bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Male‐biased Adult Sex Ratios and their Significance for Cooperative Breeding in Dhole, Cuon alpinus, Packs
Authors: Venkataraman Arun B. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractTwo free‐ranging packs of dholes (Asiatic wild dog, Cuon alpinus) were monitored for a period of 6 yr (Sep. 1990‐Sep. 1996) in the Mudumalai sanctuary, southern India. Demographic data on age structure, litter‐size, sex ratio and age and sex specific dispersal were collected. Behavioural data on social interactions and reproductive behaviour among pack members were obtained to determine the frequencies of dominant and subordinate behaviours shown by male and female pack members and a measure of each male's reproductive access to females. Behaviours displayed by pack members at dens were recorded to determine whether any age‐ or sex‐specific role specialization existed during pup care. Tenures for dominant males and females within the pack were calculated to ascertain the rate of breeding vacancies occurring within packs. Approximate levels of genetic relatedness within packs were determined by studying pedigrees.In most years one study pack had a male‐biased adult sex ratio. This was caused by almost two‐fold higher dispersal of adult females over adult males. A considerable variance existed in the percentage of sub‐adults dispersing from the two packs. Differences existed in the frequencies of dominant and subordinate behaviours shown by males. For males, dominance ranks and ranks based on submissive behaviours were not correlated with frequencies of reproductive behaviours. Subordinate males also displayed reproductive behaviours. In packs, dominant males had lower tenures than dominant females indicating that among males breeding vacancies arose more quickly. The litter size was found to be negatively correlated with the age of the breeding female. There were no significant differences across individuals of varying age or sex classes in the display of pup care behaviours. Significant differences did exist among individual adults. Genetic relatedness among packs tended to vary temporally as a consequence of possible mating by subordinate animals and immigration of new males into the pack.In conclusion, it appears that males delay dispersal and cooperate within their natal packs because of the variety of reproductive strategies they could pursue within. A combination of ecological constraints and the difficulties of achieving breeding status within non‐natal packs may make early dispersal and independent breeding less beneficial.
Influenza Infection Neutralizes the Attractiveness of Male Odour to Female Mice (Mus musculus)
Authors: Penn Dustin , Schneider Greg , White Krislea , Slev Patricia , Potts Wayne 
Published: May 2010

AbstractThis study aimed to determine if female house mice,Mus musculus domesticus, are able to assess a male's infection status from odour cues. We collected urine from male mice before, during, and after they were experimentally infected with influenza, a respiratory virus. Females spent more time investigating urine collected from males while they were uninfected than when they were infected. Also 70 % of females released into a large enclosure preferred to nest in boxes containing urine collected from uninfected rather than infected males. This is the first evidence that mice can discriminate virally infected individuals through chemical signals and the first evidence that infection causes odour changes in the urine. To determine if the odour of infected males is repulsive, we presented females with urine samples and neutral water blanks. Normal urine collected from uninfected males was more attractive, whereas urine collected during infection was as attractive as water. This indicates that rather than being aversive, influenza infection abolishes the attractiveness of a male's odour. A similar effect also occurs when male mice are infected with coccidian gut parasites (Kavaliers & Colwell 1995, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. 261B, 31–35). One proximate reason for the neutralization of the attractiveness of a male's odour may be a decrease in serum androgen concentrations during infection.
Threat‐sensitive Nest Preferences in Male Upland Bullies, Gobiomorphus breviceps
Authors: Hamilton William J. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractA male's ability to acquire and defend a nest site against competitors is an important requirement for successful breeding in many fish species. In the upland bully Gobiomorphus breviceps (Eleotridae), not all males are successful in gaining ownership of nesting rocks; therefore, male‐male competition may be important in nest acquisition. Although larger nests have the potential to hold more eggs, in nature there is a preferred nest size well below the maximum available. I found that in over 88% of dyadic contests, the larger male was successful in acquiring the single nesting site provided. When males were individually given a choice of two artificial nest rocks, they consistently preferred the larger nest. These results suggest that larger males have the ability to occupy the largest nests. In the presence of a trout predator, males preferred nests with three closed sides 93% of the time. This preference disappeared when the threat was a conspecific. This shows that while males were choosing the larger nests their decisions were also threat‐sensitive.
Ranging Movements of Female Roe Deer: Do Home‐loving Does Roam to Mate?
Authors: José Cristina San , Lovari Sandro 
Published: May 2010

AbstractBimonthly changes in home range size of seven mature roe deer Capreolus capreolus L. females were analysed over one year. Great stability of home range size and high site fidelity was common to all females, which remained bimonthly within areas of 6.1–20.8 ha. Two groups of females could be identified on the basis of bimonthly variations in their home range sizes: females with larger areas (LHR females), who decreased their ranges in the birth season only, and females with smaller home ranges (SHR females), who increased significantly their home ranges during the rut. The most likely explanation is that the areas inhabited by SHR females included high‐quality food resources allowing survival even in small home ranges. In the rut, SHR females may have expanded their ranges to increase mating opportunities.
Individuality but not Stability in Marmoset Long Calls
Authors: Jorgensen Dan D. , French Jeffrey A. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractIndividually distinct communication signals (‘signatures’) have been documented in a variety of taxa across signal modalities and they serve a host of important functions. However, studies have rarely examined the temporal stability of these signals. Cooperatively breeding species, such as marmosets and tamarins, are characterized by long‐term group membership, complex social organization, and high levels of interindividual coordination of behaviour. These social attributes may promote complex, individually distinct and stable acoustic signals to facilitate the expression of cooperative behaviour. In this study, the long calls of socially housed individual Wied's black tufted‐ear marmosets,Callithrix kuhli, were examined for a ‘signature system’ potentially important in such interactions. Vocalizations were recorded at three different times (1993, 1995, 1996), digitized, and then measured by spectrographic analysis. Acoustic and temporal features of the calls were examined, including number of syllables, length of syllables, intersyllable interval, frequency range, start/stop frequency, peak frequency, and total call duration. A number of significant intra‐individual changes in acoustic parameters were identified across the recording periods. Discriminant analysis revealed that many variables contributed to differentiation among individuals, and average classification accuracy for calls within a given year was high, ranging from 91.7% to 93.5%. However, reclassification accuracy for calls between‐years was much poorer, averaging less than 50%. In addition, classification confidence was higher for within‐year scores in contrast to the between‐year values. Thus, tufted‐ear marmosets have an individually distinct vocalization which is acoustically modified across time. Our finding suggests that to the extent that the vocalization is used for individual recognition, recognition mechanisms must be modified over time as well.
Variable Social Mating System in the Sedge Warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
Authors: Hasselquist Dennis , Langefors Åsa 
Published: May 2010

AbstractWe studied the mating system in a local population of colour‐ringed sedge warblers in south Central Sweden in 1990–92. Of 58 territorial males, 59% were socially monogamous, 14% socially polygynous and 27% unpaired. Socially polygynous males in general paired with two females: the only exception was one male that formed pair bonds with three females. Among the males that formed a pair bond, 38% resumed singing after their first female had started egg‐laying or incubation and 50% of the paired males that resumed singing succeeded in attracting a second female. Hence, despite a consistently male‐biased sex ratio in the population a large proportion of the males tried to become polygynous and they were often successful. The frequency of extra‐pair matings did not differ between monogamous and polygynous males. Of 47 breeding females, 6.4% were sequentially socially polyandrous. In two out of three cases, the females fed the young of their first broods until independence before initiating the second brood. In the third case the female deserted her newly fledged young and these were instead cared for by a neighbouring male. DNA fingerprinting revealed that this male had not sired any of these young. Each of the sequentially polyandrous females successfully raised both their broods, and their annual reproductive success was slightly higher than the average for the polygynous males. When the sequentially socially polyandrous females initiated their second brood, their primary male (in all cases polygynous males), cared for young in their secondary female's nest. In all cases, the sequentially polyandrous females formed second pair bonds with unpaired males that were close neighbors. This suggests that females switched pair male for their second brood to obtain a mate that was more likely to provide them with direct benefits (e.g. parental care).
Mate Choice by Chemical Cues in Western Redback (Plethodon vehiculum) and Dunn's (P. dunni) Salamanders
Authors: Marco Adolfo , Chivers Douglas P. , Kiesecker Joseph M. , Blaustein Andrew R. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractWestern redback and Dunn's salamanders (Plethodon vehiculum and Plethodon dunni, respectively) can distinguish between potential mates by using chemical cues. In laboratory choice tests, adult males of both species showed significant discrimination between chemical cues of gravid females over non‐gravid females of equal body size. Furthermore, males of both species differentiated the odour of paired gravid females that differed by ≅ 5 mm snout‐vent length (SVL). Given that clutch size is related to female body size in these species, adult males may be able to distinguish between females via cues that signal potentially high female reproductive success. In choice tests, P. vehiculum females did not discriminate between two relatively large males that differed by ≅ 5 mm SVL. However, females of P. vehiculum did discriminate between two relatively small males that differed by the same amount. Apparently, P. vehiculum females ranked males by both absolute and relative body size using chemical cues. This pattern could reflect a female preference for large males or that females avoid mating with the smallest males.
Fighting Tactics of Fallow Bucks (Dama dama, Cervidae): Reducing the Risks of Serious Conflict
Authors: McElligott Alan G. , Mattiangeli Valeria , Mattiello Silvana , Verga Marina , Reynolds Catherine A. , Hayden Thomas J. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractCompetition between male fallow deer (Dama dama), during the breeding season was studied to determine if conflict strategies were consistent with the reduction of risk. Agonistic interactions between males were analysed in relation to age, dominance rank and availability of mating opportunities. The breeding season was divided into two main periods: the pre‐rut began when all males had cleaned the velvet from their antlers and ended on the last day before matings were first observed, while the rut refers to the period between the first and last matings. Overall, socially mature males (≥4yr old) were involved in more interactions than immature (≤3yr old) males. Males established dominance rank largely by non‐contact agonistic interactions during the pre‐rut and there was substantial carry‐over of rank to the rut, when it was correlated with mating success. The mating success of males was skewed; mature males achieved 99.4% of the matings and immature males accounted for 0.6%. A mature male was 13 times more likely to fight than an immature male; the mature males that fought most often did so between 0.4 and 0.5 times per hour. During the rut, the number of fights was positively correlated across days with the number of matings. The majority of agonistic interactions (79%) comprising dyads of immature males, involved antler contact. In contrast, mature males engaged antlers in only 42% of their interactions. Fights between mature males lasted more than twice as long as those between immature males and were more likely to occur between opponents with similar dominance ranks. However, towards the end of the rut formerly mismatched opponents were more likely to fight. Thus males operated conditional competitive strategies to decide when to interact and fight. The persistence of rank order from the pre‐rut period to the rut and the tendency for mature males to resolve disputes without antler contact, served to reduce the frequency of fights and therefore the risk of serious injury.
Polarized Light Microscopy in Mammalian Oocytes
Authors: Caamaño JN , Muñoz M , Diez C , Gómez E 
Published: May 2010

ContentsThe meiotic spindle structure plays a key role in normal chromosome alignment and segregation during meiosis. Polarized light microscopy (PLM) allows non‐invasive evaluation of the meiotic spindle of metaphase oocytes from different animal species. The purpose of this article is to review the use of PLM in animal reproduction, mainly in the assessment of the meiotic spindle in oocytes. A brief overview of the methods to assess the meiotic spindle is presented as well as the principles behind the PLM. The use of PLM to evaluate oocyte quality and spindle morphology is discussed and the results on the viability of the oocytes after being exposed to PLM are presented. Several researchers showed that PLM could be successfully implemented on cryopreservation, nuclear transfer and intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedures as a tool to improve the outcome of these procedures. In addition, PLM can be used to develop studies on oocyte maturation and spindle dynamics. However, the information on the practical use of this technology in farm animals is very limited and further studies are needed to assess the importance of PLM in animal reproduction.
Techniques for the Insemination of Low Doses of Stallion Sperm
Authors: Samper JC , Plough T 
Published: May 2010

ContentsIn the last decade, there has been a significant increase in the quality and commercial use of frozen equine semen. The emergence of new reproductive technologies, coupled with the high prices for an insemination dose from some stallions, the increasing costs of import and export and the marketing policies of stallion agents or owners in the sport horse industry has stimulated the fractionation of doses for insemination. Consequently, the sperm number and the volume of an insemination dose are significantly reduced. To deliver lower doses of sperm in lower volumes compared to the standard dose, two techniques are used in clinical practice. Semen can be delivered hysteroscopically (HI) or by rectally guiding a flexible pipette to the tip of the desired uterine horn (RI). Both techniques have been described with good success and have triggered an incentive to further reduce the number of spermatozoa without having a negative effect on fertility. This article will review the expected success of both techniques in clinical settings and will highlight their advantages and disadvantages both for the mare and stallion. In addition, some of the implications of reducing sperm numbers on the industry will be discussed. From the available information, it is evident that lower sperm numbers deposited by RI or HI to deliver the inseminate can result in acceptable pregnancy rates with fresh or frozen semen in commercial settings. These methods of insemination could have major implications in the implementation and commercialization of new and emerging technologies in the equine industry.
Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Infectious and Post–Mating‐Induced Endometritis in the Mare
Authors: LeBlanc MM 
Published: May 2010

ContentsRapid physical uterine clearance is paramount for fertility. Mares that are unable to clear the by‐products of insemination or foaling quickly may develop post–mating‐induced or acute endometritis. If endometritis is not promptly resolved, the infection can become chronic. Endometritis can be difficult to identify because clinical signs, ultrasonographic and laboratory findings can vary between uterine pathogens. Some micro‐organisms are associated with an influx of neutrophils and fluid into the uterine lumen while others are associated with only heavy debris on cytological specimens. Identifying the inciting cause may require more than swabbing the endometrium. Culturing endometrial biopsy tissue or uterine fluids are more sensitive methods for identifyingEscherichia colithan culture swab while endometrial cytology identifies twice as many mares with acute inflammation than uterine culture swab. While post–mating‐induced endometritis is classically treated with uterine irrigation and ecbolics and acute endometritis is treated with either systemic or intra‐uterine antibiotics, these therapies are not always effective in resolving chronic uterine inflammation or infections. Mucolytics can be used to break up mucus produced by an irritated endometrium, steroids can modulate the inflammatory response associated with insemination and buffered chelating agents can remove biofilm, a protective mechanism used primarily by gram‐negative organisms and yeast to evade the host immune response.
Ultrasonographic Imaging in Small Ruminant Reproduction
Authors: Gonzalez‐Bulnes A. , Pallares P , Vazquez MI 
Published: May 2010

