Winter Coat Research Articles

PSI-35 Foot and hair shedding scores of crossbred cattle grazing native rangeland differ by age group

Abstract Structural soundness is crucial to improve productivity and longevity of beef cattle in rangeland landscapes. In addition, hair shedding scores are utilized to select for heat tolerant cattle. Thus, the objective of this study was to collect data indicative of cattle adaptability to extensive rangeland landscapes in the Cal Poly beef cattle herd. Three trained technicians assigned claw set, foot angle and hair shedding scores. All data were collected over a 2-day period (n = 3 ranch locations) and foot scores were only collected from females (n = 211) that were at least 1 year of age. Each female was assigned a score for foot angle and claw set (1–9, 5 being ideal). A hair shedding score was also allocated (1–5, 1 = 0% winter coat, 5 = 100% winter coat) to both cows and calves of dams assigned to different age groups. Cattle were retrospectively assigned to a group based on age (Young = 2–3 years of age, Moderate = 4–7 years of age, Old = 8+ years of age) and data were analyzed with the main effects of ranch location and cow age group. Ranch location had no impact (P > 0.05) on foot score or hair shedding score. Cow age group had a significant impact (P < 0.01) on claw set, with young cows exhibiting a lower and more ideal foot score. However, cow age had no effect on hoof angle (P = 0.23). Young cows had a greater (P < 0.001) hair shedding score than their counterparts. Calf hair shedding score was not different (P ≥ 0.23) among dam age groups or ranch locations. Thus, these data indicate that feet and leg structure is compromised as cows age, and younger cows with higher hair shedding scores may lack adaptability to heat stress.

84 Evaluation of hair coat shedding ability as an adaptive trait in Angus cattle in the southern U.S

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate winter hair coat shedding ability and the association to cow production performance. This work was a collaborative effort from the S-1064 multi-state research project. Data were collected on spring and fall-calving purebred and commercial Angus females with calves (n = 1192) from March until July from 2008 to 2018 in Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas. Dams were observed once monthly by two trained technicians for winter hair coat shedding and give a visual hair shedding score of 1 to 5 with 1 indicating 100% shed, 2 = 75% shed, 3 = 50% shed, 4 = 25% shed, and 5 indicating 0% shedding of the winter hair coat. Month of first shedding (MFS) was determined once a female reached an average hair shedding score of ≤ 3.5 for any given month. Calf birth and weaning weights were considered as performance of the dam. For cow performance, the response variables included AdjBW and d205wt of the calf. Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS with significance declared at P ≤ 0.05. The model included MFS as a fixed effect with calf sex as a covariate and calf sire as a random effect. Females that obtained a shedding score of ≤ 3.5 by May had heavier calves at birth (P ≤ 0.01) when compared with those that shed in June and July, with July weights being the lightest. Females that scored ≤ 3.5 by May has significantly heavier d205wt (P ≤ 0.01) when compared to those that shed by June and July. When comparing locations, females in Arkansas shed later (P ≤ 0.01) when compared with both Mississippi and Texas, which were similar. Shedding ability could be an important economic trait to be considered in cow-calf operations.

139 Relationship of winter hair growth and performance in Angus dams

Abstract The objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate the effect of rate of winter hair growth on Angus cow performance and (2) estimate the correlation between rate of winter growth and other physiological parameters. Data were collected on fall-calving Angus females (n = 127) approximately every 60 d from August to February from 2011 to 2019. Animals were observed by trained technicians for winter growth (WG) and length (WL) scores from 1 to 5. A 1 for winter growth indicated no winter growth and a 5 indicated a full winter coat. For winter length, a 1 indicated short hair and a 5 indicated long. At scoring, a 5.08 cm by 10.16 cm hair sample was clipped directly behind the left shoulder below the top line and weighed. A thermal image was taken to determine average surface temperature of both the shaved (SHAVE) and unshaved (UNSHAVED) areas. Month of first winter growth (MFWG) was determined when the female reached an average winter growth score of 2.5 or higher. Calf performance was considered a trait of the dam and included AdjBW and d205wt. Phenotypic correlations were estimated on SHAVE, UNSHAVED, WG, WL, MFWG, hair weight, and month of first shedding (MFS), which was assessed during the spring of each year. Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS with AdjBW and d205wt as response variables. The model included fixed effects of calf sex and MFWG with sire as a random effect. SHAVE was weakly positively associated with WG, WL (P < 0.05). There was no association between MFWG and MFS. MFWG was significant for AdjBW and d205wt with females starting winter growth in October having lighter calves at birth and weaning compared to those in December. Results suggest an association between MFWG and performance traits in Angus dams.

