| [histomorphometric study of bone microstructure of primates and domestic animal with the goal of species identification with reference to the effects of domestication]. | functional bone microstructure of long limb bones is a function of species-specific biomechanical properties such as locomotion and weight. histomorphometry and statistics were used to identify various primate species (hylobates moloch, pongo satyrus borneensis, pan tr. troglodytes, gorilla g. gorilla, homo sapiens), equid species (equus caballus, equus asinus, equus mulus, equus hemionus kulan, equus ferus przewalskii) and also extinct horses e.g. iron age, medieval and neolithic forms on the m ... | 2003 | 12872544 |
| new carbon dates link climatic change with human colonization and pleistocene extinctions. | drastic ecological restructuring, species redistribution and extinctions mark the pleistocene-holocene transition, but an insufficiency of numbers of well-dated large mammal fossils from this transition have impeded progress in understanding the various causative links. here i add many new radiocarbon dates to those already published on late pleistocene fossils from alaska and the yukon territory (ak-yt) and show previously unrecognized patterns. species that survived the pleistocene, for exampl ... | 2006 | 16688174 |
| seasonal adjustment of energy budget in a large wild mammal, the przewalski horse (equus ferus przewalskii) i. energy intake. | large ruminants respond to changing plant phenology during winter by decreasing voluntary food intake, increasing gut passage time and utilizing body fat reserves. it is uncertain, however, how other large mammals with a non-ruminant digestive physiology cope with winter forage conditions. therefore, we investigated seasonality of energy intake in a large herbivorous wild mammal, the przewalski horse (equus ferus przewalskii). throughout all seasons we used the n-alkane method to measure daily d ... | 2006 | 17079725 |
| seasonal adjustment of energy budget in a large wild mammal, the przewalski horse (equus ferus przewalskii) ii. energy expenditure. | many large mammals show pronounced seasonal fluctuations of metabolic rate (mr). it has been argued, based on studies in ruminants, that this variation merely results from different levels of locomotor activity (la), and heat increment of feeding (hi). however, a recent study in red deer (cervus elaphus) identified a previously unknown mechanism in ungulates--nocturnal hypometabolism--that contributed significantly to reduced energy expenditure, mainly during late winter. the relative contributi ... | 2006 | 17079726 |
| equine piroplasmoses at the reintroduction site of the przewalski's horse (equus ferus przewalskii) in mongolia. | piroplasmosis has been identified as a possible cause of mortality in reintroduced przewalski's horses (equus ferus przewalskii) in the dsungarian gobi (mongolia). a cross-sectional and a longitudinal study were conducted in a representative sample (n = 141) of the resident domestic horse population and in 23 przewalski's horses to assess the prevalence of theileria equi and babesia caballi. piroplasms were detected in blood by light microscopy in 6.7% (95% confidence interval [ci]: 3.6-12.2%) o ... | 2006 | 17092882 |
| from carcass to cave: large mammal exploitation during the aurignacian at vogelherd, germany. | recent results from the zooarchaeological analysis of faunal remains from vogelherd cave, southwestern germany, provide new insight into the subsistence behavior of early modern human groups during the aurignacian. the results presented here represent the first comprehensive study of the archaeofauna from this site. several episodes of occupation are inferred at this site, taking place primarily between 31 and 32 ka. although a wide spectrum of pleistocene mammals is represented in the aurignaci ... | 2007 | 17663999 |
| human influence on distribution and extinctions of the late pleistocene eurasian megafauna. | late pleistocene extinctions are of interest to paleontological and anthropological research. in north america and australia, human occupation occurred during a short period of time and overexploitation may have led to the extinction of mammalian megafauna. in northern eurasia megafaunal extinctions are believed to have occurred over a relatively longer period of time, perhaps as a result of changing environmental conditions, but the picture is much less clear. to consider megafaunal extinction ... | 2008 | 18199470 |
| differences in fecal particle size between free-ranging and captive individuals of two browser species. | data from captive animals indicated that browsing (br) ruminants have larger fecal particles-indicative of lesser chewing efficiency-than grazers (gr). to answer whether this reflects fundamental differences between the animal groups, or different reactions of basically similar organisms to diets fed in captivity, we compared mean fecal particle size (mps) in a gr and a br ruminant (aurox bos primigenius taurus, giraffe giraffa camelopardalis) and a gr and a br hindgut fermenter (przewalski's ho ... | 2008 | 19360605 |
