◽  
Annual Cycles ◽  
Focal Animal ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
California Ground Squirrels

Annual cycles of activity and reproduction were documented in a population of California ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi) in coastal California. Behavior, body mass, and reproduction were monitored in marked individuals between November 1983 and January 1986 through regular focal animal observation and livetrapping. Mass measures for reproductive tracts and gonadal fat pads were concurrently collected from a separate population of animals sacrificed in the laboratory. Mass and feeding behavior varied with sex and age. Surface activity, body weight, fat pad mass, and food consumption appeared to be closely related in this population. Fat pad mass was greater in nonreproductive than in reproductively active members of both sexes, as was body mass among males. Female body mass was greatest during pregnancy. Comparisons among reproductive status groups within each sex revealed significant differences in feeding, resting, vigilance, locomotor activity, and social behavior. Comparison with other populations suggested that S. beecheyi is highly variable with respect to demography, seasonal activity, timing of reproduction, and social behavior.

scholarly journals Understanding the Interaction Effects between Dietary Lipid Content and Rearing Temperature on Growth Performance, Feed Utilization, and Fat Deposition of Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 392
Author(s):  
Lydia Katsika ◽  
Mario Huesca Flores ◽  
Yannis Kotzamanis ◽  
Alicia Estevez ◽  
Stavros Chatzifotis
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Specific Growth ◽  
Dicentrarchus Labrax ◽  
Sea Bass ◽  
Dietary Lipid ◽  
Lipid Levels ◽  
Final Body Weight ◽  
Temperature Regimes ◽  
Fish Group

This study was conducted to elucidate the interaction effects of temperature and dietary lipid levels (2 × 2 factorial experiment) on the growth performance, muscle, and liver composition in adult farmed European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). Two groups of fish (190 g; 60 fish per group) were distributed in 12 tanks in triplicates and kept at two different temperature regimes; one starting at 23 °C and then changed to 17 °C for 61 days, and the other starting at 17 °C and then changed to 23 °C for 39 days. Two commercial diets containing both ~44% crude protein but incorporating different dietary lipid levels, 16.5% (D16) and 20.0% (D20) (dry matter (DM)), were fed to the fish to apparent satiation; the type of diet fed to each fish group remained constant throughout the experiment. Final body weight, weight gain, and specific growth rate were significantly higher for the fish group held at 23 °C compared to the fish group at 17 °C (before the temperature changes), while the dietary fat content did not have any profound effect in both groups. Furthermore, the different temperature regimes did not affect muscle or liver composition, but, on the contrary, dietary lipids affected hepatosomatic, perivisceral fat, and visceral indexes. Feed conversion ratio and specific growth rate were not affected by the dietary lipid level. An interaction of temperature and dietary lipid content was observed in daily feed consumption (DFC) and final body weight (FBW).

scholarly journals Milk Yield and Composition of Mixed-Breed Goats on Rangeland during the Dry Season and the Effect on the Growth of Their Progeny

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
Manuel J. Flores-Najera ◽  
Venancio Cuevas-Reyes ◽  
Juan M. Vázquez-García ◽  
Sergio Beltrán-López ◽  
César A. Meza-Herrera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Milk Yield ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Body Weight Gain ◽  
Postnatal Growth ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Weaning Weight ◽  
Northern Mexico ◽  
Mixed Breed

We tested whether the milk yield capacity of mixed-breed goats on a Chihuahuan desert rangeland in northern Mexico during the dry season affects milk composition, body weight gain, and weaning weight of their progeny. Milk yield and composition, and progeny postnatal growth performance, were recorded weekly. One week after kidding, mixed-breed goats (a mixture of Criollo × dairy breeds; n = 40) were allotted into medium (MP) or low (LP) milk yielding groups (20 goats per group). Mean 105-d total milk yield for MP and LP goats was 45.2 ± 12.5 and 20.7 ± 5.2 L, respectively. Milk lactose (4.3 vs. 4.2%) and solids-non-fat (SNF; 8.2 vs. 8.0) differed (p < 0.05) between MP and LP goats; milk protein content tended to differ (p = 0.08) between MP and LP goats with no difference for milk fat content (p > 0.05). Maternal body weight was positively associated with milk yield, milk lactose, and SNF content (p < 0.05 to p < 0.001). Goats giving birth to males produce more milk than goats giving birth to females, but milk fat percentage was higher in goats bearing females (p < 0.001). Milk yield and composition throughout lactation did not influence body weight gain (47.8 vs. 48.7 g/day for kids from MP and LP goats) and weaning weight (6.7 vs. 6.7 kg from MP and LP goats) of the offspring (p > 0.05). Birth weight and weaning weight of the progeny were positively related to maternal body weight (p ≤ 0.05). The postnatal growth of the kids was reduced, extending the time to reach market weight. Nevertheless, non-supplemented mixed-breed goats reared on semi-arid rangeland of northern Mexico have the potential for moderate milk production. Therefore, due to the limited nutrients ingested by grazing goats during the dry season, a nutritional supplement is necessary to keep up milk production and adequate growth of kids.

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