Sika Deer (sika + deer)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Establishment of a Spinated Type of Diplodinium rangiferi by Transfaunation of the Rumen Ciliates of Japanese Sika Deer (Cervus nippon centralist to the Rumen of Two Japanese Shorthorn Calves (Bos taurus taurus)

THE JOURNAL OF EUKARYOTIC MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2002
SOICHI IMAI
ABSTRACT. One liter of rumen fluid containing 4.7 × 104 ciliates/ml, representing four genera including nine species of ciliates from a Japanese sika deer was inoculated into two unfaunated Japanese shorthorn calves. Two weeks after inoculation, all species originally present in the inoculum were subsequently detected in the rumen fluid of one or both calves. Ciliate densities ranged from 105,106 cells/ml over the remainder of the 33-wk experiment. The inoculum contained Diplodinium rangiferi. which lacks caudal appendages, as is characteristic for the species. However, three weeks later, the rumen fluid of both calves contained D. rangiferi, which possesses caudal appendages varying from a single spine to multiple spines with a complicated furcate appearance. The caudal spines of D. rangiferi did not disappear during the experiment, even when the diet of the calves was switched to the ration of sika deer from which the inoculum was obtained. [source]


Efficiency of semi-automated fluorescent multiplex PCRs with 11 microsatellite markers for genetic studies of deer populations

ANIMAL GENETICS, Issue 5 2002
A. Bonnet
Thirty bovine and eight ovine microsatellite primer pairs were tested on four tropical deer species: Eld's and Swamp deer (highly threatened) and Rusa and Vietnamese Sika deer (economically important). Thirty markers gave an amplified product in all four species (78.9%). The number of polymorphic microsatellite markers varied among the species from 14 in Eld's deer (47%) to 20 in Swamp deer (67%). Among them, 11 microsatellite loci were multiplexed in three polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) and labelled with three different fluorochromes that can be loaded in one gel-lane. To test the efficiency of the multiplex, primary genetic studies (mean number of alleles, expected heterozygosities and Fis values) were carried out on four deer populations. Parentage exclusion probability and probability of identity were computed and discussed on a Swamp deer population. These multiplexes PCRs were also tested on several other deer species and subspecies. The aim of this study is to establish a tool useful for genetic studies of population structure and diversity in four tropical deer species which with few modifications can be applied to other species of the genus Cervus. [source]


The complete mitochondrial genome of the domestic red deer (Cervus elaphus) of New Zealand and its phylogenic position within the family Cervidae

ANIMAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 5 2010
Kenta WADA
ABSTRACT We determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial genome of the semidomestic red deer (Cervus elaphus) of New Zealand. The genome was 16 357 bp long and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 12SrRNA, 16SrRNA, 22 tRNAs and a D-loop as found in other mammals. Database homology searches showed that the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence from the New Zealand semidomestic deer was similar to partial mtDNA sequences from the European, Norwegian (C. e. atlanticus) and Spanish red deer (C. e. hispanicus). Phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial protein-coding regions revealed two well-defined monophyletic clades in subfamilies Cervinae and Muntiacinae. However, red deer and Sika deer were not found to be close relatives. The analysis did identify the red deer as a sister taxon of a Samber/Sika deer clade, although it was more closely related to the Samber than the Sika group. [source]


Analysis of mitochondrial DNA protein-coding region in the Yeso Sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis)

ANIMAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 4 2004
Kenta WADA
ABSTRACT In the present study, mitochondrial DNA sequences of the Yeso Sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis) were studied. Specifically, protein-coding genes as mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunits (ND1, ND2, ND3, ND4L, ND4, ND5 and ND6), cytochrome c oxidase subunits (CO I and CO III), ATP synthase subunits (ATPase8 and ATPase6) and cytochrome b. Also, phylogenetic analyses on eight mammalian species were performed, including the Muntjac deer (Muntiacus reevesi). The rate of amino-acid substitution was lowest (3.74%) between Yeso Sika deer and Muntjac deer, and the values between Yeso Sika deer and other species (sheep, cattle, horse, pig, mouse, human and chimpanzee) were 6.63%, 7.30%, 12.55%, 13.03%, 23.59%, 24.82% and 25.04%, respectively. Among them, the highest value of divergence was recognized in ATPase8, and the second structure of ATPase8 showed a difference between the Yeso Sika deer and Muntjac deer as a result of the substitution of 34His,Tyr and 49Thr,Ile. In addition, we identified a substitution of an amino-acid sequence (19Thr,Ala) between the Yeso Sika deer and Yakushima Sika deer (C. n. yakushimae). From these results, ATPase8 was also a variable region in Cervidae. [source]


Effect of distance from farm periphery on the risk of forage damage by sika deer (Cervus nippon)

