散养塞加羚羊两个主要繁殖时段的昼间时间分配

对散养在30hm^2场地内的塞加羚羊（Saiga tatarica）一个敏殖群体在2000年12月（酱期及其前、后）和2001年5-7月（哺乳期）的昼间时间分配做了观察研究。数据用个体扫描-瞬时取样法收集。结果表明：①雌性塞加羚羊在交配期结束后,躺卧时间减少,进食时间增加;从前期到后期,站立时间连续递减;母羊分娩后2周内离群单独活动,往返于觅食地和幼仔隐藏地之间;第3周起,母仔合群。②雄性在交配期的移动多于交配前,交配后躺卧时间增加。③塞加羚羊时间分配的性别差异始于交配期;这时,雄性个体忙于追逐圈赶雌性,导致移动时间增加,躺卧减少;交配期后,雌性觅食时间突增,而雄性不变;雌性进入哺乳期后,各月觅食时间均多于雄性。以上时间分配的性别差异反映了它们的繁殖投资差异。上述结果暗示,对此类散养动物,应在其能量需求高峰期增加投食量,以提高繁殖成功率。     

赛加羚羊头骨的三维重建研究及其精确度评价

为建立赛加羚羊（Saiga tatarica）头骨三维可视化模型,进一步研究赛加羚羊头骨的解剖特征,建立赛加羚羊头骨的“数字化标本”,以提高其疾病诊治的准确率和物种保护的有效性。本研究以国家林业局甘肃濒危动物保护中心的赛加羚羊为研究对象,经锥形束CT扫描获得影像数据,运用MIMICS 20.0软件对赛加羚羊头骨扫描数据进行处理和三维重建,以建立赛加羚羊的“数字化头骨”用于形态研究。运用MIMICS 20.0软件对数字化头骨的26项形态学指标（n = 8）进行三维测量,且与头骨标本游标卡尺的测量值（n = 8）进行配对样本t检验分析,经与真实测量值比较后评价数字化模型及其三维测量的准确性。结果显示,26项形态测量指标均与真实头骨无显著性差异（P > 0.05）,例如颅全长游标卡尺测量值为（227.147 ± 10.646）mm,三维测量值为（227.130 ± 10.638）mm,P = 0.635,表明三维重建后的数字化头骨和真实的头骨标本高度相似,且“数字标本”能够实现任意角度的旋转、剖切和测量。本研究可为赛加羚羊头部疾病如骨折等的治疗及骨骼系统的三维可视化研究提供基础依据和技术支撑,同时可为CT扫描和医学图像三维可视化技术在野生动物的临床应用和相关研究提供理论基础。     

赛加羚羊(Saiga tatarica)在我国原产地的引种驯养

从国内数次引种饲养实践及国外动物园饲养情况分析,赛加羚羊人工饲养成活率较低的主要原因为应激综合症。今后如能解决捕捉、运输、饲养等一些重要环节中存在的问题,饲养成活率将会逐渐提高。     

The Influence of Natural and Climatic Factors on the Number of Saiga (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Saiga tatarica</Emphasis> Pall.) (Bovidae,Artiodactyla) between the Volga and Ural Rivers

The features of Uralian saiga habitats are discussed. Periods of high and low abundance of the animals, which alternate depending on the productivity of vegetation communities and territorial humidity (the number of watering places) due to climate changes, are shown. After periodic cases of the mass death of saiga, their population is quickly restored to its previous level, which is likely to be facilitated by the existing feed and water resources.     

Notes on skulls of Pleistocene Saiga of Northern Eurasia

Eighteen fossil skulls of male Saiga from Northern Eurasia and 33 recent skulls from Kalmykia and Kazakhstan have been studied. Saiga from both the Khazarian Fauna of the Volga and Mammoth Fauna of Europe and Siberia are referred to Saiga horealis Tschersky, 1876. During the Pleistocene, 5. borealis distribution extended from England in the west to Alaska in the east and is characterized by an elongated neurocranium, small frontal angle of the temporal bone from the plane of the frontal, and long nasal bones.