Using community photography to investigate phenology: A case study of coat molt in the mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) with missing data.

Participatory approaches, such as community photography, can engage the public in questions of societal and scientific interest while helping advance understanding of ecological patterns and processes. We combined data extracted from community‐sourced, spatially explicit photographs with research findings from 2018 fieldwork in the Yukon, Canada, to evaluate winter coat molt patterns and phenology in mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus), a cold‐adapted, alpine mammal. Leveraging the community science portals iNaturalist and CitSci, in less than a year we amassed a database of almost seven hundred unique photographs spanning some 4,500 km between latitudes 37.6°N and 61.1°N from 0 to 4,333 m elevation. Using statistical methods accounting for incomplete data, a common issue in community science datasets, we identified the effects of intrinsic (sex and presence of offspring) and broad environmental (latitude and elevation) factors on molt onset and rate and compared our findings with published data. Shedding occurred over a 3‐month period between 29 May and 6 September. Effects of sex and offspring on the timing of molt were consistent between the community‐sourced and our Yukon data and with findings on wild mountain goats at a long‐term research site in west‐central Alberta, Canada. Males molted first, followed by females without offspring (4.4 days later in the coarse‐grained, geographically wide community science sample; 29.2 days later in our fine‐grained Yukon sample) and lastly females with new kids (6.2; 21.2 days later, respectively). Shedding was later at higher elevations and faster at northern latitudes. Our findings establish a basis for employing community photography to examine broad‐scale questions about the timing of ecological events, as well as sex differences in response to possible climate drivers. In addition, community photography can help inspire public participation in environmental and outdoor activities specifically with reference to iconic wildlife.

Development of a genetic evaluation for hair shedding in American Angus cattle to improve thermotolerance

BackgroundHeat stress and fescue toxicosis caused by ingesting tall fescue infected with the endophytic fungus Epichloë coenophiala represent two of the most prevalent stressors to beef cattle in the United States and cost the beef industry millions of dollars each year. The rate at which a beef cow sheds her winter coat early in the summer is an indicator of adaptation to heat and an economically relevant trait in temperate or subtropical parts of the world. Furthermore, research suggests that early-summer hair shedding may reflect tolerance to fescue toxicosis, since vasoconstriction induced by fescue toxicosis limits the ability of an animal to shed its winter coat. Both heat stress and fescue toxicosis reduce profitability partly via indirect maternal effects on calf weaning weight. Here, we developed parameters for routine genetic evaluation of hair shedding score in American Angus cattle, and identified genomic loci associated with variation in hair shedding score via genome-wide association analysis (GWAA).ResultsHair shedding score was moderately heritable (h2 = 0.34 to 0.40), with different repeatability estimates between cattle grazing versus not grazing endophyte-infected tall fescue. Our results suggest modestly negative genetic and phenotypic correlations between a dam’s hair shedding score (lower score is earlier shedding) and the weaning weight of her calf, which is one metric of performance. Together, these results indicate that economic gains can be made by using hair shedding score breeding values to select for heat-tolerant cattle. GWAA identified 176 variants significant at FDR < 0.05. Functional enrichment analyses using genes that were located within 50 kb of these variants identified pathways involved in keratin formation, prolactin signalling, host-virus interaction, and other biological processes.ConclusionsThis work contributes to a continuing trend in the development of genetic evaluations for environmental adaptation. Our results will aid beef cattle producers in selecting more sustainable and climate-adapted cattle, as well as enable the development of similar routine genetic evaluations in other breeds.

한국 전통복식 더그레의 현대화 연구

Deogeure is a strange word for modern people. It means a "big coat of sleeveless leather" or "a coat with fur" that overlaps with other clothes and a Dap-ho as a winter coat when found. Later, the term "Deogeure," or "Dougrae," became a term used to Dap-ho to the outer clothing of soldiers and officials in various ways over time. Later, it meant a decorative coat for kings and queens in Joseon and at the end of the Joseon Dynasty, its meaning extended to, in addition, a wide range of outer garments, such as Bea-Ja, Jeon-bok, Ho-Eui. These days, it is a general term for outer garments worn over a Po or Durumagi. In the late Joseon Dynasty, the concept and name of clothing were mixed to expand the meaning of Deogeure. Deogeure has the functions of robes and decorations, allowing for a variety of applications even as a modern design. In this study, we recognize one type of Deogeure in various forms, such as Dap-ho, Bea-Ja, Jeon-bok, Bang-ryeong, and Dan-Ryeong, and explore its history and formation. Children and adults" Hanboks are modern designs and clothes are designed to present a wide and flexible use of Deogeure, such as a traditional Hanbok jacket, in a variety of ways that combine tradition with modernity.