GRASSLAND SCIENCE, Issue 4 2009
Hideharu Tsukada
Abstract The foraging behavior of deer can be influenced by both food availability and the "critical distance" from protective vegetation cover. The effect of the distance from the farm periphery on the risk of forage damage by sika deer was investigated in a public pasture in Tochigi Prefecture in central Japan from May to November 2006 and in May 2007. The risk of forage damage by sika deer, evaluated by deer pellet group density, was compared along three line transects at different distances from the farm periphery (10, 110 and 210 m) and among 18 paddocks at different distances from the farm periphery. Deer pellet group abundance in the line transects did not differ significantly with the distance from the periphery but decreased significantly with the distance from the nearest escape cover. The transect-based deer pellet abundance was more significantly influenced by other factors such as paddock identity and survey month in a generalized linear model. Deer pellet group abundance in the paddocks showed a significant albeit weak negative correlation with distance from the periphery in May 2007, but not in November 2006. The paddock-based deer pellet abundance was more influenced by sward height than by the distance from the periphery in a generalized linear model. Furthermore, a high density of deer pellet groups was exclusively observed in the paddock just after pasture renovation. These results show that the foraging behavior of sika deer was influenced partially by the distance from the nearest escape cover but largely by other factors such as herbage quality and seasonality. [source]


Estimating deer abundance from line transect surveys of dung: sika deer in southern Scotland

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2001
Fernanda F.C. Marques
Summary 1Accurate and precise estimates of abundance are required for the development of management regimes for deer populations. In woodland areas, indirect dung count methods, such as the clearance plot and standing crop methods, are currently the preferred procedures to estimate deer abundance. The use of line transect methodology is likely to provide a cost-effective alternative to these methods. 2We outline a methodology based on line transect surveys of deer dung that can be used to obtain deer abundance estimates by geographical block and habitat type. Variance estimation procedures are also described. 3As an example, we applied the method to estimate sika deer Cervus nippon abundance in south Scotland. Estimates of deer defecation and length of time to dung decay were used to convert pellet group density to deer density by geographical block and habitat type. The results obtained agreed with knowledge from cull and sightings data, and the precision of the estimates was generally high. 4Relatively high sika deer densities observed in moorland areas up to 300 m from the forest edge indicated the need to encompass those areas in future surveys to avoid an underestimate of deer abundance in the region of interest. 5It is unlikely that a single method for estimating deer abundance will prove to be better under all circumstances. Direct comparisons between methods are required to evaluate thoroughly the relative merits of each of them. 6Line transect surveys of dung are becoming a widely used tool to aid management and conservation of a wide range of species. The survey methodology we outline is readily adaptable to other vertebrates that are amenable to dung survey methodology. [source]


Bottlenecks, drift and differentiation: the population structure and demographic history of sika deer (Cervus nippon) in the Japanese archipelago

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 6 2001
Simon J. Goodman
Abstract We assessed genetic differentiation and diversity in 14 populations of sika deer (Cervus nippon) from Japan and four populations of sika deer introduced to the UK, using nine microsatellite loci. We observed extreme levels of differentiation and significant differences in diversity between populations. Our results do not support morphological subspecies designations, but are consistent with previous mitochondrial DNA analyses which suggest the existence of two genetically distinct lineages of sika deer in Japan. The source of sika introduced to the UK was identified as Kyushu. The underlying structure of Japanese populations probably derives from drift in separate glacial refugia and male dispersal limited by distance. This structure has been perturbed by bottlenecks and habitat fragmentation, resulting from human activity from the mid-nineteenth century. Most current genetic differentiation and differences in diversity among populations probably result from recent drift. Coalescent model analysis suggests sika on each of the main Japanese islands have experienced different recent population histories. Hokkaido, which has large areas of continuous habitat, has maintained high levels of gene flow. In Honshu the population is highly fragmented and is likely to have been evolving by drift alone. In Kyushu there has been a balance between gene flow and drift but all the populations have experienced high levels of drift. Habitat fragment size was not significantly associated with genetic diversity in populations but there was a significant correlation between habitat fragment size and effective population size. [source]


Establishment of a Spinated Type of Diplodinium rangiferi by Transfaunation of the Rumen Ciliates of Japanese Sika Deer (Cervus nippon centralist to the Rumen of Two Japanese Shorthorn Calves (Bos taurus taurus)

THE JOURNAL OF EUKARYOTIC MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2002
SOICHI IMAI
ABSTRACT. One liter of rumen fluid containing 4.7 × 104 ciliates/ml, representing four genera including nine species of ciliates from a Japanese sika deer was inoculated into two unfaunated Japanese shorthorn calves. Two weeks after inoculation, all species originally present in the inoculum were subsequently detected in the rumen fluid of one or both calves. Ciliate densities ranged from 105,106 cells/ml over the remainder of the 33-wk experiment. The inoculum contained Diplodinium rangiferi. which lacks caudal appendages, as is characteristic for the species. However, three weeks later, the rumen fluid of both calves contained D. rangiferi, which possesses caudal appendages varying from a single spine to multiple spines with a complicated furcate appearance. The caudal spines of D. rangiferi did not disappear during the experiment, even when the diet of the calves was switched to the ration of sika deer from which the inoculum was obtained. [source]