Mapping of QTL affecting fur quality traits (guard hair length, guard hair thickness, density of wool, surface of the fur and quality) and skin length was performed in a three-generation mink population (F2 design). In the parental generation, Nordic Brown mink were crossed reciprocally with American Black short nap mink. In all, 1082 mink encompassing three generations were used for the analys...

Investigations were made into the genetics of temperament in Merino ewes, with emphasis on those aspects which might have associations with maternal behaviour and postnatal survival of lambs. A data set of over 2000 animals and more than 20,000 records was analysed for estimation of genetic parameters. The heritability of ewe mothering temperament was 0.39 ± 0.02, indicating a moderate genetic ...

abstract             (co) variance components of milk, fat and protein yield of 11368 first lactation iranian holstein dairy cow were estimated by single trait random regression test-day models and restricted maximum likelihood (reml) method. in this study the homogeneous residual variance was assumed throughout lactation. estimated heritability for 305-day production traits ranged from 0.25 to...

Sexual signals are considered costly to produce and maintain under the handicap paradigm, and the reliability of signals is in turn thought to be maintained by these costs. Although previous studies have investigated the costly nature of signal production, few have considered whether honesty might be maintained not by the costliness of the signal itself, but by the costs involved in producing t...

Reproduction is an economically important complex composite trait in sheep. Genetic improvement of composite traits can occur by selection for individual components traits, some combination of individual component traits, or by direct selection for the composite trait. This review discusses the responses of selecting directly for litter weight weaned compared to selection responses for one of i...

In this article, a leadership model is presented, with which to investigate the relationship of trait emotional intelligence (trait EI), leadership self-efficacy and leader's task self-efficacy with collective task efficacy and group performance. The sample was made up of 217 undergraduate students, randomly assigned to work teams of 1 leader and 2 followers that were requested to perform a pro...

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench) is a valuable crop in the dry regions of world, including Namibia. Due to intensity and recurrence drought heat stress traditional sorghum growing areas, there need breed deploy new generation farmer-preferred climate-smart cultivars serve diverse value chains. Therefore, objectives this study were assess present state production northern Namibia document f...

Trait selection and co-existence in phytoplankton communities in partially mixed water columns is investigated using trait based modelling. In the models employed, trait selection results from phytoplankton competition for two limiting resources, light and nutrients. The study employs spatially resolved models, in which the phytoplankton community is represented as a large number of trait-group...

The use of plant biomass is a sustainable alternative to the reduction of CO₂ emissions. Agricultural residues are interesting bioenergy feedstocks because they do not compete with food and add extra value to the crop, which might help to manage these residues in many regions. Breeding crops for dual production of food and bioenergy has been reported previously, but the ideal plant features are...