scholarly journals Maternal Food Restriction During Lactation Affects Body Weight and Sexual Behavior of Male Offspring in Meadow Voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus)

Ethology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 120 (8) ◽  
pp. 793-803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramona M. Sabau ◽  
Michael H. Ferkin
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Sexual Behavior ◽  
Food Restriction ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Male Offspring ◽  
Meadow Voles

Body mass and attractivity of female offspring are negatively affected by food restriction of meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) dams during lactation

Behaviour ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 151 (12-13) ◽  
pp. 1847-1868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramona M. Sabau ◽  
Lyndsey Pierson ◽  
Michael H. Ferkin
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Sexual Behaviour ◽  
Food Restriction ◽  
Female Offspring ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
The Body ◽  
Male Offspring ◽  
Meadow Vole ◽  
Body Weights ◽  
And Control

The environment experienced by pups during lactation (nutrition and maternal behaviour) can contribute not only to sexual development, but also to individual differences in offspring sexual behaviour. We tested the hypothesis that female offspring of meadow vole dams (Microtus pennsylvanicus) that were 30% food restricted (FR) during days 1–7 of lactation (FR 1–7), days 8–14 of lactation (FR 8–14), or days 15–21 of lactation (FR 15–21) show negative effects on their food intake, growth, and the three components of sexual behaviour (attractivity, proceptivity and receptivity) as compared with female offspring of control dams. With the exception of age 29 days or age 34 days, the body weights of female offspring of FR 1–7 dams and FR 8–14 dams between days 21 and 48 were lower than the body weights of female offspring of FR 15–21 dams and those of control dams. Female offspring of FR 1–7 dams maintained a lower body weight than the other female offspring throughout the study. Female offspring of FR 8–14 and FR 15–21 dams produced odours that were less attractive to males than odours produced by those of FR 1–7 and control dams. Female offspring of FR dams and control dams did not differ in their measures of proceptivity and receptivity. However, the total amount of time allocated for copulation by males was shorter for those males that were paired with female offspring of FR 1–7 dams than it was for those that were paired with the female offspring of FR 8–14, FR15–21, and control dams. The results of this study, coupled with those found in a study conducted on the male offspring of FR dams, indicate that for female offspring days 1–7 and for male offspring days 8–14 of lactation are the time periods during which food restriction of dams had the greatest impact on deficits in sexual behaviour and body mass in meadow voles.

Fiabilité des mesures de poids et d'examens histopathologiques dans les études d'intoxication du campagnol des champs (Microtus pennsylvanicus)

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 804-810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Marie Bergeron ◽  
Louise Jodoin
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Previous Analysis ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Phleum Pratense ◽  
Cirsium Arvense ◽  
Canada Thistle ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Organ Weights ◽  
Liver And Kidney ◽  
Kidney Lesions

The values of body weight and internal organ weights as indices of the antinutritive properties of certain plants in the diet of meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) was determined by comparing these measures to results obtained by histological sections of liver and kidney. The white clover (Trifolium repens) diet is the only one to have caused kidney lesions, but diets of timothy (Phleum pratense), reed phalaris (Phalaris arundinacea), simple aster (Aster simplex) or Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) had considerable effects on the liver. Voles fed ground ivy (Glecoma hederacea) or umbellate aster (Aster umbellatus) had lesions characteristic of periportal interstitial hepatitis that normally results from an irritation. Histological analyses suggested that 10 of the 12 experimental diets had had detrimental effects on the animals, whereas measures of body or organ weight had identified only 7 of the diets; 5 of these corresponded to the diets found in a previous analysis. We therefore conclude that measurements of weight alone are insufficient and should be combined with the results of histopathological examinations in studies on antinutritive properties of plants in the diet of meadow voles.

Body Composition Modifications Due to the “Search, Rescue and Survival Training” in Male Military Firefighter Cadets

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thiago Ramos de Barros ◽  
Verônica Pinto Salerno ◽  
Thalita Ponce ◽  
Míriam Raquel Meira Mainenti
Keyword(s):  
Body Composition ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Food Restriction ◽  
Physical Exertion ◽  
High Energy ◽  
The Body ◽  
Fat Free Mass ◽  
Sleep Restriction ◽  
Fat Percentage

ABSTRACT Introduction To train and prepare cadets for a career as firefighters in Rio de Janeiro, the second-year students of the Officers Training Course are submitted to a Search, Rescue, and Survival Training (SRST) course, which is characterized by long periods of high physical exertion and sleep restriction during a 9-day instruction module, and food restriction during a 7-day survival module. The present study investigated changes in the body composition of 39 male cadets submitted to SRST during training and 4 weeks of recovery with no restrictions in food consumption. Materials and Methods Each cadet was evaluated by anthropometric measurements at six time points: pre-SRST; after the first module; after the second module; and after 1, 2, and 4 weeks of recovery. Measurements included body girths and skinfolds, to estimate trunk (chest and waist) and limbs (arm and thigh) dimensions, as well as body composition. Repeated measures ANOVA and Friedman test were applied (depending on each data distribution). Results Statistically significant decreases in body weight (76.2; 69.8-87.2 to 63.9; 58.9-73.5 kg) and fat free mass (FFM, 69.2; 63.7-77.2 to 60.1; 56.2-68.0 kg) were observed following the second module of SRST. Following a single week of recovery, the FFM returned to pre-SRST values. Body weight returned to pre-training levels in 2 weeks. Body fat percentage and mass also significantly decreased during SRST (9.0; 7.7-12.3 to 6.5; 5.1-9.3% and 6.9; 5.6-10.0 to 6.9; 5.6-10.0 kg, respectively), which showed a slower and more gradual recovery that reached pre-SRST values after 4 weeks. The girths of arm, thigh, chest and waist significantly decreased due to SRST. The girths of the limbs (arm and thigh) returned to pre-training values after one month of recovery, while the girths of the trunk (chest and waist) did not return to pre-SRST values during the study period. Conclusions The findings suggest that men who experience periods of high energy demands and sleep restriction followed by a period of food restriction will endure unavoidable physical consequences that can be mostly reversed by a 1-month recovery.

