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| 2. |
- Axelsson, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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The genomic signature of dog domestication reveals adaptation to a starch-rich diet
- 2013
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 495:7441, s. 360-364
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The domestication of dogs. was an important episode in the development of human civilization. The precise timing and location of this event is debated(1-5) and little is known about the genetic changes that accompanied the transformation of ancient wolves into domestic dogs. Here we conduct whole-genome resequencimg of dogs and wolves to identify 3.8 million genetic variants used to identify 36 genomic regions that probably represent targets for selection during dog domestication. Nineteen of these regions contain genes important in brain function, eight of which belong to nervous system development pathways and potentially underlie behavioural changes central to dog domestication(6). Ten genes with key roles in starch digestion and fat metabolism also show signals of selection. We identify candidate mutations in key genes and provide functional support for an increased starch digestion in dogs relative to wolves. Our results indicate that novel adaptations allowing the early ancestors of modern dogs to thrive on a diet rich in starch, relative to the carnivorous diet of wolves, constituted a crucial step in the early domestication of dogs.
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| 3. |
- Singh, Navinder, et al.
(författare)
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Drivers of hibernation in the brown bear
- 2016
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Zoology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1742-9994. ; 13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Hibernation has been a key area of research for several decades, essentially in small mammals in the laboratory, yet we know very little about what triggers or ends it in the wild. Do climatic factors, an internal biological clock, or physiological processes dominate? Using state-of-the-art tracking and monitoring technology on fourteen free-ranging brown bears over three winters, we recorded movement, heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), body temperature (Tb), physical activity, ambient temperature (TA), and snow depth to identify the drivers of the start and end of hibernation. We used behavioral change point analyses to estimate the start and end of hibernation and convergent cross mapping to identify the causal interactions between the ecological and physiological variables over time.Results: To our knowledge, we have built the first chronology of both ecological and physiological events from before the start to the end of hibernation in the field. Activity, HR, and Tb started to drop slowly several weeks before den entry. Bears entered the den when snow arrived and when ambient temperature reached 0 °C. HRV, taken as a proxy of sympathetic nervous system activity, dropped dramatically once the bear entered the den. This indirectly suggests that denning is tightly coupled to metabolic suppression. During arousal, the unexpected early rise in Tb (two months before den exit) was driven by TA, but was independent of HRV. The difference between Tb and TA decreased gradually suggesting that bears were not thermoconforming. HRV increased only three weeks before exit, indicating that late activation of the sympathetic nervous system likely finalized restoration of euthermic metabolism. Interestingly, it was not until TA reached the presumed lower critical temperature, likely indicating that the bears were seeking thermoneutrality, that they exited the den.Conclusions: We conclude that brown ear hibernation was initiated primarily by environmental cues, but terminated by physiological cues.
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| 4. |
- Frankowiack, Marcel, et al.
(författare)
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IgA deficiency in wolves from Canada and Scandinavia
- 2015
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Ingår i: Developmental and Comparative Immunology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0145-305X .- 1879-0089. ; 50:1, s. 26-28
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Immunoglobulin A deficiency (IgAD) is the most common primary immunodeficiency in both humans and selected breeds of domestic dogs. In both species, IgAD is associated with recurrent infections and immune mediated diseases. Previous results imply that IgAD is also common in the wild ancestor of domestic dogs, the gray wolf. Here, we report that serum IgA concentrations are significantly different in Scandinavian and Canadian wolves (p =3.252e-15) with an increased prevalence for IgAD in Scandinavian wolves (60%), which is as high as those found in high-risk dog breeds.
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| 5. |
- Stenbacka, Fredrik, et al.
(författare)
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Physiological and behavioural responses of moose to hunting with dogs
- 2020
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Ingår i: Conservation Physiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 2051-1434. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Optimal management of hunted species requires an understanding of the impacts of hunting on both individual animal and population levels. Recent technological advancements in biologging enable us to obtain increasingly detailed information fromfree-ranging animals, covering longer periods of time, and providing the data needed to assess such impacts. In Sweden, more than 80 000mooseare harvested annually, mostly huntedwith the use of baying dogs. The effects of this huntingmethod on animal welfare and stress are understudied. Here, we evaluated 6 real and 17 experimental hunting approaches with baying dogs [wearing global positioning system (GPS) collars] on 8 adult female moose equipped with ruminal temperature loggers, subcutaneous heart rate (HR) loggers and GPS collars with accelerometers. The obtained data were used to analyse the behavioural and physiological responses of moose to hunting with dogs. Successful experimental approaches (moose and dogwere within 240m for >10 min) resulted in higher maximum body temperature (Tb, 0.88.C higher) and a mean increase in HR of 24 bp min moose at the day of the approach compared to the day after. The moose rested on average >90 min longer the day after the approach compared to the day of the approach. The moose travelled on average 4.2 kmlonger and had a 1.3 m/s higher maximum speed the day of the approach compared to the day after. Our results demonstrate that hunting with dogs increase moose energy expenditure and resting time (and consequently decrease time available for foraging) on an individual level. This could possibly affect body condition and reproduction rates if the hunting disturbances occur frequently.
