Body size and condition, age, plumage quality, and foods of prenesting male cinnamon teal in relation to pair status

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (12) ◽  
pp. 2172-2176 ◽  
Author(s):  
William L. Hohman ◽  
C. Davison Ankney
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Protein Content ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Mate Selection ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Body Protein ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Male Age ◽  
Free Body ◽  
Anas Cyanoptera

Male-biased sex ratios in waterfowl may contribute to sexual selection and permit females to be the deciding sex in mate selection. Male characteristics potentially influencing female choice include male age, size, plumage quality, and body condition (i.e., relative body mass, fat content, or protein content). By examining characteristics of prenesting male cinammon teal (Anas cyanoptera) relative to their pair status we evaluated the predictions that (i) paired males are older and physically superior to unpaired males and (ii) older and physically superior males pair in advance of other males. Diets of paired and unpaired males were similar, as were body size, ingesta-free body mass, fat, breast, and leg muscle protein contents, and testis, liver, and plumage masses. Likewise, pair status was not associated with male age. Body protein content and percentage of alternate plumage were generally greater in paired than unpaired males, but for some unpaired individuals these values were higher than the mean values for paired males. Thus, we found only limited evidence to support the above hypotheses. Our data suggest a possible link between winter nutrition and male participation in reproduction. That is, characteristics which enable males, during winter, to acquire nutrients for initiating and completing the prealternate molt in advance of other males also may be associated with ability to obtain a mate.

scholarly journals 224 A method for estimating the target for protein energy retention in sheep

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_4) ◽  
pp. 143-143
Author(s):  
Holland C Dougherty ◽  
Hutton Oddy ◽  
Mark Evered ◽  
James W Oltjen
Keyword(s):  
Body Composition ◽  
Protein Content ◽  
Heat Production ◽  
Crude Protein ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Energy Utilization ◽  
Body Protein ◽  
Protein Mass ◽  
Reference Weight ◽  
Animal Growth

Abstract Target protein mass at maturity is a common “attractor” used in animal models to derive components of animal growth. This target muscle protein at maturity, M*, is used as a driver of a model of animal growth and body composition with pools representing muscle and visceral protein; where viscera is heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, reticulorumen and gastrointestinal tract; and muscle is non-visceral protein. This M* term then drives changes in protein mass and heat production, based on literature data stating that heat production scales linearly with protein mass but not liveweight. This led us to adopt a modelling approach where energy utilization is directly related to protein content of the animal, and energy not lost as heat or deposited as protein is fat. To maintain continuity with existing feeding systems we estimate M* from Standard Reference Weight (SRW) as follows: M* (kJ) = SRW * SHRINK * (1-FMAT) * (MUSC) * (CPM)* 23800. Where SRW is standard reference weight (kg), SHRINK is the ratio of empty body to live weight (0.86), FMAT is proportion of fat in the empty body at maturity (0.30), MUSC is the proportion of empty body protein that is in muscle (0.85), CPM is the crude protein content of fat-free muscle at maturity (0.21), and 23800 is the energetic content (kJ) of a kilogram of crude protein. Values for SHRINK, FMAT, MUSC and CPM were derived from a synthesis of our own experimental data and the literature. For sheep, these values show M* to be: M* (kJ) = SRW * 0.86* (1-0.3) * 0.85 * 0.21 *23800 = SRW * 2557. This method allows for use of existing knowledge regarding standard reference weight and other parameters in estimating target muscle mass at maturity, as part of a model of body composition and performance in ruminants.

Hydration of fat-free body in protein-depleted patients

1985 ◽  
Vol 249 (2) ◽  
pp. E227-E233 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. Beddoe ◽  
S. J. Streat ◽  
G. L. Hill
Keyword(s):  
Cell Mass ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Extracellular Fluid ◽  
The Body ◽  
Fat Free Mass ◽  
Body Protein ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Free Body ◽  
Fluid Compartments ◽  
Total Body

