The effect of domestication on brain size and composition in the mink (<i>Mustela vison</i>)

Kruska, Dieter

doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1996.tb05468.x

Cited by 84 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The mink (Mustela vison) has been undergoing domestication for about 120 yr. According to Kruska (1996), it can be calculated that only 80 further generations are needed to complete the domestication process of this species. Previously, genetic selection by farmers typically focused on fur properties, body size and reproductive success but, recently, temperament has also become a popular selection criterion (Hansen 1996;Malmkvist et al 1997).…”

Section: Mots Clésmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of temperament and behavioural reactions to the presence of a human during the pre-mating period on reproductive performance in farmed mink (Mustela vison)

Korhonen¹,

Jauhiainen²,

auml³

2002

Can. J. Anim. Sci.

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Korhonen, H. T., Jauhiainen, L. and Rekilä, T. 2002. Effect of temperament and behavioural reactions to the presence of a human during the pre-mating period on reproductive performance in farmed mink (Mustela vison). Can. J. Anim. Sci. 82: 275-282. The present study sought to evaluate the relationship between temperament, pre-mating behaviour and reproductive performance in farmed female mink (Mustela vison). Temperament was measured by using a stick test and behavioural reactions to the presence of a human during pre-mating period by a walking test. The experimental animals comprised 100 confident and 100 fearful scanblack female mink. In each temperament group, 58% of female mink were primiparous and 42% were multiparous. The length and timing of mating periods and the length of the gestation period were similar in all groups. Pooled data showed that the length of the gestation period correlated negatively with litter size (r = -0.17, P = 0.03). The whelping proportions for confident and fearful primiparous female mink were 81% and 74% (P = 0.37), respectively, and for multiparous females 83% and 81% (P = 0.78), respectively. The number of kits per mated and whelped female at parturition (P < 0.01 and P = 0.04, respectively) and at weaning (P < 0.01 and P = 0.07, respectively) was significantly higher in confident than in fearful females. A significant correlation between kit losses and litter size was found only in primiparous and multiparous confident females (r = 0.35, P = 0.02; r = 0.32, P = 0.07). Postnatal kit mortality was higher in primiparous confident females than fearful females. During walking tests, fearful animals, irrespective of age, remained inside the nest box more frequently than did confident ones. Stationary behaviour outside the cage (lying, sitting, standing, etc.) was more common in confident than in fearful animals (P < 0.001). Significant differences in locomotor activity or stereotypies were not found between the groups. In multiparous fearful females, the whelping result declined significantly with the increasing incidence of stereotypies (r = -0.37, P = 0.04). In primiparous fearful female mink, the relationship was the reverse (r = 0.37; P = 0.01). We conclude that the significant temperament dichotomy (confident vs. fearful) found in farmed mink stock has a marked effect on the reproductive performance of this species. . On a évalué le tempérament des animaux en utilisant un bâton et leurs réactions à la présence d'un humain durant la période antérieure à l'accouplement en déambulant entre les cages. L'expérience portait sur 100 femelles confiantes et 100 femelles craintives de type Scanblack. Chaque groupe de tempérament différent comprenait 58 femelles primipares et 42 multipares. La durée et le moment de l'accouplement et la durée de la gestation étaient similaires pour tous les groupes. Selon les données recueillies, la durée de la gestation présente une corrélation négative avec la taille de la portée (r = -0,17, P = 0,03). La proportion de reproducteurs s'établissait respec...

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Section: Mots Clésmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of temperament and behavioural reactions to the presence of a human during the pre-mating period on reproductive performance in farmed mink (Mustela vison)

Korhonen¹,

Jauhiainen²,

auml³

2002

Can. J. Anim. Sci.