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| 6. |
- Månsson, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Sarcoptic mange in the Scandinavian wolf Canis lupus population
- 2016
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Ingår i: BMC Veterinary Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1746-6148. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Sarcoptic mange, a parasitic disease caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei, is regularly reported on wolves Canis lupus in Scandinavia. We describe the distribution and transmission of this parasite within the small but recovering wolf population by analysing 269 necropsy reports and performing a serological survey on 198 serum samples collected from free-ranging wolves between 1998 and 2013.Results: The serological survey among 145 individual captured Scandinavian wolves (53 recaptures) shows a consistent presence of antibodies against sarcoptic mange. Seropositivity among all captured wolves was 10.1 % (CI. 6.4 %-15.1 %). Sarcoptic mange-related mortality reported at necropsy was 5.6 % and due to secondary causes, predominantly starvation. In the southern range of the population, seroprevalence was higher, consistent with higher red fox densities. Female wolves had a lower probability of being seropositive than males, but for both sexes the probability increased with pack size. Recaptured individuals changing from seropositive to seronegative suggest recovery from sarcoptic mange. The lack of seropositive pups (8-10 months, N = 56) and the occurrence of seropositive and seronegative individuals in the same pack indicates interspecific transmission of S. scabiei into this wolf population.Conclusions: We consider sarcoptic mange to have little effect on the recovery of the Scandinavian wolf population. Heterogenic infection patterns on the pack level in combination with the importance of individual-based factors (sex, pack size) and the north-south gradient for seroprevalence suggests low probability of wolf-to-wolf transmission of S. scabiei in Scandinavia.
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| 7. |
- Arinell, Karin, 1982-, et al.
(författare)
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Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) Seem Resistant to Atherosclerosis Despite Highly Elevated Plasma Lipids during Hibernation and Active State
- 2012
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Ingår i: Clinical and Translational Science. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1752-8054 .- 1752-8062. ; 5:3, s. 269-272
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hibernation is an extreme physiological challenge for the brown bear (Ursus arctos) in which metabolism is based mainly on lipids. The study objective was to compare plasma lipids in hibernating and active free-ranging brown bears and relate them to arterial histopathology. Blood was drawn from seven immobilized free-ranging brown bears (three females, 23 years old) during hibernation in February and from the same bears while active in June and analyzed by enzymatic and automated hematology methods within 48 hours of sampling. Left anterior descending coronary arteries and aortic arches from 12 bears (six females, 1.512 years old) killed in hunting were examined by histopathology. Total plasma cholesterol decreased from hibernation to the active period (11.08 +/- 1.04 mmol/L vs. 7.89 +/- 1.96 mmol/L, P= 0.0028) as did triglyceride (3.16 +/- 0.62 mmol/L vs. 1.44 +/- 0.27 mmol/L, P= 0.00012) and LDL cholesterol (4.30 +/- 0.71 mmol/L vs. 2.02 +/- 1.03 mmol/L, P= 0.0075), whereas HDL cholesterol was unchanged. No atherosclerosis, fatty streaks, foam cell infiltration, or inflammation were seen in any arterial samples. Brown bears tolerate elevated cholesterol levels, obesity, physical inactivity, and circulatory slow flow during hibernation without signs of -atherosclerosis. This species might serve as a reverse translational model for atherosclerosis resistance.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Evans, Alina L., et al.
(författare)
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Physiological reactions to capture in hibernating brown bears
- 2016
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Ingår i: Conservation Physiology. - : Oxford University Press. - 2051-1434. ; 4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Human disturbance can affect animal life history and even population dynamics. However, the consequences of these disturbances are difficult to measure. This is especially true for hibernating animals, which are highly vulnerable to disturbance, because hibernation is a process of major physiological changes, involving conservation of energy during a resource-depleted time of year. During the winters of 2011-15, we captured 15 subadult brown bears (Ursus arctos) and recorded their body temperatures (n = 11) and heart rates (n = 10) before, during and after capture using biologgers. We estimated the time for body temperature and heart rate to normalize after the capture event. We then evaluated the effect of the captures on the pattern and depth of hibernation and the day of den emergence by comparing the body temperature of captured bears with that of undisturbed subadult bears (n = 11). Both body temperature and heart rate increased during capture and returned to hibernation levels after 15-20 days. We showed that bears required 2-3 weeks to return to hibernation levels after winter captures, suggesting high metabolic costs during this period. There were also indications that the winter captures resulted in delayed den emergence.
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| 10. |
- Bergvall, Ulrika A., 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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Chemical Immobilization of Free-ranging Fallow Deer (Dama dama) : Effect of Needle Length on Induction Time
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Wildlife Diseases. - : Wildlife Disease Association. - 0090-3558 .- 1943-3700. ; 51:2, s. 484-487
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We evaluated impact of the needle length, sex, and body condition on chemical immobilization induction time in 50 (29 males and 21 females) free-ranging fallow deer (Dama dama) in Sweden, 2006-11. Induction time is probably the single most important factor when immobilizing free-ranging wildlife with the use of a remote drug-delivery system. Induction times should be short to minimize stress and risk of injury, and to ensure that immobilized animals can be found and clinically monitored as soon as possible. We measured the distance between the darting location and where we recovered the immobilized animal and also the time occurring between the two events. We used two types of needles: 2.0 × 30- or 2.0 × 40-mm barbed needles with side ports. The most important result is that a 10-mm-longer dart needle can reduce the retrieval time substantially (>20 min) until an animal is under monitoring. On average after the darting, the retrieval time decreased from 51 to 29 min and the distance decreased from 519 m from the darting location to 294 m. We suggest that a needle length of 40 mm is preferable for immobilization of wild fallow deer, especially for animals in over-average-to-fat body condition.
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