Body weight and lipid reserves of American Black Ducks and Mallards during autumn

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (10) ◽  
pp. 2098-2104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan R. Hanson ◽  
C. Davison Ankney ◽  
Darrell G. Dennis

A comparison of body weight and lipid reserves (weights of mesenteric and abdominal fat) of American Black Ducks (Anas rubripes) and Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) during autumn was done to provide insight regarding the recent contemporaneous decline in Black Duck and increase in Mallard populations of eastern North America. Data were collected on 350 Black Ducks and 1477 Mallards shot by hunters in southwestern Ontario from September 24 to December 20, 1986. Date shot and fresh body weight were recorded, and the head, a wing, a foot, and the viscera were removed and frozen. Body weight and lipid deposits (weight of mesenteric and abdominal fat) were compared between the two species. The first principal component from an analysis of nine morphometric measurements was used as a covariate in subsequent analysis to remove variation in body weight and lipid deposits caused by differences in structural size. Although all age-sex classes of Mallards and Black Ducks stored lipids during the autumn, adult male and juvenile female Black Ducks stored less lipids than did their Mallard counterparts (P ≤ 0.01). Differences in lipid reserves during fall migration may be a proximal reason for the lower survival of adult male and juvenile Black Ducks compared with Mallards and may also influence the timing of intraspecific, and the rate of interspecifc, pair formation.

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (10) ◽  
pp. 1573-1578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Shutler ◽  
C Davison Ankney ◽  
Adele Mullie

The blood parasite Leucocytozoon simondi is often associated with heavy mortality of ducks and geese, especially domestic ones, in North America. In contrast, in a previous study we found no mortality from L. simondi in our wild stock of mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and American black duck (Anas rubripes) ducklings. However, because parasites can slow growth, which could extend the interval during which ducklings are susceptible to predators, we tested for parasite effects on growth rates. We analysed growth rates over the first 20 days of life, based on tarsus length, culmen, bill width, body mass, and a principal component of structural size. Growth rates of infected ducklings were not lower than those of uninfected ducklings. Similarly, more intense infections did not have a greater effect on growth rates. Hence, growth rates were not negatively affected by L. simondi, which suggests that effects of this parasite on wild duck populations have been overestimated.


2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry R. Longcore ◽  
Daniel G. McAuley ◽  
Gary R. Hepp ◽  
Judith M. Rhymer

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
E. Cereda ◽  
A.E. Malavazos ◽  
R. Caccialanza ◽  
M. Rondanelli ◽  
G. Fatati ◽  
...  

2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (5) ◽  
pp. R1834-R1838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher L. Gentile ◽  
Jeb S. Orr ◽  
Brenda M. Davy ◽  
Kevin P. Davy

We tested the hypothesis that modest, overfeeding-induced weight gain would increase sympathetic neural activity in nonobese humans. Twelve healthy males (23 ± 2 years; body mass index, 23.8 ± 0.7) were overfed ∼1,000 kcal/day until a 5-kg weight gain was achieved. Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA, microneurography), blood pressure, body composition (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry), and abdominal fat distribution (computed tomography) were measured at baseline and following 4 wk of weight stability at each individual's elevated body weight. Overfeeding increased body weight (73.5 ± 3.1 vs. 78.4 ± 3.2 kg, P < 0.001) and body fat (14.9 ± 1.2 vs. 18 ± 1.1 kg, P < 0.001) in 42 ± 8 days. Total abdominal fat increased (220 ± 22 vs. 266 ± 22 cm2, P < 0.001) with weight gain, due to increases in both subcutaneous (158 ± 15 vs. 187 ± 12 cm2, P < 0.001) and visceral fat (63 ± 8 vs. 79 ± 12 cm2, P = 0.004). As hypothesized, weight gain elicited increases in MSNA burst frequency (32 ± 2 vs. 38 ± 2 burst/min, P = 0.002) and burst incidence (52 ± 4 vs. 59 ± 3 bursts/100 heart beats, P = 0.026). Systolic, but not diastolic blood pressure increased significantly with weight gain. The change in MSNA burst frequency was correlated with the percent increase in body weight ( r = 0.59, P = 0.022), change in body fat ( r = 0.52, P = 0.043) and percent change in body fat ( r = 0.51, P = 0.045). The results of the current study indicate that modest diet-induced weight gain elicits sympathetic neural activation in nonobese males. These findings may have important implications for understanding the link between obesity and hypertension.


