Hematological parameters have provided useful information about the animal health status. The main objective of the study was to measure the hematological profile of Sumba Ongole (SO) cattle extensively reared in semi-arid land in Sumba, NTT. Blood samples from seventy-five animals were examined to measure its hematological parameters based on age and sex. Animal were grouped based on sex into male and female in the age groups 1.5 to 3 years (n=42), 3.5 to 4 years (n=23) and ≥ 5 years (n=10). Mean standard error values of all the hematological parameters for The SO cattle, both male and female cattle at different age of group were measured. Several hematological parameters, such as erythrocytes, platelets, hemoglobin, hematocrit and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) level were significantly different (p<0.05) between male and female, while erythrocyte, hemoglobin, hematocrit, MCV were significantly different (p<0.05) within 3 groups of age. These results would contribute to better understanding of the hematological indicators for estimating the physiological status of Sumba Ongole cattle in Sumba and it can be used as valuable information for beef cattle reared with similar environmental condition, especially in semi-arid tropical climate.

In order to interpret the degree of postmating isolation and the evolutionary relationships among Fejervarya species from Indonesia (Lesser Sunda), Bangladesh, China, and Japan, crossing experiments and molecular phylogenetic analyses were carried out using frogs of Fejervarya species from these countries. The crossing experiments revealed that the reciprocal hybrids among F. iskandari, F. verruculosa, and F. sp. Large type, and those between F. multistriata and F. kawamurai were viable through metamorphosis, but those between F. iskandari group and F. limnocharis group were completely or partially inviable at the tadpole stage, and those between Southeast -Asian and South-Asian Fejervarya groups were completely inviable at the embryonic stage. The matured reciprocal hybrids between F. iskandari and F. verruculosa from Indonesia, Lesser Sunda showed some degree of abnormality in spermatogenesis. The phylogenetic analyses using mtDNA Cytb gene sequences demonstrated that F. iskandari formed a sister clade with F. verruculosa from Lesser Sunda, Indonesia with 8.1% sequence divergence. Fejervaraya multistriata from China made a clade with Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesian (topotype) populations of F. limnocharis which showed sister relationships to F. kawamurai from Japan with 8.9% sequence divergence of Cytb gene. Fejervarya sp. small type from Bangladesh formed a clade with the other South-Asian members of Fejervarya group and made a sister clade with Southeast-Asian Fejervarya group having 23.1% sequence divergence of Cytb gene. This study showed that the degree of postmating isolation reflects the molecular phylogenetic relationships, and that the two species, F. iskandari and F. verruculosa from Indonesia (Lesser Sunda) are reproductively isolated by abnormal spermatogenesis, and genetically deviated.

Physiological status is an indicator to determine the degree of health and productivity of livestock. This study aims to identify the physiological status of Sumba Ongole (SO) beef cattle on the island of Sumba by measuring body temperature, respiration frequency, pulse, and body conditioning score (BCS). Overall, there were 70 cows used in the study. Based on gender, there were 21 bulls and 49 cows and they were classified based on age, there were 3 categories, 1-1.5 years, 2-2.5 years, and 3 years. The parameters measured were body temperature, respiratory rate, pulse frequency, and BCS. The results of the study which were processed using analysis of variances (ANOVA) showed that there was no effect of sex or age on body temperature, respiration frequency, pulse frequency (P> 0.05), but there was a significant difference in the age category with the body score of SO cattle (P<0.05). It could be concluded that the physiological status of SO beef cattle which includes body temperature, respiration frequency, and pulse frequency does not show a significant effect on both sex and age, but there is a significant difference in the body score of cattle based on age categories. This research data could probably be used later as a reference for maintaining the health management of SO beef cattle to achieve optimal productivity and profitability.