| abnormal reproductive patterns in przewalski's mares are associated with a loss in gene diversity. | the ex situ population of the przewalski's horse (equus ferus przewalskii) is not self-sustaining (20% foaling rate) and the demography is skewed toward aging individuals with low gene diversity. we designed the present study to gain a better understanding of the reproductive biology of the przewalski's mare and to determine whether age and gene diversity influenced reproductive function. urine samples were collected 3-7 days/week from 19 mares from may-september and ultrasound examinations of f ... | 2011 | 21900686 |
| przewalski's horse (equus ferus przewalskii) re-introduction in the great gobi b strictly protected area: from species to ecosystem conservation. | the przewalski's horse (equus ferus przewalskii poljakov, 1881), or "takhi" in mongolian, became extinct in the wild by the mid 1960's. the last recorded sightings of przewalski's horses occurred in the dzungarian gobi desert in sw mongolia, today's great gobi b strictly protected area (spa). a re-introduction program was initiated in 1992 and the first group of captive-born przewalski's horses was airlifted to the spa. given the logistical challenges associated with such a venture, the initial ... | 2007 | 22064815 |
| differentiation of meat samples from domestic horses (equus caballus) and asiatic wild asses (equus hemionus) using a species-specific restriction site in the mitochondrial cytochrome b region. | recent studies suggest that asiatic wild asses (equus hemionus) are being increasingly poached in a commercial fashion. part of the meat is believed to reach the meat markets in the capital ulaanbaatar. to test this hypothesis, we collected 500 meat samples between february and may 2006. to differentiate between domestic horse (equus caballus) and wild ass meat, we developed a restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) assay based on the polymerase chain reaction (pcr). we amplified and seq ... | 2006 | 22059088 |
| whole genome sequence and analysis of the marwari horse breed and its genetic origin. | the horse (equus ferus caballus) is one of the earliest domesticated species and has played an important role in the development of human societies over the past 5,000 years. in this study, we characterized the genome of the marwari horse, a rare breed with unique phenotypic characteristics, including inwardly turned ear tips. it is thought to have originated from the crossbreeding of local indian ponies with arabian horses beginning in the 12th century. | 2014 | 25521865 |
| geography and timing of cases of eastern equine encephalitis in new york state from 1992 to 2012. | in new york state (nys), eastern equine encephalitis (eee) was first reported in a human in 1971, in horses in 1970, and in pheasants in 1952. | 2016 | 26901637 |
| adipose tissue macrophages in non-rodent mammals: a comparative study. | the stromal vascular fraction (svf) of adipose tissue in rodents and primates contains mesenchymal stem cells and immune cells. svf cells have complex metabolic, immune and endocrine functions with biomedical impact. however, in other mammals, the amount of data on svf stem cells is negligible and whether the svf hosts immune cells is unknown. in this study, we show that the svf is rich in immune cells, with a dominance of adipose tissue macrophages (atms) in cattle (bos primigenius taurus), dom ... | 2016 | 26239911 |
| evolutionary constraints on equid domestication: comparison of flight initiation distances of wild horses (equus caballus ferus) and plains zebras (equus quagga). | habituation to humans was an essential component of horse (equus caballus ferus) domestication, with the nondomestication of zebras (equus quagga) possibly reflecting an adaptive constraint on habituation. we present the human hunting hypothesis, arguing that ancestral humans hunted african animals, including zebras, long enough to promote a persistent wariness of humans, whereas a briefer period of hunting horses in central asia influenced by glacial cycles was unlikely to produce an equally pe ... | 2015 | 26348970 |
| reproductive physiology and ovarian folliculogenesis examined via 1h-nmr metabolomics signatures: a comparative study of large and small follicles in three mammalian species (bos taurus, sus scrofa domesticus and equus ferus caballus). | the aim of this study was to characterize the composition of follicular fluid (ff) collected from the small and large follicles of three mammalian species, bos taurus, sus scrofa domesticus, and equus ferus caballus, that display distinct ovulatory properties. for each species, five large ff samples and five small ff samples were analyzed using 1h-nmr spectroscopy. the ff metabolic profiles of the three species were very distinct. in cows and mares, the metabolic profiles of large ff and small f ... | 2015 | 25393852 |
