Studies on the breeding season and reproduction of the ewe Part I. The breeding season in different environments Part II. The breeding season in one locality

Hafez, E. S. E.

doi:10.1017/s0021859600056896

Cited by 317 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Although the affiliation between the European mouflon and the domestic sheep's wild ancestor is not straightforward due to a complex history of fertilization and hybridization between wild and domestic populations (Poplin, 1979;Schröder et al, 2016), the European mouflon remains the closest living representative of early domestic breeds. A 3-to 4-month period is also longer than what was observed in the 8th millennium BC domestic sheep in the Near East (Tornero et al, 2016), while it is shorter than what is observed in most improved breeds (Hafez, 1952). This corroborates the idea that domestication led to an extension of the period of sexual activity in sheep (Hafez, 1952), but also that this trend was accentuated over the long term.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

“…The duration of the period of births is estimated tõ 3 to 4 months (Figures 3 and 4). This is significantly higher than what is observed today in the European mouflon, where births occur during a period of only 1 to 2 months (Hafez, 1952;Pfeffer, 1967;Garel et al, 2005;Tornero et al, 2016). Although the affiliation between the European mouflon and the domestic sheep's wild ancestor is not straightforward due to a complex history of fertilization and hybridization between wild and domestic populations (Poplin, 1979;Schröder et al, 2016), the European mouflon remains the closest living representative of early domestic breeds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…We then provide a review of the data from European archaeological contexts dated to the 6th to the 3rd millennia BC (calibrated dates). This set of sites located under contrasted latitudes (43°N to 46°N and 59°N) also provides an interesting case for observation, due to the photoperiodic control on sheep reproductive activity and the latitudinal variation of this parameter (Hafez, 1952).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…On an annual scale, they alternate between a period of sexual activity and a period of sexual rest, with no behavioural or ovarian activity in the ewe (Hafez, 1952) † E-mail: balasse@mnhn.fr Animal (2017), 11:12, pp 2229-2236 © The Animal Consortium 2017. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over 10 500 years of manipulation separates today's European domestic sheep breeds from their wild ancestors, during which time population redistributions, management of demography and diet, and adaptation to economic rules have modified their ancestral heritage (Hafez, 1952). In spite of this, small ruminants have retained seasonal breeding behaviour, although differences have been observed between present day sheep breeds with a regionally focused history (Hafez, 1952;Thimonier and Mauléon, 1969). Reconstructing the history of sheep breeding seasonality over a long time scale, starting with the unimproved domestic herds from prehistory, could assist with a better understanding of the reasons for the retention of this characteristic and its variability over millennia of domestication.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Animal Board Invited Review: Sheep birth distribution in past herds: a review for prehistoric Europe (6th to 3rd millennia BC)

Balasse

Tresset

Bălășescu³

et al. 2017

Animal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In temperate latitudes sheep have a seasonal reproductive behaviour, which imposes strong constraints on husbandry in terms of work organization and availability of animal products. During the last 50 years, researchers have focused on understanding the mechanisms driving small ruminants' reproduction cycles and finding ways to control them. This characteristic is inherited from their wild ancestor. However, the history of its evolution over the 10 millennia that separates present day European sheep from their Near Eastern ancestors' remains to be written. This perspective echoes archaeologists' current attempts at reconstructing ancient pastoral societies' socio-economical organization. Information related to birth seasonality may be retrieved directly from archaeological sheep teeth. The methodology consists of reconstructing the seasonal cycle record in sheep molars, through sequential analysis of the stable oxygen isotope composition (δ 18 O) of enamel. Because the timing of tooth development is fixed within a species, inter-individual variability in this parameter reflects birth seasonality. A review of the data obtained from 10 European archaeological sites dated from the 6th to the 3rd millennia BC is provided. The results demonstrate a restricted breeding season for sheep: births occurred over a period of 3 to 4 months, from late winter to early summer at latitudes 43°N to 48°N, while a later onset was observed at a higher latitude (59°N). All conclusions concurred with currently held expectations based on present day sheep physiology, which, aside from the historical significance, contributes to the reinforcing of the methodological basis of the approach. Further study in this area will permit regional variability attributable to technical choices, within global schemes, to be fully reported.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Animal Board Invited Review: Sheep birth distribution in past herds: a review for prehistoric Europe (6th to 3rd millennia BC)

Balasse

Tresset

Bălășescu³

et al. 2017

Animal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Reproductive Cycles

and¹,

Hafez²

2000

Reproduction in Farm Animals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Photoperiodic control of antler cycles in deer. II. Alterations in amplitude

Goss

1969

J. Exp. Zool.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Deer native to temperate zones grow new antlers each year in synchrony with the annual photoperiodic cycle. When the amplitude of this cycle is reduced from normal winter and summer solstices ( a t 42" latitude) of nine and fifteen hours to as little as eleven and one-half and twelve and one-half hours (equivalent to about 9" latitude), sika deer still tend to grow antlers on schedule, even when that schedule is accelerated.Deer exposed to days of constant length for prolonged periods of time fail to replace their antlers when the 1ight:dark ratio is 12L/12D. When held on unchanging short (8L/16D) or long (16/8D; 24L/OD) days, however, they continue with their antler cycles at irregular intervals averaging about 85% of the siderial year.These results are interpreted in terms of an inherent circannian rhythm, the duration of which can be adapted to the frequency of the prevailing photoperiodicity, but which reverts to approximately a year on constant long or short days and disappears altogether on simulated equatorial photoperiods.

show abstract

Studies on the breeding season and reproduction of the ewe Part I. The breeding season in different environments Part II. The breeding season in one locality

Cited by 317 publications

References 0 publications

Animal Board Invited Review: Sheep birth distribution in past herds: a review for prehistoric Europe (6th to 3rd millennia BC)

Animal Board Invited Review: Sheep birth distribution in past herds: a review for prehistoric Europe (6th to 3rd millennia BC)

Reproductive Cycles

Photoperiodic control of antler cycles in deer. II. Alterations in amplitude

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About