Intensity of pelage pigmentation and reproductive ability in sables (Martez zibellina L.)

Abstract

The consequences of directional selection for fur blackening in the sable commercial population were studied. The analysis of four crossing types, where females and males differed in their fur color was performed, according to the number of female reproductive indices, namely, female fertility, the number of puppies for a single mated female species, the number of puppies for a single whelped female species, and the portion of mated but not fertilized females. The lowest reproductive indices were recorded when species with the most blackened fur were crossed. Two-factor dispersion analysis of reproductive indices was performed, which revealed that the crossing type (factor 1) and the year of selection period (generation) (factor 2) both affect all the indices. The interaction of these two factors had a statistically significant effect only on the number of puppies for a single mated female species index. On the whole, the positive dynamics of the investigated indices was observed over a ten-year period, which allows us to presume the potential opportunity to continue the directional selection for intensification of sable hair pigmentation. The main stages in the selection process of Pushkinskii’s sable population were determined, and further directions of selection work were outlined.