| stenamoeba polymorpha, a new species isolated from domesticated horse equus ferus caballus. | a new species of lobosean amoeba, stenamoeba polymorpha n. sp., was isolated from the diarrheic stool of a domesticated horse in great falls virginia, u.s. it shares characteristics with the five other described stenamoeba species. however, electron microscopy revealed s. polymorpha has a substantially thickened cell surface lamina. under light microscopy, the amoebae had a dynamic polymorphic appearance because hyaloplasm readily formed and resorbed subpseudopodia from any peripheral region of ... | 2016 | 27037521 |
| description of two equine nematodes, parascaris equorum goeze 1782 and habronema microstoma schneider 1866 from the domestic horse equus ferus caballus (famisly: equidae) in egypt. | parasitic gastroenteritis (pge) caused by infection of the gut with parasitic nematodes is one of the most important diseases of livestock animals from both financial and welfare perspectives. parascaris equorum and habronema microstoma are of the most endemic nematodes of the world which are currently the major cause of pge of the domestic horses in egypt. the present investigation introduced the first morphological description of these nematodes recovered from the domestic horse, equus ferus c ... | 2016 | 27539725 |
| step by step: reconstruction of terrestrial animal movement paths by dead-reckoning. | research on wild animal ecology is increasingly employing gps telemetry in order to determine animal movement. however, gps systems record position intermittently, providing no information on latent position or track tortuosity. high frequency gps have high power requirements, which necessitates large batteries (often effectively precluding their use on small animals) or reduced deployment duration. dead-reckoning is an alternative approach which has the potential to 'fill in the gaps' between l ... | 2015 | 26380711 |
| the modes of evolutionary emergence of primal and late pandemic influenza virus strains from viral reservoir in animals: an interdisciplinary analysis. | based on a wealth of recent findings, in conjunction with earliest chronologies pertaining to evolutionary emergences of ancestral rna viruses, ducks, influenzavirus a (assumingly within ducks), and hominids, as well as to the initial domestication of mallard duck (anas platyrhynchos), jungle fowl (gallus gallus), wild turkey (meleagris gallopavo), wild boar (sus scrofa), and wild horse (equus ferus), presumed genesis modes of primordial pandemic influenza strains have multidisciplinarily been c ... | 2011 | 23074663 |
| time budget-, behavioral synchrony- and body score development of a newly released przewalski's horse group equus ferus przewalskii, in the great gobi b strictly protected area in sw mongolia. | the przewalski's horse (equus ferus przewalskii) became extinct in the wild in the 1960s, but survived as a species due to captive breeding. there have been several initiatives to re-introduce the species in central asia, but until now only two projects in mongolia establish free-ranging populations. data on basic ecology and behavior of the species prior to extinction is largely lacking and a good documentation of the re-introduction process is essential. between 13 may and 2 september 2003 we ... | 2007 | 22064904 |
| problems in the protection of reintroduced przewalski's horses (equus ferus przewalskii) caused by piroplasmosis. | the objectives of our research on equine piroplasmosis were to clarify the prevalence of the piroplasms babesia caballi and theileria equi among reintroduced przewalski's horses (takhi, equus ferus przewalskii) in comparison with horses (equus caballus) of nomads from around hustai national park in mongolia and to determine the mortality among takhi during 2012 to 2015. the prevalence of t. equi was high in 2014 at 80% among nomadic horses and 84% among takhi. we found no evidence of b. caballi ... | 2017 | 28700320 |
| improved sperm cryosurvival in diluents containing amides versus glycerol in the przewalski's horse (equus ferus przewalskii). | two studies were conducted to understand sperm cryosensitivity in an endangered equid, the przewalski's horse (equus ferus przewalski), while testing the cryoprotectant ability of formamides. the first assessed the toxicity of permeating cryoprotectants (glycerol, methylformamide [mf] and dimethylformamide [dmf]) to przewalski's horse spermatozoa during liquid storage at 4°c. the second examined the comparative influence of three diluents (with or without formamides) on cryosurvival of sperm fro ... | 2014 | 24508651 |
| oral and injectable synthetic progestagens effectively manipulate the estrous cycle in the przewalski's horse (equus ferus przewalskii). | to date, there has been limited research on manipulation of the estrous cycle in endangered equids. the objectives of this study were to assess the efficacy of using combinations of: (a) oral altrenogest and pgf2α, and (b) injectable altrenogest and pgf2α for manipulation of ovarian activity in przewalski's mares. reproductive cycles were monitored by assessing follicular changes with rectal ultrasound and changes in urinary steroid hormones. in study 1, five cycling mares were treated with oral ... | 2014 | 24856195 |
| the role of an alpha animal in changing environmental conditions. | the maintenance and development of conservation areas by grazing of large herbivores, such as przewalski's horses, is common practice. several nature conservation areas house male bachelor groups of this species. when males are needed for breeding they are removed from the groups, often without considering group compositions and individual social positions. however, alpha animals are needed for ensuring group stability and decision making in potentially dangerous situations in several species. t ... | 2014 | 24878311 |
| uterine adenocarcinoma in a przewalski's wild horse (equus ferus przewalskii). | a 25-yr-old, nulliparous, female przewalski's wild horse (equus ferus przewalskii) with a history of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction and recent onset of serosanguinous vaginal discharge was euthanized after a period of lethargy and inappetance. postmortem examination confirmed an infiltrative uterine adenocarcinoma, which is an uncommon neoplasia in equids. reproductive disease is significant in this species as they are considered endangered by iucn. reproductive soundness and success are ... | 2014 | 25000717 |
| an assessment of horse (equus ferus caballus) responding on fixed interval schedules of reinforcement: an individual analysis. | we assessed different measures of temporal control of horse (n=16) responding on fixed interval schedules of reinforcement and a peak procedure. subjects were trained to insert their heads into a response hoop to break an infrared beam in order to receive horse treats from an automatic feeder. we analyzed cumulative response records, binned response levels, quarter life, latency to first response, breakpoint, and inter-response patterns of the fixed interval trials. to analyze the peak procedure ... | 2015 | 26297471 |
| comparative analyses of tooth wear in free-ranging and captive wild equids. | captive breeding has played a crucial role in the conservation of threatened equid species. grazing ruminants and rhinoceros in captivity have less abrasion-dominated tooth wear than their free-ranging conspecifics, with potential negative consequences for their health. however, a similar study on wild equids in captivity is missing. | 2016 | 25557934 |
| is leadership a reliable concept in animals? an empirical study in the horse. | leadership is commonly invoked when accounting for the coordination of group movements in animals, yet it remains loosely defined. in parallel, there is increased evidence of the sharing of group decisions by animals on the move. how leadership integrates within this recent framework on collective decision-making is unclear. here, we question the occurrence of leadership in horses, a species in which this concept is of prevalent use. the relevance of the three main definitions of leadership--dep ... | 2015 | 26010442 |
| context-dependent third-party intervention in agonistic encounters of male przewalski horses. | one mechanism to resolve conflict among group members is third party intervention, for which several functions, such as kin protection, alliance formation, and the promotion of group cohesion have been proposed. still, empirical research on the function of intervention behaviour is rare. we studied 40 cases of intervention behaviour in a field study on 13 semi-wild bachelor horses (equus ferus przewalskii) in (a) standard social situations, and (b) when new horses joined the group (i.e. introduc ... | 2015 | 26478251 |
| oviposition site selection by gasterophilus pecorum (diptera: gasterophilidae) in its habitat in kalamaili nature reserve, xinjiang, china. | oviposition site selection is an important aspect of the behavioural ecology of insects. a comparison of the habitats used by a species enhances our understanding of their adaptation to altered environments. we collected data on the oviposition behaviours of gasterophilus pecorum (diptera: gasterophilidae) in its habitat in kalamaili nature reserve (knr), xinjiang, china between march and october 2014. we found 91 quadrats were used by g. pecorum for oviposition. examining 13 ecological factors ... | 2015 | 26621549 |
| acute phase proteins as a marker of respiratory inflammation in przewalski's horse (equus ferus przewalskii). | acute phase proteins are sensitive markers of inflammation, which are highly conserved across taxa. although the utility of these proteins are becoming well defined in human and domestic animal medical fields, their role in nondomestic species remains unclear. in this communication, a 20-yr-old przewalski's horse was presented for unresolving aspiration pneumonia, which cultured a unique actinomyces-like bacteria. despite waxing and waning clinical signs and minimal changes on baseline hematolog ... | 2016 | 27468045 |