It is widely believed that increased hydration of the fat-free body accompanies most major disease processes as a result of contraction of the body cell mass and expansion of the extracellular fluid. Measurements of total body water (TBW) and total body nitrogen in 68 normal volunteers and 95 surgical ward patients presenting for intravenous nutrition have been used to derive ratios of TBW to fat-free mass (TBW:FFM) and protein indices (PI), where PI is defined as the ratio of measured total body protein to predicted TBP. Mean values of PI were 1.009 +/- 0.116 (SD) and 0.783 +/- 0.152 in the normal and patient groups, respectively, corresponding to mean TBW:FFM ratios of 0.719 +/- 0.016 and 0.741 +/- 0.029. However, 48 patients had normal TBW:FFM despite having lost 15% of body protein. A theoretical model of body composition changes in catabolic illness is presented, which is in accord with the patient data, demonstrating that TBW:FFM does not necessarily increase in catabolic illness and that the ratio masks underlying shifts in body fluid compartments.

scholarly journals Can snakes use yolk reserves to maximize body size at hatching?

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 627-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan-Fu Qu ◽  
Shu-Zhan Zhao ◽  
Xu-Fei Jiang ◽  
Long-Hui Lin ◽  
Xiang Ji
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Linear Size ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
Fat Bodies ◽  
Free Body ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Naja Atra

Abstract We experimentally miniaturized freshly laid eggs of the Chinese cobra Naja atra (Elapidae) by removing ∼10% and ∼20% of original yolk. We tested if yolk-reduced eggs would produce 1) normal-sized hatchlings with invariant yolk-free body mass (and thus invariant linear size) but dramatically reduced or even completely depleted residual yolk, 2) smaller hatchlings with normal-sized residual yolk but reduced yolk-free body mass, or 3) smaller hatchlings of which both yolk-free body mass and residual yolk are proportionally reduced. Yolk quantity affected hatchling linear size (both snout-vent length and tail length) and body mass. However, changes in yolk quantity did not affect incubation length or any hatchling trait examined after accounting for egg mass at laying (for control and sham-manipulated eggs) or after yolk removal (for manipulated eggs). Specifically, yolk-reduced eggs produced hatchlings of which all major components (carcass, residual yolk, and fat bodies) were scaled down proportionally. We show that snakes cannot use yolk reserves to maximize their body size at hatching. Furthermore, our data also suggest that the partitioning of yolk in embryonic snakes is species-specific.

Body composition dynamics of ruddy ducks during wing moult

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (11) ◽  
pp. 2224-2228 ◽  
Author(s):  
William L. Hohman
Keyword(s):  
Body Composition ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Liver Protein ◽  
Body Protein ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Sex Effect ◽  
Ruddy Ducks ◽  
Fat Liver ◽  
Wing Moult

A method was developed for indexing moulting costs in waterfowl based on intensity of moult and proportional mass of feathers in seven feather regions (ADJMOLT). This method was then applied to an examination of relations between moulting costs and size-adjusted body mass and composition of postbreeding male and female ruddy ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis) collected in southwestern Manitoba, 30 July – 24 August 1985. Moderate to heavy moult (25 to > 50% of moulting feathers) was recorded in all feather regions. The intensity of down moult was greater in males than in females, but no differences between sexes in moult score by contour feather region, overall mean moult score, or ADJMOLT were detected. Relations between ADJMOLT and body fat (FAT), liver protein (LIVER), and size-adjusted body mass (ADJMASS), body protein (ADJPROT), and leg and breast muscle protein (ADJLEG and ADJBR, respectively) were not influenced by sex, but there was a sex effect on the relation of ADJMOLT to gizzard mass (GIZZWT). ADJPROT and ADJBR were negatively associated with ADJMOLT, whereas female GIZZWT was positively related to ADJMOLT. ADJMASS, ADJLEG, FAT, and LIVER were unrelated to ADJMOLT. Female ruddy ducks were structurally smaller and had less ADJMASS, ADJPROT, ADJLEG, and FAT than males, but there were no sex-related differences in ADJBR. I found no evidence of nutritional stress in post-breeding ruddy ducks, but argue that stress associated with moult in waterfowl is most likely to occur in females, especially small-bodied species that are primarily herbivorous.

scholarly journals Loss of the glucocorticoid receptor in zebrafish improves muscle glucose availability and increases growth

