Onset of sexual maturation is a trait of extreme importance both evolutionarily and economically. Unsurprisingly therefore, domestication has acted to reduce the time to sexual maturation in a variety of animals, including the chicken. In comparison with wild progenitor chickens [the Red Junglefowl (RJF)], domestic layer hens attain maturity approximately 20% earlier. In addition, domestic laye...

To establish the optimal age of sexual maturation in Egyptian children, Tanner's maturity stages were determined for a sample of children and adolescents (1550 girls, 1563 boys) ranging from 6.5 to 18.5 years. The mean age for attainment of pubic hair (stage PH2) was 10.46 (SD 1.36) years for girls and 11.86 (SD 1.45) years for boys. For axillary hair (stage A2), mean age was 11.65 (SD 1.62) ye...

Determining the fitness consequences of sibling interactions is pivotal for understanding the evolution of family living, but studies investigating them across lifetime are lacking. We used a large demographic dataset on preindustrial humans from Finland to study the effect of elder siblings on key life-history traits. The presence of elder siblings improved the chances of younger siblings surv...

The vomeronasal organ of frog and mouse was investigated for the presence and content of serotonin and catecholamines by means of high-performance liquid chromatography. Measurable amounts of serotonin, adrenaline and noradrenaline were found in the vomeronasal organ of adult individuals of both species. The amine content varied with sex of adult frogs and mice and sexual maturity of mice. In p...

the present study was conducted to estimate correlations among performance and egg quality traits in iranian native fowl. data were collected from 21,679 birdsat the isfahan native fowl breeding center to derive genetic parameters for performance traits and egg quality traits were measured on eggs of 1,020 birds. genetic correlations of performance and egg quality traits were estimated with a b...

the current study investigated the effect of short-term selection for four week body weight (bw) on performance of divergent lines of japanese quail and their crosses. the mean of bw at hatching time, one, two, three and four week oldand bw at sexual maturity time, age at sexual maturity, number of eggs (from 50 to 100 days old), mean of egg weight, percentage of fertility and hatchability in e...

This study was conducted to determine the concentration of five heavy metals, including lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, and chromium in muscle, liver and gills of the gray mullet, Liza aurata in southern part of the Caspian Sea. The samples were collected during sexual maturity (in the fall) and sexual rest (in the spring). The mean concentration of lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, and chromiu...

Twenty four farmed great sturgeon, Huso huso (including 8 males and 16 females) over 6 years old were used to develop a method for determination of sex and maturity stages. Seasonal gonadal tissue and blood samples were collected from farmed great sturgeon for three years. The sex and stages of maturity were determined by histology and laparoscopy at the beginning and end of experiment. Plasma ...

Age at maturity has been suggested to be an important life-history trait with substantial potential for influencing the evolution of life histories. Using known reproductive histories of 90 female wood ducks (Aix sponsa) from a long-term study (1982–96), we investigated the fitness consequences of changes in age at maturity. Female wood ducks that attained sexual maturity as yearlings had a sig...