| investigating determinants of yawning in the domestic (equus caballus) and przewalski (equus ferus przewalskii) horses. | yawning is rare in herbivores which therefore may be an interesting group to disentangle the potential function(s) of yawning behaviour. horses provide the opportunity to compare not only animals living in different conditions but also wild versus domestic species. here, we tested three hypotheses by observing both domestic and przewalski horses living in semi-natural conditions: (i) that domestic horses may show an elevated rate of yawning as a result of the domestication process (or as a resul ... | 2016 | 27542092 |
| a comparison of fecal steroid metabolite concentrations between harem and bachelor stallions in a free-ranging population of przewalski's horses (equus ferus przewalskii). | the aim of this study was to determine whether concentrations of reproductive steroid hormone metabolites significantly differed between harem stallions and bachelor stallions in the free ranging group of przewalski's horses (equus ferus przewalskii) at the hortobágy national park in hungary. throughout the study, fecal samples were collected from 21 harem stallions and 15 bachelor stallions and analyzed for immunoreactive estrogen and androgen metabolites. harem stallions demonstrated significa ... | 2017 | 28114737 |
| the danger of having all your eggs in one basket--winter crash of the re-introduced przewalski's horses in the mongolian gobi. | large mammals re-introduced into harsh and unpredictable environments are vulnerable to stochastic effects, particularly in times of global climate change. the mongolian gobi is home to several rare large ungulates such as re-introduced przewalski's horses (equus ferus przewalskii) and asiatic wild asses (equus hemionus), but also to a millennium-old semi-nomadic livestock herding culture.the gobi is prone to large inter-annual environmental fluctuations, but the winter 2009/2010 was particularl ... | 2011 | 22216089 |
| the incidence and species composition of gasterophilus (diptera, gasterophilidae) causing equine myiasis in northern xinjiang, china. | a survey was conducted on the detection of the larval gasterophilus species in 90 equines via necropsy or after administering oral ivermectin in xinjian, china, from 2008 to 2013. all 90 (100%) equines were infested by larval gasterophilus, and 3723second instar larvae (l2) and 63,778 third instar larvae (l3) were collected from faecal samples and the digestive tract, a ratio of l2:l3=1:17. over 84.45% of the animals contained ≤1500 larvae and 7.78% had >2000 larvae. the highest totals of l2 and ... | 2016 | 26827858 |
| gasterophilus (diptera, gasterophilidae) infestation of equids in the kalamaili nature reserve, china. | we investigated infections with gasterophilus spp. in three equids within the kalamaili nature reserve (northern china). we conducted necropsies on 6 przewalski's horses (equus ferus przewalskii) and 6 mongolian wild asses (equus hemionus) and administered ivermectin to 10 overwintering domestic horses to expel parasites during winter periods. all 22 equids studied (100%) were infested with gasterophilus spp. and a total of 17,225 larvae were collected. these included six species: g. haemorrhoid ... | 2016 | 27593434 |
| adaptation strategies to seasonal changes in environmental conditions of a domesticated horse breed, the shetland pony (equus ferus caballus). | recent results suggest that the wild ancestor of the horse, the przewalski horse, exhibits signs of a hypometabolism. however, there are speculations that domestic animals lost the ability to reduce energy expenditure during food shortage and adverse environmental conditions. therefore, we investigated physiological and behavioural strategies employed by a robust domesticated horse breed, the shetland pony, over the course of a year under temperate conditions by measuring ambient temperature (t( ... | 2012 | 22399650 |
| survey of anaplasma phagocytophilum antibodies in captive przewalski's horses (equus ferus przewalskii). | anaplasma phagocytophilum (formerly ehrlichia equi ) is a tickborne pathogen of domestic horses and the causative agent of equine granulocytic anaplasmosis. after the occurrence of clinical anaplasmosis in a przewalski's horse ( equus ferus przewalskii) housed at the smithsonian conservation biology institute in 2008, opportunistic serosurveillance of the herd was initiated. from 2008 to 2014, 57 serum samples were collected from 27 individuals (10 males; 17 females). using indirect immunofluore ... | 2017 | 28749278 |
| stable isotopes reveal diet shift from pre-extinction to reintroduced przewalski's horses. | the przewalski's horse (equus ferus przewalskii), the only remaining wild horse within the equid family, is one of only a handful of species worldwide that went extinct in the wild, was saved by captive breeding, and has been successfully returned to the wild. however, concerns remain that after multiple generations in captivity the ecology of the przewalski's horse and / or the ecological conditions in its former range have changed in a way compromising the species' long term survival. we analy ... | 2017 | 28729625 |
| sequential stable isotope analysis reveals differences in multi-year dietary history of three sympatric equid species in sw mongolia. | 1. competition among sympatric wild herbivores is reduced by different physiological, morphological, and behavioral traits resulting in different dietary niches. wild equids are a rather uniform group of large herbivores which have dramatically declined in numbers and range. correlative evidence suggests that pasture competition with livestock is one of the key factors for this decline, and the situation may be aggravated in areas where different equid species overlap. 2. the dzungarian gobi is ... | 2017 | 28717255 |
| climatic conditions cause spatially dynamic polygyny thresholds in a large mammal. | the polygyny threshold (pt) is a critical transition point in the sexual selection process for many organisms in natural populations, characterizing when females choose to mate with an already mated male over an unmated one to improve fitness. understanding its causes and consequences is therefore of high interest. while both theoretical and empirical work suggest that the degree of polygyny within a species is plastic and a function of male inequality, the functional relationship between underl ... | 2017 | 27861840 |
| density-dependent resource selection by a terrestrial herbivore in response to sea-to-land nutrient transfer by seals. | sea-to-land nutrient transfers can connect marine food webs to those on land, creating a dependence on marine webs by opportunistic species. we show how nitrogen, imported by gray seals, halichoerus grypus, and traced through stable isotope (δ(15) n) measurements in marram grass, ammophila breviligulata, significantly alters foraging behavior of a free-roaming megaherbivore (feral horses, equus ferus caballus) on sable island, canada. values of δ(15) n correlated with protein content of marram a ... | 2016 | 27859192 |
| individual quality and age but not environmental or social conditions modulate costs of reproduction in a capital breeder. | costs associated with reproduction are widely known to play a role in the evolution of reproductive tactics with consequences to population and eco-evolutionary dynamics. evaluating these costs as they pertain to species in the wild remains an important goal of evolutionary ecology. individual heterogeneity, including differences in individual quality (i.e., among-individual differences in traits associated with survival and reproduction) or state, and variation in environmental and social condi ... | 2017 | 28811876 |
| cheek tooth morphology and ancient mitochondrial dna of late pleistocene horses from the western interior of north america: implications for the taxonomy of north american late pleistocene equus. | horses were a dominant component of north american pleistocene land mammal communities and their remains are well represented in the fossil record. despite the abundant material available for study, there is still considerable disagreement over the number of species of equus that inhabited the different regions of the continent and on their taxonomic nomenclature. in this study, we investigated cheek tooth morphology and ancient mtdna of late pleistocene equus specimens from the western interior ... | 2017 | 28817644 |
| acute phase protein and protein electrophoresis values for captive grant's zebra (equus burchelli). | grant's zebra (equus burchelli) are commonly kept in zoos and are subject to routine health monitoring and research studies. recently, assays for acute phase proteins (app) have been described in many wildlife species, and specific assays for serum amyloid a (saa) have been well validated and studied in horses (equus ferus caballus), in which it serves as a major app. in the present study, serum samples from 26 grant's zebra were subject to analysis by using assays for saa, haptoglobin (hp), and ... | 2013 | 24450080 |
| thyroid hormones correlate with field metabolic rate in ponies, equus ferus caballus. | during winter, free-living herbivores are often exposed to reduced energy supply at the same time that energy needs for thermoregulation increase. several wild herbivores as well as robust horse breeds reduce their metabolism during times of low ambient temperature and food shortage. thyroid hormones (ths) affect metabolic intensity and a positive effect of ths on basal metabolic rate (bmr) has been demonstrated in mammals and birds. as bmr and field metabolic rate (fmr) are often assumed to be ... | 2016 | 27312472 |