2019 ◽  
Vol 316 (6) ◽  
pp. E1093-E1104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Faught ◽  
Mathilakath M. Vijayan
Keyword(s):  
Glucocorticoid Receptor ◽  
Glucose Uptake ◽  
Protein Content ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Initiation Factor ◽  
Protein Catabolism ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Glucose Availability

Chronic stress and the associated elevation in corticosteroid levels increase muscle protein catabolism. We hypothesized that the glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-regulated restriction of muscle glucose availability may play a role in the increased protein catabolism during chronic stress. To test this, we generated a ubiquitous GR knockout (GRKO) zebrafish to determine the physiological consequence of glucocorticoid stimulation on muscle metabolism and growth. Adult GRKO zebrafish had higher body mass, and this corresponded to an increased protein and lipid, but not carbohydrate, content. GRKO fish were hypercortisolemic, but they elicited a higher cortisol response to an acute stressor. However, the stressor-induced increase in plasma glucose level observed in the wild type was completely abolished in the GRKO fish. Also, the muscle, but not liver, capacity for glucose uptake was enhanced in the GRKO fish, and this corresponded with a higher hexokinase activity in the mutants. Zebrafish lacking GR also showed a higher capacity for protein synthesis, including increased phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 4B, higher expression of heat shock protein cognate 70, and total protein content. A chronic fasting stressor reduced body mass and muscle protein content in adult zebrafish, but this decrease was attenuated in the GRKO compared with the wild-type fish. Metabolomics analysis revealed that the free pool of amino acid substrates used for oxidation and gluconeogenesis were lower in the fasted GRKO fish muscle compared with the wild type. Altogether, chronic stressor-mediated GR signaling limits muscle glucose uptake, and this may play a role in protein catabolism, leading to the growth suppression in fish.

scholarly journals A Farewell to the Encephalization Quotient: A New Brain Size Measure for Comparative Primate Cognition

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Carel P. van Schaik ◽  
Zegni Triki ◽  
Redouan Bshary ◽  
Sandra A. Heldstab
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Brain Size ◽  
Estimation Error ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Encephalization Quotient ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Size Measure

Both absolute and relative brain sizes vary greatly among and within the major vertebrate lineages. Scientists have long debated how larger brains in primates and hominins translate into greater cognitive performance, and in particular how to control for the relationship between the noncognitive functions of the brain and body size. One solution to this problem is to establish the slope of cognitive equivalence, i.e., the line connecting organisms with an identical bauplan but different body sizes. The original approach to estimate this slope through intraspecific regressions was abandoned after it became clear that it generated slopes that were too low by an unknown margin due to estimation error. Here, we revisit this method. We control for the error problem by focusing on highly dimorphic primate species with large sample sizes and fitting a line through the mean values for adult females and males. We obtain the best estimate for the slope of circa 0.27, a value much lower than those constructed using all mammal species and close to the value expected based on the genetic correlation between brain size and body size. We also find that the estimate of cognitive brain size based on cognitive equivalence fits empirical cognitive studies better than the encephalization quotient, which should therefore be avoided in future studies on primates and presumably mammals and birds in general. The use of residuals from the line of cognitive equivalence may change conclusions concerning the cognitive abilities of extant and extinct primate species, including hominins.

scholarly journals Comprehensive assessment of post-prandial protein handling by the application of intrinsically labelled protein in vivo in human subjects

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Jorn Trommelen ◽  
Andrew M. Holwerda ◽  
Philippe J. M. Pinckaers ◽  
Luc J. C. van Loon
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Dietary Protein ◽  
Protein Metabolism ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Body Protein