The effects of extended photoperiod and warmth on hair growth in ponies and horses at different times of year.

Photoperiod is considered the most dominant environmental cue allowing animals to anticipate and adapt to seasonal changes. In seasonally breeding mammals, changes in daylength alter pineal melatonin secretion and pituitary prolactin secretion. During the seasonal transition to shorter winter daylengths, increased production of melatonin and declining prolactin are associated with triggering winter coat growth in many animals. Similarly, studies have shown that artificial extension of photoperiod suppresses melatonin secretion and lifts prolactin inhibition to activate moulting. Four longitudinal cohort studies were conducted to determine if extended photoperiod and warmth, provided by mobile light masks and rugs (horse blankets), could reverse the onset of winter coat growth, maintain the summer coat and accelerate winter coat shedding in horses and in ponies. Studies began at dates corresponding to the autumnal equinox, one month post-summer solstice, one month pre-winter solstice and one month post-winter solstice, respectively. To extend photoperiod to approximately 15h of light, commercially available head-worn light masks provided low intensity blue light to one eye until 11pm daily. Coat condition and shedding rate were scored and hair samples collected, measured and weighed bi-weekly. Data from control and treatment groups were analysed by repeated measures ANOVA. Results revealed that extended photoperiod 1) did not reverse winter coat growth when initiated at the autumnal equinox, 2) effectively maintained the summer coat in stabled horses when initiated one month post-summer solstice, 3) accelerated shedding in outdoor living horses when initiated one month pre-winter solstice and 4) did not accelerate shedding in indoor or outdoor living ponies when initiated one month post-winter solstice. To successfully manage equine coat growth while also preserving optimal thermoregulation in both competition and breeding stock correct timing of light application is crucial and requires careful monitoring of environmental temperature. Further studies are needed where variations in breed and management are considered.

Knights of Columbus

Knights of Columbus Ben Peled (bio) AJ was tall and thin—starlit cazh—a rubber band a-jangle. Sergei at his side with his hair frizzed out: a rubber band sprung. It was April 1994, cool with early hints of spring, ten to midnight. On the other side of the glass, it was dark. Sergei shifted side to side: "You sure about this? We don't even know if they're home. I mean . . . I mean even if they are, they'll be pissed." "They said we could come whenever." Sergei put the borscht on, thick: "In US of A, you tell to friends . . . come whenever. In Soviet Russia . . . they come for you . . . whenever . . ." Another minute and through the glass a light came on. In boxers and a white undershirt, Surendra appeared at the top of the stairs, tentatively picking his way down one step at a time: "What's this?" he said, opening the door. "What's this, what's this?" "Surendra!" said A.J. Sergei couldn't parse the rest but he knew from tone. A.J.'s Hindi was butter. Surendra blinked himself into a Hindi that was . . . volcanic. A.J. drew back. "I told you," Sergei muttered. "I told you he'd be pissed." Switching to English, Surendra shook a fist in the air. "You prince, you prince, you little prince! You know what time it is?" A.J. flinched—the laughter bubbled out of him. "My man, tell him," he said, advancing Sergei by the arm. "He doesn't believe me." Sergei could scarce believe it himself. "We were at a show, like a concert. Rock bands. We met some girls . . ." "Hottentots!" A.J. shouted over his shoulder. "The real deal." "Hottentots, Hottentots, sure," Surendra groused—only to falter . . . A blue hatchback cut the corner, pulled into the empty space next to A.J.'s truck. Sergei was getting nervous. They'd managed to attract girls . . . like, real, live girls . . . to come away with them. They were bringing them back to—what? Surendra and his roommate, Abhishek, waited tables at Bombay Palace in the Castleton mall. A.J. worked there part-time himself, busing tables for five an hour, money he'd used to buy the old Dodge truck. Once, maybe twice a week, he and Sergei would cut school, swing by for lunch, Surendra comping them samosas, sodas, joining them at the table if the place was empty. At that hour it was always empty. