Interspecific hybridization is relatively frequent in nature and numerous cases of hybridization between wild canids and domestic dogs have been recorded. However, hybrids between golden jackals ...(Canis aureus) and other canids have not been described before. In this study, we combined the use of biparental (15 autosomal microsatellites and three major histocompatibility complex (MHC) loci) and uniparental (mtDNA control region and a Y-linked Zfy intron) genetic markers to assess the admixed origin of three wild-living canids showing anomalous phenotypic traits. Results indicated that these canids were hybrids between golden jackals and domestic dogs. One of them was a backcross to jackal and another one was a backcross to dog, confirming that golden jackal–domestic dog hybrids are fertile. The uniparental markers showed that the direction of hybridization, namely females of the wild species hybridizing with male domestic dogs, was common to most cases of canid hybridization. A melanistic 3bp-deletion at the K locus (β-defensin CDB103 gene), that was absent in reference golden jackal samples, but was found in a backcross to jackal with anomalous black coat, suggested its introgression from dogs via hybridization. Moreover, we demonstrated that MHC sequences, although rarely used as markers of hybridization, can be also suitable for the identification of hybrids, as long as haplotypes are exclusive for the parental species.
Zbog povećanih gubitaka pčelinjih zajednica, potražnja za njima raste iz godine u godinu. Kako bi nadoknadili izgubljene pčelinje zajednice ili povećali veličinu pčelinjaka, pčelari moraju kupiti ...nove zajednice ili ih mogu sami proizvesti tijekom sezone. Cilj ovoga rada bio je ispitati tehnološku i ekonomsku učinkovitost triju različitih metoda proizvodnje pčelinjih zajednica: korištenjem jednoga, dvaju i četiriju okvira saća s poklopljenim leglom i pripadajućim pčelama kojima je dodana sparena matica. Istraživanje je provedeno u sjeveroistočnoj Hrvatskoj od svibnja 2019. do travnja 2020. Na kraju prve sezone nije bilo značajnih razlika između skupina u broju okvira zauzetih leglom i pčelama. Proizvodnja zajednica s jednim okvirom poklopljenoga legla omogućuje pčelaru proizvodnju većega broja pčelinjih zajednica, dok su se pčelinje zajednice proizvedene na početku sezone s pomoću četiriju okvira poklopljenoga legla dovoljno razvile i proizvodile med tijekom glavne ljetne pčelinje paše. Sva tri načina proizvodnje pčelinjih zajednica pokazala su pozitivan ekonomski rezultat i stopu isplativosti.
Due to the increased honeybee colony losses, the demands for honeybee colonies are growing annually. To regain the lost colonies or to increase the apiary size, the beekeepers need to purchase the new colonies or to prepare the new ones during the season. The aim of this study was to investigate the technological and economic efficiency of the three different methods of honeybee colony production, deploying one, two, or four combs of capped brood with the adhering bees and a mated queen. The study was conducted in northeastern Croatia from May 2019 to April 2020. At the end of the first season, there were no significant differences between the groups in the number of combs occupied with the brood and the bees. The production of colonies with one brood comb provides the beekeeper with an opportunity to multi ply more colonies, while the colonies established using four brood combs during an early season produced honey during the main summer nectar flow. All three methods of colony production have scored a positive economic result and have demonstrated positive profitability rates.
Three FA indices showed correlations with age and magnitude of traits, but not in general. Significant correlations between magnitude of traits and their FA were more pronounced in AFA (12 traits) ...than in RFA (10 traits) in all age classes except yearlings. For the tray tine form (curvature), FA significantly correlated with its magnitude in young, middle-aged and ripe stags, which indicates that the trait is a reliable indicator of asymmetry. Significant differences in AFA among age classes were found in four traits (weight of dry antlers, volume of antlers, distal circumference of beams and total length of crown tines). By RFA, a significant difference among age classes was only found for the distal circumference of beams. Thus, AFA is a more vulnerable condition index. Contrary to other research findings, developmental instability was more pronounced in older age classes. In yearlings, no significant FA dependence on the trait of antler size was detected, but in certain traits, an asymmetry detected at an early age remains visible later as well, although in stags grown under relatively optimal (especially trophic) environment conditions, developmental instability was present anyway. This proposes two hypotheses for further research: Competition may be manifested even under controlled conditions, which might jeopardize the developmental stability of certain individuals, or some traits will show developmental instability regardless of relatively good environmental conditions.