All human tissues are in a constant state of remodelling, regulated by the balance between tissue protein synthesis and breakdown rates. It has been well-established that protein ingestion stimulates skeletal muscle and whole-body protein synthesis. Stable isotope-labelled amino acid methodologies are commonly applied to assess the various aspects of protein metabolism in vivo in human subjects. However, to achieve a more comprehensive assessment of post-prandial protein handling in vivo in human subjects, intravenous stable isotope-labelled amino acid infusions can be combined with the ingestion of intrinsically labelled protein and the collection of blood and muscle tissue samples. The combined application of ingesting intrinsically labelled protein with continuous intravenous stable isotope-labelled amino acid infusion allows the simultaneous assessment of protein digestion and amino acid absorption kinetics (e.g. release of dietary protein-derived amino acids into the circulation), whole-body protein metabolism (whole-body protein synthesis, breakdown and oxidation rates and net protein balance) and skeletal muscle metabolism (muscle protein fractional synthesis rates and dietary protein-derived amino acid incorporation into muscle protein). The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the various aspects of post-prandial protein handling and metabolism with a focus on insights obtained from studies that have applied intrinsically labelled protein under a variety of conditions in different populations.

scholarly journals Morphological determinants of jumping performance in the Iberian green frog

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-424
Author(s):  
Gregorio Moreno-Rueda ◽  
Abelardo Requena-Blanco ◽  
Francisco J Zamora-Camacho ◽  
Mar Comas ◽  
Guillem Pascual
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Hind Limb ◽  
Limb Length ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Jumping Performance ◽  
Hind Limbs ◽  
Selective Forces ◽  
Pelophylax Perezi

Abstract Predation is one of the main selective forces in nature, frequently selecting potential prey for developing escape strategies. Escape ability is typically influenced by several morphological parameters, such as morphology of the locomotor appendices, muscular capacity, body mass, or fluctuating asymmetry, and may differ between sexes and age classes. In this study, we tested the relationship among these variables and jumping performance in 712 Iberian green frogs Pelophylax perezi from an urban population. The results suggest that the main determinant of jumping capacity was body size (explaining 48% of variance). Larger frogs jumped farther, but jumping performance reached an asymptote for the largest frogs. Once controlled by structural body size, the heaviest frogs jumped shorter distances, suggesting a trade-off between fat storage and jumping performance. Relative hind limb length also determined a small but significant percentage of variance (2.4%) in jumping performance—that is, the longer the hind limbs, the greater the jumping capacity. Juveniles had relatively shorter and less muscular hind limbs than adults (for a given body size), and their jumping performance was poorer. In our study population, the hind limbs of the frogs were very symmetrical, and we found no effect of fluctuating asymmetry on jumping performance. Therefore, our study provides evidence that jumping performance in frogs is not only affected by body size, but also by body mass and hind limb length, and differ between age classes.

Growth and food utilization of the Australian short-finned eel, Anguilla australis australis (Richardson) given paired iso-energetic diets with increasing crude protein content

2006 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Engin ◽  
C. G. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Protein Content ◽  
Crude Protein ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Food Utilization ◽  
Crude Protein Content ◽  
Efficiency Ratio ◽  
Body Protein ◽  
Anguilla Australis ◽  
Dietary Crude Protein

AbstractThis study investigated the effects of 100 g/kg increments of crude protein (approx. 250 (P25) to 550 (P55) g/kg of crude protein) in paired iso-energetic diets on the growth performance of the juvenile Australian short-finned eel (1·83 (s.e. 0·01) g average wet weight). The highest growth response was obtained with treatment P45 followed by P35, P55 and P25. It appeared that food efficiency ratio (FER) increased with increasing crude protein content in low energy diets (treatments P25 and P35). However, 100 g/kg increase in dietary crude protein content (from 450 to 550 kg crude protein per kg diet) in high energy diets resulted in lower FER for treatment P55 than for the treatment P45. The protein efficiency ratio (PER, %) was higher in low protein:low energy diets (treatments P25 and P35) than that of high protein:high energy diets (treatments P45 and P55). The protein productive values (PPV, %) for treatments followed a similar trend to PER in this experiment. The lowest PPV was obtained by the treatment P55 and it was significantly different from that of the other three treatments. A proportional increase in dietary crude protein content in paired iso-energetic diets did not significantly change the whole body protein content. However, a small increase in whole body protein content with increasing dietary crude protein in each group was detected. In conclusion, the present study showed protein sparing effects of lipids and carbohydrates in the diets of the short-finned eel. Further studies specifically investigating the effects of dietary carbohydrate to lipid ratios at different protein levels would improve diet formulation and reduce nutrient impact in intensive recirculation systems.

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