Body weights and organ measurements in relation to age and season in ring‐necked pheasants

Kirkpatrick, Charles M.

doi:10.1002/ar.1090890209

Cited by 45 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…This thyroid weight curve also agrees with what Burger (1938) found in the male starling and Kirkpatrick (1944) found in the pheasant, except that the female muskrat thyroid was not consistently larger than that of the male. The thyroid weight curves of the muskrat, thirteen-lined ground squirrel and the cottontail rabbit are in contrast with the findings of Riddle and , Fisher (1925) that pigeons have an enlargement of the thyroid in the fall and winter.…”

Section: Adsupporting

confidence: 89%

Seasonal Changes in the Endocrine Organs and Behavior Patterns of the Muskrat

Beer

Meyer

1951

Journal of Mammalogy

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Behavior patterns combine with the physical environmental conditions to control the population density and distribution of the muskrat, Ondatra zibethica zibethica (Linn.). Many of these behavior patterns are seasonal or at least seasonal in the intensity with which they are manifest and seem to be correlated with and probably controlled by the seasonal physiological changes which occur in the animal.In this study we attempt to correlate the seasonal behavior patterns with the physiological cycles, and suggest how they may affect the composition and density of the population in the Wisconsin marshes. The investigation includes anatomical data from 237 muskrats, from every month of the year, and field observations on seasonal behavior patterns. The number of animals examined was limited by the difficulty of obtaining them. Most of the muskrats were captured alive, while a few were freshly skinned carcasses obtained from trappers. The live muskrats were obtained from the Horicon Marsh Wildlife Area in Dodge County, Wisconsin, and from the University of Wisconsin Arboretum, with the carcasses coming from nearby areas. This is a contribution from the Department of Wildlife Management and the Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin. The study was made possible through the co-operation of the Pittman-Robertson Division of the Wisconsin Conservation Department, and was supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.Live muskrats were brought into the laboratory where they were killed within a few hours and the pituitary, testes, epididymides, prostate, preputial glands, ovaries, uteri, adrenals, and thyroids were removed and weighed immediately on a torsion balance. The coagulating glands were separated from the prostate since there seems to be some disagreement as to whether these lobes are morphologically and physiologically different (Walker, 1910a and 191Ob;Price, 1936). All organs, except the uteri, were weighed with their fluids and the combined weights of paired organs were recorded. The uteri were nicked with a razor blade and any fluids that were present were removed. The uteri from pregnant females were not used as it was nearly impossible to separate the maternal from the embryonic tissues. Smears were made from one epididymis to determine the presence or absence of sperm.The animals were divided into four classes: adult males, adult females, im-

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Section: Adsupporting

confidence: 89%

Seasonal Changes in the Endocrine Organs and Behavior Patterns of the Muskrat

Beer

Meyer

1951

Journal of Mammalogy

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“…The females appeared to respond more to stress (captivity) than males as seen when adrenal size was compared with data of wild birds (Anderson, 1972;Kirkpatrick, 1944). The female adrenals not only en larged more than male adrenals, but became larger in size, reversing the male-female size relationship seen in the wild.…”

Section: Effect Of Sexmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Kirkpatrick (1944) and Anderson (1972) reported adrenal enlargement in hens associated with both winter and breeding conditions. Hens in this study were already heavily stressed at release so they would have little reserve left for increased adrenal activity as they were stressed in winter and during reproduction and death would likely result.…”

Section: Group Evaluationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other investigators reported winter as the maximal period of activity and spring the low, but Macchi et al (1967) showed spring to be the high and winter the low periods of activity. It was postulated that the adrenal activity may follow the gonadal cycle in an inverse manner, but Kirkpatrick (1944), Mine and Fladas (1957), Greeley (1957), and Anderson (1972) reported that adrenal activity followed the gonadal cycle directly.…”

Section: Adrenal Rhythmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Data from the second control group were contrasted with those from wild birds (Kirkpatrick, 1944;Anderson, 1972) to obtain an indication of the stress of caging and crowding.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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