| testing storage methods of faecal samples for subsequent measurement of helminth egg numbers in the domestic horse. | parasite infection status, intensity and resistance have traditionally been quantified via flotation techniques, but the need for immediate analysis following defecation imposes limitations and has led to the use of several faecal storage techniques. however, their effect on nematode egg counts has not been systematically validated and is often generalised across taxa despite evidence of differences between species. here, we take the domestic horse equus ferus caballus as a model to examine the ... | 2016 | 27084484 |
| claudin-1, -2, -4, and -5: comparison of expression levels and distribution in equine tissues. | claudins, which are known as transmembrane proteins play an essential role in tight junctions (tjs) to form physical barriers and regulate paracellular transportation. to understand equine diseases, it is helpful to measure the tissue-specific expression of tjs in horses. major equine diseases such as colic and west nile cause damage to tjs. in this study, the expression level and distribution of claudin-1, -2, -4, and -5 in eight tissues were assessed by western blotting and immunohistochemistr ... | 2016 | 27030194 |
| evolutionary genomics and conservation of the endangered przewalski's horse. | przewalski's horses (phs, equus ferus ssp. przewalskii) were discovered in the asian steppes in the 1870s and represent the last remaining true wild horses. phs became extinct in the wild in the 1960s but survived in captivity, thanks to major conservation efforts. the current population is still endangered, with just 2,109 individuals, one-quarter of which are in chinese and mongolian reintroduction reserves [1]. these horses descend from a founding population of 12 wild-caught phs and possibly ... | 2015 | 26412128 |
| a geographic assessment of the global scope for rewilding with wild-living horses (equus ferus). | megafaunas worldwide have been decimated during the late quaternary. many extirpated species were keystone species, and their loss likely has had large effects on ecosystems. therefore, it is increasingly considered how megafaunas can be restored. the horse (equus ferus) is highly relevant in this context as it was once extremely widespread and, despite severe range contraction, survives in the form of domestic, feral, and originally wild horses. further, it is a functionally important species, ... | 2015 | 26177104 |
| absence of population asymmetry in the american quarter horse (equus ferus caballus) performing skilled left and right manoeuvres in reining competition. | use of the right hand by humans for speech-related hand gestures, writing and throwing exemplifies motoric asymmetry. there are reports of asymmetry in many other animal species, including reports of left preference in emotional responsivity, spontaneous behaviour and the trained performance of the horse, equus ferus caballus. the present study used the novel approach of using judges' scores to examine asymmetry in an equestrian event. the study analysed the scores of five judges evaluating the ... | 2015 | 25861972 |
| virtual screening of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors using the lipinski's rule of five and zinc databank. | alzheimer's disease (ad) is a progressive and neurodegenerative pathology that can affect people over 65 years of age. it causes several complications, such as behavioral changes, language deficits, depression, and memory impairments. one of the methods used to treat ad is the increase of acetylcholine (ach) in the brain by using acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (acheis). in this study, we used the zinc databank and the lipinski's rule of five to perform a virtual screening and a molecular dockin ... | 2015 | 25685814 |
| interspecific communication from people to horses (equus ferus caballus) is influenced by different horsemanship training styles. | the ability of many domesticated animals to follow human pointing gestures to locate hidden food has led to scientific debate on the relative importance of domestication and individual experience on the origins and development of this capacity. to further explore this question, we examined the influence of different prior training histories/methods on the ability of horses (equus ferus caballus) to follow a momentary distal point. ten horses previously trained using one of two methods (parelli™ ... | 2014 | 25111631 |
| movement initiation in groups of feral horses. | herds of ungulates, flocks of birds, swarms of insects and schools of fish move in coordinated groups. computer models show that only one or very few animals are needed to initiate and direct movement. to investigate initiation mechanisms further, we studied two ways in which movement can be initiated in feral horses: herding, and departure from the group. we examined traits affecting the likelihood of a horse initiating movement i.e. social rank, affiliative relationships, spatial position, and ... | 2014 | 24220794 |