Maternal protein restriction in pregnancy and/or lactation affects seminiferous tubule organization in male rat offspring

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 321-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. L. Rodríguez-González ◽  
R. M. Vigueras-Villaseñor ◽  
S. Millán ◽  
N. Moran ◽  
R. Trejo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Germ Cell ◽  
Control Diet ◽  
Protein Restriction ◽  
Male Offspring ◽  
Male Rat ◽  
Testis Weight ◽  
Germ Cell Differentiation ◽  
Maternal Protein Restriction ◽  
Cell Proliferation And Differentiation

Maternal protein restriction (MPR) during pregnancy impaired the reproduction of male offspring. We investigated, during the first wave of spermatogenesis, whether MPR exerts deleterious effects on germ cell proliferation and differentiation, as well as androgen receptor (AR) protein expression, which was used as a marker for Sertoli cell (SC) maturation. At the beginning of pregnancy (day 0), dams were fed a control diet (C: 20% casein) or a restricted isocaloric diet (R: 10% casein). After birth, four groups were established: CC, RR, CR and RC (first letter diet during pregnancy and second during lactation). Male offspring were studied at postnatal days 14, 21 and 36. At birth, pup body weight was unchanged. Body weight and testis weight were reduced in RR and CR groups at all ages evaluated. MPR delayed the germinal epithelium development at all ages evaluated. On performing Western blot and immunohistochemistry, AR expression was found to be lower in the three restricted groups. The results suggest that MPR during pregnancy and/or lactation delays SC maturation and germ cell differentiation, and affects intratubular organization. These changes might be responsible for the lower fertility rate at older ages.

PERFORMANCE OF DWARF BROILER BREEDERS IN LAYING CAGES AND FLOOR PENS AND OF NORMAL BREEDERS IN FLOOR PENS

1975 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 741-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. STRAIN ◽  
A. P. PILOSKI
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
General Pattern ◽  
Female Offspring ◽  
Male Offspring ◽  
Production Cycle ◽  
Feed Conversion ◽  
Broiler Breeders ◽  
Feed Costs

Dwarf broiler breeders in single-bird cages (DC), in floor pens (DF) and normal broiler breeders in floor pens (NF) were compared for their own and their offspring’s performance. No differences were observed in rate of egg production at 147–329 days of age between the NF and DF birds (48 vs. 47%) whereas the DC birds laid at the rate of 40%. Hen-housed egg numbers for the same period followed the same general pattern (NF, 81; DF, 82; DC, 70 eggs/bird). DF and DC birds consumed less feed per dozen eggs than the NF birds (3.4 vs. 4.3 kg/doz). Egg weights in the early part of the production cycle were not significantly different among the groups but at 294 days of age the normal birds laid larger eggs than the dwarfs (65 vs. 62 g). Dwarfs in cages reached 50% production earlier than the DF or NF birds. Female offspring from the three groups grew at the same rate and weighed 1.7 kg at 56 days of age but there were significant differences in feed conversion (NF, 2.46; DF, 2.43; DC, 2.53 kg/kg body weight produced). Male offspring had small but not statistically significant differences in body weight at 56 days (NF, 2.16; DF, 2.12; DC, 2.09 kg) or feed conversion (NF, 2.30; DF, 2.29; DC, 2.34 kg/kg body weight). Mortality in the offspring ranged from 2.7 to 9.2% but did not differ significantly. Income over feed costs per broiler started did not differ from the three groups regardless of the meat price – feed price combination considered. However, when profit was computed on a breeder hen basis, the DF females were more profitable than either the NF or DC females.

Winter coexistence of voles in spruce forest: relevance of seasonal changes in aggression

1975 ◽  
Vol 53 (8) ◽  
pp. 1004-1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian N. Turner ◽  
Michael R. Perrin ◽  
Stuart L. Iverson
Keyword(s):  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Meadow Vole ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Spruce Forest ◽  
Vole Population ◽  
Reproductive Condition ◽  
Interspecific Aggression ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Nonbreeding Season ◽  
Short Period

Beginning in November 1973, numerous meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) moved onto a spruce forest grid occupied by red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi). A resident meadow vole population resulted, the two species coexisting until April 1974, when most meadow voles disappeared from the grid during a relatively short period. Interspecific aggression levels, as determined from voles temporarily removed from the populations and tested in paired encounters in a laboratory arena, were low during the winter, but increased when males of both species entered reproductive condition in the spring. Microtus was generally dominant in early breeding period encounters, but this dominance declined concurrently with the meadow voles' disappearance from the forest. It is argued that meadow voles did not leave the forest to breed, or because the snow cover melted, since this species will live and reproduce in forest in the absence of Clethrionomys. The results are interpreted as support for an earlier hypothesis that competitive habitat exclusion varies seasonally with reproduction-related aggression. Thus, these species apparently may coexist in either of their preferred habitats when interspecific aggression is low (the nonbreeding season), but this relationship terminates when interspecific aggression levels increase with the resumption of breeding in the spring.

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