Species range expansions and (re)colonization of landscapes variously dominated by humans occur on a global scale. Understanding such range enlargements and subsequent changes in the composition of ...ecological communities is important for conservation management, and the golden jackal (Canis aureus) can be considered a model species for regional and continental range expansion. Although this mesopredator has been known from the Adriatic Coast of southeastern Europe for over 500 years, the species is a recent arrival further north, including in Slovenia where jackals were first confirmed in the 1950s. Research from eastern Italy found jackals with ancestry from the Dalmatian region on the Adriatic Coast and the Pannonian region further east. We predicted similar ancestry for Slovenian jackals, and examined samples from Croatia, including Dalmatia and interior regions, Serbia, Hungary, and Slovenia with 25 microsatellite markers to determine population genetic structure. We detected two distinct genetic clusters, representing the Dalmatian and Balkan-Pannonian (Pannonian) jackal populations (FST = 0.157, 95% CI: 0.112–0.209). Contrary to expectations, only few individuals in Slovenia exhibited signs of Dalmatian ancestry, and none appeared to be direct immigrants. Some results suggested a third cluster centered in northern Hungary. These divergent profiles might indicate immigration from outside the study area, and samples from regions further east are required for additional resolution. Based on our results, we hypothesize that Dalmatia has not been a substantial source for recent range expansion of the species, which has likely occurred from the east. Further investigation can help resolve the ancestry and current distribution of the Dalmatian and Pannonian populations, and the ecological relationships resulting from progressively overlapping distributions of canid species. Finally, genomic research could illuminate whether genetic variants from eastern areas might have facilitated jackal expansion into regions characterized by a colder climate, the presence of snow, and extensive forest cover; habitats seemingly avoided by the jackals occupying the Adriatic Coast and surrounding areas in southeastern Europe.
•The golden jackal (Canis aureus) is a model for exploring species range expansions.•We examined population genetic structure in the Dinaric-Pannonian region.•Samples from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Hungary showed two distinct clusters.•Most were assigned to the Pannonian cluster, another population occurs in Dalmatia.•We hypothesize that European expansion has occurred mainly from the Pannonian area.
Istrian shorthaired hound is an old indigenous Croatian dog breed with historical traces of its origin, which date back to the 14th century. Due to its intelligence and great hunting abilities, it is ...considered an excellent hunting dog. Despite its ancient origin, there is no data on genetic diversity, population structure, and degree of inbreeding that could be used for advanced management and conservation of this breed. Our study aimed to provide a high-resolution population structure of the Istrian shorthaired hound using a 220K HD SNP array, to compare the obtained data with the genealogical records and to place the breed in a broader context of world dog populations. Relatively high population size and low inbreeding coefficient estimated from genealogical data indicate a preserved genetic diversity in this breed. The principle component analysis, the NeighborNet network, and TreeMix were used to determine the genetic relationship between the Istrian shorthaired hound and other breeds. The Istrian shorthaired hound was found to be genetically related to Italian hunting dogs sharing the same branch with the Segugio Italiano a Pelo Raso and Segugio Italiano a Pelo Forte. The ADMIXTURE analysis indicated that the Istrian shorthaired hound could be involved in the development of some other hunting dog breeds. The estimated effective population size (Ne) based on SNP data was similar to Ne calculated from genealogical data indicating the absence of bottlenecks and well-balanced use of breeding animals. The low genomic inbreeding coefficient, together with the higher number of short runs of homozygosity, observed in the Istrian shorthaired hound, confirms the ancient origin of the breed based on historical documents. The analysis of selective sweeps identified genomic regions with the strongest selection signals in the vicinity of the genes associated with cognitive performance and behavior. Genome analysis proved to be a useful tool for estimating population parameters and can be implemented in the conservation plan for this indigenous breed.
Field rodents can cause considerable economic losses
in perennial crops, especially lucerne. Predatory birds can provide biological
control of field rodent populations. However, modern arable ...landscape usually
provides few or no natural standpoints for predatory birds to wait for their
prey. According to the old farmers in eastern Croatia, T-standpoints installed
into lucerne were traditional implements assisting the bird predation over
field rodents. Aim of this study was to check whether the T-standpoints really
are appropriate installations for the predatory birds to wait for their prey on
the ground or not. The research has confirmed that predatory birds (
Buteo buteo
and
Falco tinnunculus
) descended on the installed T-standpoints (in
average 1.35 arrivals per day of observation), waited (average period of stay
was 17 minutes in the morning and 34 minutes in the afternoon) and landed on
the ground, most probably to catch the prey (in average 13 % of arrivals to
T-standpoints ended with landing to the ground, likely for the prey attack).