1995 ◽  
Vol 268 (4) ◽  
pp. E546-E550 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. N. Boozer ◽  
G. Schoenbach ◽  
R. L. Atkinson

This study examined the effects of increasing levels of dietary fat fed isocalorically on body weight, body composition, and adipose distribution. Adult male rats were weight matched into four groups. One group that was fed a low-fat diet (12%) served as reference controls. The other three groups were fed diets of 24, 36, or 48% fat in amounts to equal the energy intake of the control group. After 6 wk, body weights of the four groups were not significantly different. Intrascapular brown fat did not differ between groups. Total body fat and adipose depot weights, however, increased in proportion to the level of fat in the diet. Total body fat and retroperitoneal and mesenteric depot weights of the 48% fat group were greater than controls (P < 0.05). Mesenteric fat in this group was also significantly increased over all other groups (P < 0.05). These results show that high-fat diets fed to adult animals cause increased body fat in the absence of significant changes in body weight and that mesenteric fat is increased disproportionately.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. e891998013
Author(s):  
Mônica Calixto Ribeiro de Holanda ◽  
Marco Aurélio Carneiro de Holanda ◽  
Leandro Ricardo Rodrigues de Lucena

Objective was to define a mathematical model that better explain the relationship of the animals weight depending not only on the animals age but also on the animals morphometric measurements. 40 piglets, half Duroc-Large White blood, were used, 20 males and 20 females, from 3 to 35 days of age (lactation phase) initially weighing 1.518 ± 0.121 kg and from 36 to 66 days of age (calving phase) with a body weight of 7.010 ± 0.704 kg. The animals were weighed weekly on a digital balance. The relationship of animal weight, age and morphometric measurements of male and female piglets were performed using regression models: existing, linear and power. The models were evaluated according to nine criterialinear model was the most adequate to explain the weight of male pigs, while for female pigs was the power. The age of the pig, the shank and palette length, as well as the circumference of the shank jointly explain the weight of the male piglets. The weight of females is explained jointly by age, body length, thorax and hip circumference.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 26-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
I O Dudusola ◽  
S O Oseni ◽  
M A Popoola ◽  
A Jenyo

The study was conducted to evaluate the principal component analysis of phenotypic attributes of West African Dwarf (WAD) goat. Data collected on the live body weight and twelve morphometric traits of the goats which were categorised into four age groups based on their dentition. The age groups were: less than 2years old, 2- 3years old, 3-4 years old and 4 years old. The data were subjected to a PCA and Cluster analyses using the multivariate procedure components of SAS (2003). Result revealed that highest values of morphometric traits were obtained in goats that of 4 years old. The rate of increase in body weight and other morphometric traits was high in age group of ˂2 years to age 2-3years compared to differences observed in others across the age group. Heart Girth had the highest correlation with body weight. Foreleg, neck, ear and hind leg lengths; wither height and rump height were weakly correlated with the body weight of the goats. Result revealed that two Principal components were retained in the first age group (age group˂2years) which accounted for 72.99% of the total variation. The first PC alone accounted for 63.13% of the total variation while PC2 accounted for the remaining 9.86%. From this study, it was concluded that there is interdependence among body weight and morphometric traits and that morphometric traits can be used in predicting live weight of WAD goats; PCA and Cluster could be exploited in breeding and selection programmes to acquire highly coordinated animal bodies using fewer measurements.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document