S. borealis was a typical representative of the “mammoth biome”; in the Pleistocene periglacial steppes and cryogenic savannahs. Two subspecies are recognized: S. borealis borealis Tschersky (Eastern Sibera and Alaska); and S.b. prisca Nehring, 1891 (Europe, Urals and Western Siberia). At the end of the Pleistocene, when the mammoth disappeared, the range of S. borealis was reduced. Today they live only in West Mongolia (S. borealis mongolica Bannikov, 1946). S. tatarica tatarica was widely distributed in the other territories of the steppe and semidesert zones of Eurasia. The arid landscapes of Transcaucasia and Kazakhstan were inhabited by Saiga with thinner legs and shorter nasal bones, such as S. tatarica binagadensis Alekperova, 1953, from the middle Pleistocene of Azerbaijan (Bynagady). Fossil skulls from the Ural River that are large, but with a short neurocranium are identified as Saiga sp. cf. S. tatarica Linnaeus, 1766.     

赛加羚羊部分器官组织学结构观察

为了解世界濒危物种、国家Ⅰ级保护野生动物赛加羚羊(Saiga tatarica)主要器官组织的结构特征,本研究利用石蜡组织切片技术,对1只因胎衣不下死亡的雌性成年赛加羚羊心、肝、脾、肺、肾的组织结构进行了观察。赛加羚羊心肌纤维发达,呈圆柱状,有分支,其胞核位于细胞边缘,各心肌纤维分支末端相互连接构成肌纤维网,闰盘明显。肝组织致密,间质少,肝小叶分界不清,切面呈不规则的多边形,肝细胞以中央静脉为中心呈放射状排列。脾的被膜较厚,脾小梁由被膜和脾门的结缔组织伸入脾实质形成,相互连接构成脾的粗支架;实质部分可明显分为白髓和红髓,白髓主要分布在脾内小动脉周围,其内部脾小结形状为圆形或椭圆形;红髓主要分布于白髓区周围,其内充满大量的红细胞。肺实质导气部主要可见细支气管和终末细支气管,其中,细支气管的管腔面富含纵行皱襞,黏膜上皮为假复层柱状纤毛上皮;呼吸部可见大量的肺泡管、肺泡囊和肺泡,肺泡结构清晰可见。肾为平滑单乳头肾,由被膜和实质构成,实质可明显分为皮质与髓质,皮质内可见大量肾小体和少量结缔组织。总体而言,与其他同类型反刍动物相比较,赛加羚羊各主要器官的组织结构未见有明显差异。     

初生赛加羚羊部分生物学指标的观测与分析

2018年4月下旬至5月初对国家林业局甘肃濒危动物保护中心的61只初生赛加羚羊(Saiga tatarica)成活率、性别比例、单双羔比例、初生重等生物学数据进行了观测,并对结果进行归纳分析。赛加羚羊分娩期始于4月25日,截止于5月5日,产羔高峰期集中在4月28日至5月2日。共分娩61只羔羊,成活56只,成活率91.80%。其中,雄性羔羊占40.98%,雌性羔羊占59.02%,雌雄性别比(♀︰♂)为1.44︰1,与1︰1的性比差异不显著(χ2检验,P> 0.05);单羔比例80.33%,双羔比例19.67%,两者差异极显著(P <0.01);初生羔羊体重多数集中在2.501～3.000 kg,雄性羔羊平均初生重略高于雌性羔羊,单羔羚羊平均体重略高于双羔羚羊。单羔雄羚羊与双羔雄羚羊、单羔雌羚羊与双羔雌羚羊以及单双羔、雌雄羔羊总平均体重间的差异均不显著(P> 0.05)。     

Involvement of the Saiga Liver in Carbohydrate Metabolism during Ontogeny

Histochemical investigation of the saiga liver during ontogeny was carried out. The dynamics of accumulation, consumption, and localization of glycogen as well as neutral and acid glycoproteins were studied. Maximum accumulation of glycogen and neutral glycoproteins was observed during late fetal development, while maximum consumption was specific for newborns. Acid glycoproteins proved to become involved in carbohydrate metabolism during postnatal development. Localization of glycogen and glycoproteins was described.     

