Domestication

Question 1

why do we domesticate animals

Answer 1

to change the animal to do what we want so it is no longer wild

Question 2

define domestication

Answer 2

• the condition wherein the breeding, care, and feeding of animals are more or less controlled by humans
• process by which captive animals adapt to man and the environment he provides

Question 3

define feral

Answer 3

animals that were domesticated but are no longer cared for by people

Question 4

define wild

Answer 4

never been domesticated

Question 5

define tame

Answer 5

animals have lost their fear of us

Question 6

define traits favoring domestication

Answer 6

certain behavioral characteristics shared by most domesticated species

Question 7

list the 6 steps of domestication traits and provide examples of each

Answer 7

1. highly organized social groups (hierarchy, pecking order for peaceful coexistence)
2. promiscuous mating behavior (efficient reproduction)
3. maternal bonding (have to be able to raise young to continue producing)
4. precocial development (pig farrows 15 and another 8 so to even out the other piglets they will go to the other teat)
5. herbivorous animals (easier to find food like forages)
6. adaptable to large changes in the environment (put animals in an unnatural environment and the animal can adapt)

Question 8

how is fitness redefined under domestication?

Answer 8

• whether it pleases its owner and is allowed to reproduce

Question 9

Can artificial & natural selection oppose one another?

Answer 9

yes, a trait can be selected to be desirable but would not survive in its natural environment

Question 10

define brooding

Answer 10

mothering ability

Question 11

What was special about scots dumpies

Answer 11

• thought to be superior for brooding chicks because of their shorter legs
• hatchability was poor
• 1/3 progeny had longer legs

Question 12

what was special about the creeper chicken?

Answer 12

• the creeper gene is lethal and homozygous

- 2:1 short:long legs

Question 13

what was special about snorter dwarfism in beef cattle

Answer 13

• if they were heterozygous: comprest
• homozygous recessive: semi lethal
• homozygous dominant: normal

Question 14

what behaviors appropriate in natural environment may need modification in captivity

Answer 14

genetics and manipulation of environment

Question 15

which animals had a loss of pair bonding and why?

Answer 15

• ducks, geese, wolves, and foxes

- we made them that way

Question 16

what animals have we bred to have loss of broodiness and why

Answer 16

• chickens and turkeys

- to make removal of eggs easier

Question 17

why were white leghorns brought to India in the 70s and what happened?

Answer 17

• brought to improve egg production
• they died in India because they were not used to an environment of predation, disease, and different farming production scheme

Question 18

what animals were bred to reduce fight and aggressiveness and why?

Answer 18

• horses and dogs
• more placid because we provide a safe environment so they don’t have to worry predation
• we maintain some traits like horses and dogs to be aggressive or flighty in some circumstances like guard dogs and thoroughbred

Question 19

what are the benefits of extension of breeding season and how do we manipulate it

Answer 19

• year round vs seasonal
• Demand for milk & eggs on year round basis
• Confinement housing
• Artificial light, temperature control, optimum feeding, hormonal stimulation, genetic selection