The comb is a good indicator of physical condition in male birds. We monitored the seasonal changes in supraorbital comb characteristics with visual assessments and fecal testosterone concentrations by enzyme immunoassay in three captive male Svalbard rock ptarmigans (Lagopus muta hyperboreus). Although there were interindividual variations, the size and redness increased from February to Augus...

Breeding practices that increase the physical expression of single rare alleles (i.e., rare genetic traits) through intentional inbreeding, for example intentional breeding to achieve rare color-morphs such as white tigers, deer, and alligators, has been clearly linked with various abnormal, debilitating, and, at times, lethal, external and internal conditions and characteristics, which are out...

The eastern massasauga Sistrurus catenatus catenatus is a declining species for which a captive breeding program was established in 2006. To effectively manage wild and captive populations, an understanding of genetic diversity within the species is necessary. We analyzed mitochondrial DNA sequences of 186 individuals: 109 wild snakes from 34 U.S. and Canadian counties and districts, all 52 bre...

In China, the first Przewalski's horse (Equus przewalskii) group was released in Kalamaili Ungulate Protected Area in Xinjiang, in August 2001. The objective of this study was to investigate reproduction and development of released Przewalski's horses in Xinjiang, China from 2002 to 2006. Twenty-four descendants were naturally born, average reproduction rate was 38.7%, and average survival rate...

Knowledge on seahorses is generally scarce but has been increasing in recent years due to their conservation status. Seahorse culture is a quite recent activity in the field of marine aquaculture in most countries attempting it, and captive breeding techniques are available only for some species. With the aim of contributing to the development of breeding in captivity for conservative purposes,...

Captive breeding is a vital conservation tool for many endangered species programs. It is often a last resort when wild animal population numbers drop to below critical minimums for natural reproduction. However, critical ecophysiological information of wild counterparts may not be well documented or understood, leading to years of minimal breeding successes. We collected endocrine and associat...

  Background: The breeding performance is an important parameter to evaluate the breeding success in captive condition. The optimum hormone dose in combination with latency period is desirable for getting best breeding performance in fish. Objectives: <span style="color: win...

Captive farming of alpine musk deer (Moschus sifanicus) in China has been used for conservation and harvesting of musk since the mid 1950s. Despite this long history, management practices and captive breeding have been primarily based on trial and error due to lack of behavioral and ecological information about this vulnerable species. Understanding behavioral patterns plays a vital part in det...

background: the breeding performance is an important parameter to evaluate the breeding success in captive condition. the optimum hormone dose in combination with latency period is desirable for getting best breeding performance in fish. objectives: the objective of the study was to find the spawning latency period in the hormonal induced reproduction of snow trout with two inducers (ovaprim an...