脑红蛋白在赛加羚羊主要内脏器官中的表达与定位

赛加羚羊(Saiga tatarica)属于我国一级重点保护野生动物,其原产地主要为高寒低氧地区,现存种群则主要栖息于中亚地区的荒漠及半荒漠草原上。脑红蛋白是一种存在于脊椎动物体内具有运输和储存血氧能力的球蛋白,在动物适应低氧过程中具有重要的生理功能。为了初步探究赛加羚羊对低氧环境的耐受性机制,运用免疫组织化学染色法与实时荧光定量PCR技术,对脑红蛋白及脑红蛋白基因(NGB)在赛加羚羊的心、肝、脾、肺、肾等5种主要内脏器官中的分布规律与表达情况进行了探究。免疫组织化学染色结果显示,脑红蛋白在赛加羚羊的心、肝、脾、肺、肾中均有分布,阳性表达主要分布在其心肌细胞、肝细胞、脾白髓区中的淋巴细胞、肺泡细胞以及肾小球内皮细胞。实时荧光定量PCR结果显示,脑红蛋白基因在赛加羚羊心、肝、脾、肺、肾中的表达量不同,脾的表达量最高,心的表达量次之,两者均显著高于肝、肺和肾(P < 0.05);其后依次为肝、肾、肺,其中,肝的表达量显著高于肾和肺(P < 0.05),肾和肺之间表达量差异不显著(P > 0.05),肺的表达量最低。上述研究表明,脑红蛋白在赛加羚羊的主要内脏器官中均有阳性表达,不同内脏器官中的表达量不同,这表明脑红蛋白可能参与了这些内脏器官的氧利用过程,具体机制有待进一步探讨。     

Breeding and life history patterns of saiga antelopes (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Saiga tatarica</Emphasis>) at Cologne Zoo,Germany

The saiga (Saiga tatarica, Bovidae, Cetartiodactyla) is facing a precarious situation in the wild and unfortunately also zoos have failed so far in establishing a stable captive population. Cologne Zoo was one of the most successful zoos in holding and breeding this endangered species. We analysed life history and breeding of the Cologne animals. We highlight differences between wild and captive saigas and potential trouble spots for captive breeding. Being seasonal breeders, oestrus length usually lasted 1–2 days with an average time of 19.85 days between oestrus periods if not pregnant. Gestation lengths lasted 133–151 days with gestations of twins 4.39 days shorter on average than for one lamb. Bearing twins was not a rule for the Cologne saigas. We found correlations between litter size and the age of the female or the number of births of the female, respectively. A disparity between the theoretically possible number of offspring and the actual number born emphasises the need to safeguard continuous breeding, to prevent the loss of the few years in a female’s breeding life. The information that emerged from our study will be valuable if future captive breeding of saigas is intended.     

Nasal and oral calls in mother and young trunk-nosed saiga antelopes,Saiga tatarica

The trunk-like nose of the saiga antelope Saiga tatarica is a striking example of an exaggerated trait, assumed to having evolved as a dust filter for inhaled air. In addition, it functions to elongate the vocal tract in harem saiga males for producing low-formant calls that serve as a cue to body size for conspecifics. This study applies the source–filter theory to the acoustics of nasal, oral and nasal-and-oral calls that were recorded from a captive herd of 24 mother and 32 neonate saigas within the first 10 days postpartum. Anatomical measurements of the nasal and oral vocal tracts of two specimens (one per age class) helped to establish the settings for the analysis of formants. In both mother and young, the lower formants of nasal calls/call parts were in agreement with the source–filter theory, which suggests lower formants for the longer nasal vocal tract than for the shorter oral vocal tract. Similar fundamental frequencies of the nasal and oral parts of nasal-and-oral calls were also in agreement with the source–filter theory, which postulates the independence of source and filter. However, the fundamental frequency was higher in oral than in nasal calls, probably due to the higher emotional arousal during the production of oral calls. We discuss production mechanisms and the ontogeny of formant patterns of oral and nasal calls among bovid and cervid species with and without a trunk-like nose.     

Paratuberculosis in saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) and experimental transmission to domestic sheep.