| local density and group size interacts with age and sex to determine direction and rate of social dispersal in a polygynous mammal. | movement away from an area or social group in response to increasing density (density-dependent dispersal) is known for most species; why it evolves is fundamental to our understanding of ecology and evolution. however, we have yet to fully appreciate how individuals of varying conditions (e.g., age and sex) might differently consider effects of density (quorum) when deciding to disperse or not, and scale dependence in their sense of quorum. we tracked movements of all individuals of a naturaliz ... | 2013 | 24101995 |
| increasing density leads to generalization in both coarse-grained habitat selection and fine-grained resource selection in a large mammal. | density is a fundamental driver of many ecological processes including habitat selection. theory on density-dependent habitat selection predicts that animals should be distributed relative to profitability of habitat, resulting in reduced specialization in selection (i.e. generalization) as density increases and competition intensifies. despite mounting empirical support for density-dependent habitat selection using isodars to describe coarse-grained (interhabitat) animal movements, we know litt ... | 2014 | 23931034 |
| recalibrating equus evolution using the genome sequence of an early middle pleistocene horse. | the rich fossil record of equids has made them a model for evolutionary processes. here we present a 1.12-times coverage draft genome from a horse bone recovered from permafrost dated to approximately 560-780 thousand years before present (kyr bp). our data represent the oldest full genome sequence determined so far by almost an order of magnitude. for comparison, we sequenced the genome of a late pleistocene horse (43 kyr bp), and modern genomes of five domestic horse breeds (equus ferus caball ... | 2013 | 23803765 |
| effect of long-term feed restriction on the health status and welfare of a robust horse breed, the shetland pony (equus ferus caballus). | outdoor group housing is increasingly recognized as an appropriate housing system for domesticated horses. the objective of this study was therefore to investigate the effect of potential feed shortage in semi-natural horse keeping systems in winter on animal health and welfare. in 10 female shetland ponies blood concentrations (nefa, total protein (tp), total bilirubin (tb), beta-hydroxybutyrate (bhb) and thyroxine (t4)), body mass and the body condition score (bcs) were monitored for 7 months ... | 2013 | 23141417 |
| reconstructing the origin and spread of horse domestication in the eurasian steppe. | despite decades of research across multiple disciplines, the early history of horse domestication remains poorly understood. on the basis of current evidence from archaeology, mitochondrial dna, and y-chromosomal sequencing, a number of different domestication scenarios have been proposed, ranging from the spread of domestic horses out of a restricted primary area of domestication to the domestication of numerous distinct wild horse populations. in this paper, we reconstruct both the population ... | 2012 | 22566639 |
| mitochondrial genomes from modern horses reveal the major haplogroups that underwent domestication. | archaeological and genetic evidence concerning the time and mode of wild horse (equus ferus) domestication is still debated. high levels of genetic diversity in horse mtdna have been detected when analyzing the control region; recurrent mutations, however, tend to blur the structure of the phylogenetic tree. here, we brought the horse mtdna phylogeny to the highest level of molecular resolution by analyzing 83 mitochondrial genomes from modern horses across asia, europe, the middle east, and the ... | 2012 | 22308342 |
| clinical disease associated with anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in captive przewalski's horses (equus ferus przewalskii). | anaplasma phagocytophilum is a tick-borne pathogen of domestic horses and the causative agent of equine granulocytic anaplasmosis. this case series describes three confirmed cases of clinical anaplasmosis, and a fourth case of presumptive anaplasmosis in przewalski's horses ( equus ferus przewalskii) housed at the smithsonian conservation biology institute from 2008 to 2014. clinical signs varied among individuals with affected horses exhibiting lethargy, weakness, pyrexia, hypophagia, reluctanc ... | 2017 | 28749289 |
| the mane effect in the horse (equus ferus caballus): right mane dominance enhanced in mares but not associated with left and right manoeuvres in a reining competition. | a human physical asymmetry is the near 90% clockwise occipitoparietal scalp hair-whorl direction in europeans, an incidence that approximates the left lateralization of speech and right-handedness. hair-whorl direction is also asymmetric in horses, equus ferus caballus and placement is proposed to be related to temperament and lateralized skill in equitation manoeuvres. we describe a hair-whorl asymmetry in the horse, mane direction. of 526, 3-year-old american quarter horses, 69% of horses had ... | 2017 | 27535616 |