Small forest restoration in arable landscapes and less chemical rodent control
would probably improve the predatory bird populations, thus enhancing the
biological control of field rodents. There remains the need for further
investigation of efficiency of field rodent control by predatory birds
Geometric morphometrics analyses are now often used to examine morphological variation in carnivore skull. Differences in golden jackal skull shape and size due to sexual dimorphism were examined ...using two dimensional geometric morphometrics approach. A total of 21 landmarks described the dorsal side of the skull and lateral side of the mandible. Individual variation in skull and mandible morphology was statistically significant for the shape (p<0.01). Sexual dimorphism as main effect was highly significant for the dorsal skull shape and the mandible shape and size (p<0.01). The comparison of mandible mean shapes using discriminant function analysis and parametric test did not reveal significant differences between the sexes, while dorsal mean skull shape was statistically significant (p<0.05).The shape comparison between males and females using permutation tests with procrustes distance yielded with significant results for both skull and mandible shape. Further studies are required with increased sample size and number of landmarks so as to obtain a more accurate expression of form and better differentiation between the sexes.
Trichinella spiralis and Trichinella britovi are species that are frequently found in domestic pigs and various sylvatic animals in Croatia. During routine trichinoscopy, non-encapsulated larvae were ...detected in the muscle tissue of a domestic pig. Artificial digestion revealed a larvae burden of 602 muscle larvae per gram of tissue. Tissue section analysis confirmed the presence of non-encapsulated larvae. Multiplex PCR identified the larvae as T. pseudospiralis. This observation is consistent with the reports of a local veterinary inspector who described the presence of non-encapsulated Trichinella in four individual cases over the last 2 years. This is the first report of T. pseudospiralis in Croatia and one of very few cases of T. pseudospiralis infection described in domestic pigs. The detection of non-encapsulated larvae stresses the need for implementation of artificial digestion instead of trichinoscopy for the detection and identification of Trichinella infections.
Current knowledge concerning the possible use and impact of replacing the soybean proteins with those derived from a defatted black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens, HI) meal while feeding chickens to ...produce the meat for human consumption is very limited. This study’s objective was to examine the influence of partial replacement of the HI-defatted flour on chicken meat’s technological properties and quality. 180 one-day-old Ross 308 chicks were divided into three experimental groups (P1, P2, and P3) and one control group counting 45 chicks. The experimental groups were fed with the fattening mixtures containing 15, 25, and 45% of the HI-defatted flour, while the control group was fed in accordance with the standard chicken-fattening requirements. After 42 days, the chickens were slaughtered, and the breasts and drumsticks of 40 chickens were subjected to analysis. A statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) was observed in the P1 for the drip-loss values measured 24 hours after sampling, the muscle resistance to cutting, and the cooking loss values. The water-binding capacity for all three experimental groups did not demonstrate statistically significant differences for the pH1 and pH2 values. Considering the CIE L*a*b* color standard reference values, the results for the breast meat were normally to slightly lighter than normal ones. The basic chemical parameter (water, protein, fat, and collagen) results confirmed that there was no statistically significant difference in any of the experimental groups if compared to the control one.
•Concentrations of macro-, micro- and toxic elements were measured in 10 honey types.•Honeys were collected in four regions of Croatia in three beekeeping seasons.•Significant differences were found ...in the element levels between different honeys.•Element content differences in honeys were measured between seasons.•Regional element content differences of the same honey types were established.
Concentrations of 20 elements were measured in ten honey types collected from four main geographical regions of Croatia during three beekeeping seasons. The four regions differ by their geography, ecology and climate. Significant differences in the element concentrations between honeys of different botanical origin were found for Al, Ba, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Pb and Zn (p<0.05). The highest mean concentrations of elements were found in honeys: floral Cd, Cr; acacia Mo; honeydew Al, Cu, K, Ni; chestnut Ba, Ca, Mn, Na; forest Fe, Mg; sunflower Cu; linden Pb, Co; sage Se; lacy phacelia Zn. Differences in the element content of honeys originating from the same region collected in different seasons was found for the honeys: floral Al, Ca, K, Zn; acacia Ba, Ca, Cu, Mg, Mn, Na, Zn; honeydew Cu, K, Mn, Pb; chestnut Al, Ba, Cu, K, Mn, Na, Pb; sunflower Cu; linden Ba, Ca, Mn. Also, regional differences in the element content of honeys collected within the same season was found for: floral Al, Ca, K, Mg; acacia Ca, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Zn; honeydew Cu, K, Mn, Pb; sage Ba, Ca, K, Mg, Mn; chestnut Ba.
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