Mycobacterium paratuberculosis was isolated in low numbers from the small intestine and associated mesenteric lymph nodes of a saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) using routine culture techniques in spite of histologic evidence of high numbers of acid-fast bacteria in these tissues. Two newborn domestic sheep were fed the ground intestinal tissue containing acid-fast bacteria and the progression of the experimental disease was followed by fecal culture, immunodiffusion (AGID) and lymphocyte stimulation (LST) tests. One experimentally infected sheep developed progressive clinical illness 1 yr postinoculation. Few M. paratuberculosis were isolated from feces or tissues although an extensive granulomatous mycobacterial enteritis, lymphadenitis and lymphangitis were observed containing large numbers of typical acid-fast organisms. No clinical illness was observed in the second inoculated sheep after 18 mo of observation, although infection was demonstrated at necropsy. Both sheep developed AGID and LST reactions indicative of paratuberculosis. This study demonstrated that a difficult to culture isolate of M. paratuberculosis was responsible for paratuberculosis in captive wild ruminants and was transmissible to domestic sheep. Diagnosis of paratuberculosis in four of eight of the imported saiga antelope and in eleven of their 18 offspring indicates the importance of this disease in management of captive wild ruminants and the ease with which this organism can be transmitted.     

Molecular Support for the Placement of Saiga and Procapra in Antilopinae (Artiodactyla, Bovidae)

The evolutionary history of the bovid subfamily Antilopinae is unclear. Traditionally, this subfamily is subdivided into two tribes: Neotragini (dwarf antelopes) and Antilopini (gazelles and their relatives). Here, we report new sequences for the 12S and 16S rRNA genes in the enigmatic antilopine taxa Procapra gutturosa and Saiga tatarica and analyze the phylogenetic relationships of these taxa relative to other antilopines. Our study demonstrates the close affinity of the saiga antelope to Gazella despite the conventional systematic allocation of Saiga to the Caprinae subfamily. The second member of the Saigini tribe, Pantholops hodgsoni (Tibetan gazelle), falls within Caprinae. In all of our analyses, Procapra gutturosa occupied a basal position in the Antilopinae clade or was a sister-group to the dwarf antelope Madoqua. This suggests early separation of Procapra from other antelopes.     

Nursing behavior in dam-reared Russian saiga (Saiga tatarica tatarica) at the San Diego wild animal park

This study was designed to examine the nursing patterns and related behavior of young saiga raised by their dams. Four captive born lambs were observed at weekly intervals during continuous 14 h watches for the first 7 weeks of life. One-week-old lambs were found to nurse at an average rate of 1.1 bouts per hour and nursed for an average of 14.6 seconds per bout. This high nursing frequency and the average total daily nursing time of 242 seconds decreased rapidly with age. Saiga lambs sampled solid food as early as 4 days of age and were nearly dependent on solid food by the age of 7 weeks. Communal nursing, in which one or more lambs would nurse from an unrelated adult female while she nursed her own, was common. Grooming of the lamb by the dam was never seen except immediately following birth. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Individuality of distress and discomfort calls in neonates with bass voices: Wild‐living goitred gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa) and saiga antelopes (Saiga tatarica)

Neonate ruminants produce distress calls when captured by a predator and discomfort milk begging calls when hungry. In many neonate ruminants, the distress and discomfort calls are high‐frequency vocalizations, in which the fundamental frequency is the key variable for recognition of their emotional arousal by caregivers. In contrast, in this study, we examine the low‐frequency open‐mouth distress and discomfort calls in the neonates of two species of wild‐living ungulates, which clearly highlight vocal tract resonances (formants). In the goitred gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa), the distress calls were higher in fundamental frequency (f0) and in the first and third formants than the discomfort calls. The accuracy of classifying individuals by variables of distress calls with discriminant function analysis (67%) was significantly lower than that of discomfort calls (85%). In the saiga (Saiga tatarica), only the third formant was higher in the distress calls than in the discomfort calls. The accuracy of classifying individuals by variables of distress calls (89%) did not differ significantly from that of discomfort calls (94%). Thus, the use of acoustic cues to vocal identity and to the degree of arousal differs between the two species. Calls were significantly more individualistic in the saiga, probably because this species lives in large herds and neonates use a ‘following’ antipredatory strategy, in which vocal individuality is crucial for mother–offspring communication. In contrast, goitred gazelles live in smaller groups and neonates use a ‘hiding’ antipredatory strategy. Accordingly, mothers can rely on additional environmental cues for spotting their young and this may decrease the necessity for individualization of the calls of neonates.