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“…Based on published information on the time of divergence of these populations, one would expect a closer genetic relationship between the black and colored mink than between black and wild mink. Keeping mink in captivity has also brought about some considerable morphological changes, even in the traits that have not been directly under selection, such as skull shape, sexual dimorphism and brain size (Lynch and Hayden 1995;Kruska 1996). Such differences could be examples of many other morphological and physiological changes that have taken place solely as a result of keeping mink in captivity.…”

Section: Interpopulation Genetic Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Intense selection, under more uniform environmental and nutritional conditions compared with the mink's natural habitat, has brought about enormous morphological changes, even in the traits that have not been directly under selection, due to correlated response to selection and adaptation to captivity. Captive mink have a different skull shape, smaller sexual dimorphism for size and skull-shape (Lynch and Hayden 1995), and smaller brains (Kruska 1996) compared with feral mink.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of genetic variability in captive and wild American mink (Mustela vison) using microsatellite markers

Belliveau¹,

Farid²,

O’Connell³

et al. 1999

Can. J. Anim. Sci.

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Belliveau, A. M., Farid, A., O'Connell, M. and Wright, J. M. 1999. Assessment of genetic variability in captive and wild American mink (Mustela vison) using microsatellite markers. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 79: 7-16. The genetic variability of 212 black mink from four ranches, and 20 each from wild mink trapped in Eastern Canada, pastel and brown (wild-type) was assessed using seven microsatellite loci. The average number of alleles per locus and expected heterozygosity (H E ) in the entire sample were 6.57 and 0.63, respectively. The estimates of H E were comparable among the black mink herds (0.53 to 0.61), and between black and the wild mink (0.50), indicating a considerable level of genetic variability within black mink, despite high levels of uniformity that have been achieved in fur quality traits as a result of many years of intense selection. Brown mink had the highest H E among populations (0.65), which could be the cause or the effect of their higher vigor and reproductive performance compared with the black mink. All the populations showed a higher level of homozygosity than expected from the Hardy-Weinberg (H-W) proportions at several loci (positive F IS ), perhaps as a result of linebreeding and positive assortative mating commonly used in the mink industry. Excess of homozygosity in the wild mink may indicate breeding between related individuals occupying adjacent territories, and a limited movement of mink in the wild. The black mink herds were closely related to each other, as were the pastel and brown. Gene flow from common sources to all the herds and infusion of the Jetblack allele into all the ranches were likely the causes of relatedness of the black mink herds. The black mink herds were more closely related to the wild mink than to the colored mink. This panel of microsatellites correctly classified black and nonblack mink into their respective groups with 91 to 97% accuracy. Between 70 and 88% of the black mink were correctly assigned into their herd of origin.

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“…Within any particular species, brain sizes will only range over a tiny fraction of this amount, but as phylogenetic variability must arise from the heri- [61]) and 12 adult wild mink brains with 12 adult ranch mink brains (brain sizes range from 7.2 to 10.4 g, ratio 1.44 [62]; the electronic supplementary material, table S1). He compared a number of other domestic and wild species with fewer individuals (reviewed and discussed in [63 -65]).…”

Section: Phylogenetic Variations In Brain Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping behavioural evolution onto brain evolution: the strategic roles of conserved organization in individuals and species

Finlay

Hinz

Darlington

2011

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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The pattern of individual variation in brain component structure in pigs, minks and laboratory mice is very similar to variation across species in the same components, at a reduced scale. This conserved pattern of allometric scaling resembles robotic architectures designed to be robust to changes in computing power and task demands, and may reflect the mechanism by which both growing and evolving brains defend basic sensory, motor and homeostatic functions at multiple scales. Conserved scaling rules also have implications for species-specific sensory and social communication systems, motor competencies and cognitive abilities. The role of relative changes in neuron number in the central nervous system in producing species-specific behaviour is thus highly constrained, while changes in the sensory and motor periphery, and in motivational and attentional systems increase in probability as the principal loci producing important changes in functional neuroanatomy between species. By their nature, these loci require renewed attention to development and life history in the initial organization and production of species-specific behavioural abilities.

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The effect of domestication on brain size and composition in the mink (Mustela vison)

Cited by 84 publications

References 16 publications

Effect of temperament and behavioural reactions to the presence of a human during the pre-mating period on reproductive performance in farmed mink (Mustela vison)

Effect of temperament and behavioural reactions to the presence of a human during the pre-mating period on reproductive performance in farmed mink (Mustela vison)

Assessment of genetic variability in captive and wild American mink (Mustela vison) using microsatellite markers

Mapping behavioural evolution onto brain evolution: the strategic roles of conserved organization in individuals and species

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