ContentsUltrasonography is a simple, reliable and non‐invasive imaging technique without secondary effects. Application of ultrasonography in veterinary practice, and specifically in small ruminants, has developed to become the most efficient diagnostic tool for managing reproduction. The objectives of current revision are to offer an overview, after a short reminder of equipment and techniques for imaging genitalia in small ruminants, of the uses and utility of ultrasonography for the evaluation of physiological and pathological conditions in males and females and for the application of assisted reproductive technologies.
Effect of dominant hemispheric stroke on detrusor function in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms
Authors: Kim Tae Gu , Yoo Koo Han , Jeon Seung Hyun , Lee Hyung‐Lae , Chang Sung‐Goo 
Published: May 2010

Objectives:  To determine the effect of unilateral hemispheric lesion on voiding dysfunction by comparing urodynamic parameters in dominant, non‐dominant and bilateral hemispheric stroke patients.Methods:  We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients from a magnetic resonance imaging and urodynamic study. We identified 69 cases among 192 stroke patients who had undergone urodynamic study due to lower urinary tract symptoms from June 2003 to December 2008.Results:  Among the analyzed variables in the urodynamic study, total bladder capacity, voided volume, postvoid residual urine volume, maximum flow rate, average flow rate, detrusor pressure at the maximum flow rate, and bladder compliance did not show statistically significant differences among dominant, non‐dominant and bilateral hemispheric stroke patients groups (P > 0.05). The dominant hemispheric stroke group had detrusor overactivity in 64.2% of cases and detrusor underactivity in 35.8%; the non‐dominant hemispheric stroke group had detrusor overactivity in 66.7% of cases and detrusor underactivity in 33.3%; and the bilateral stroke group had detrusor overactivity in 60.0% of cases and detrusor underactivity in 40.0% (P = 0.946).Conclusion:  Urodynamic findings cannot be characterized by the laterality of the unilateral hemispheric ischemic lesion. There are no significant differences in lower urinary tract symptoms between dominant, non‐dominant and bilateral hemispheric ischemic stroke patients.
Age‐related driving disorders: Screening in hospitals and outpatients settings
Authors: Baird Sara , Hill Linda , Rybar Jill , Concha‐Garcia Susanna , Coimbra Raul , Patrick Kevin 
Published: May 2010

Aim:  Older drivers are increasing in number and they often have health conditions that place them at high risk for motor vehicle crashes. The aims of this study were to: (i) evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of screening inpatients and outpatients over the age of 60 years for age‐related driving disorders; and (ii) determine the patient characteristics associated with screening outcomes.Methods:  A convenience sample of 397 participants completed age‐related driving disorders screening at University of California, San Diego, inpatient and outpatient settings. Eligibility criteria included California‐licensed drivers over the age of 60 years who were English or Spanish speaking. Baseline screening included driving habits, restrictions, history of crashes, and medical history, including medications. Screening included visual acuity, visual fields, three strength frailty tests and two cognitive tests.Results:  The average age of participants was 72 years; 59% were male and 12% Hispanic. Almost 20% of older adults failed at least one test, and were labeled ‘high risk’ for age‐related driving disorders. In multivariate analysis, significant predictors of high‐risk status were age, male sex, self‐restrictions of driving and use of larger amounts of prescription drugs. Screening took approximately 15 min and participant satisfaction was high.Conclusion:  A brief screening evaluation identified one in five adults to be ‘high risk’ for age‐related driving disorders. Screening was effective in both outpatient and inpatient settings, was well received and simple to administer. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2010; 10: 288–294.
Adenofibroma and ectopic pregnancy of left fallopian tube: A rare coexistence
Authors: Mondal Santosh Kumar 
Published: May 2010

AbstractA rare coexistence of an adenofibroma and ectopic pregnancy in the left fallopian tube is reported. Adenofibroma is a rare benign neoplasm of the fallopian tube, and the fallopian tube is the most common site of ectopic pregnancies. However, coexistence of such rare tumor and ectopic pregnancy is extremely rare. Review of literature has not revealed another case of such coexistence in English literature. In the present case, the adenofibroma was found at the fimbrial end. Placental tissue, consisting of chorionic villi and trophoblastic cells was present in the ampulla of fallopian tube.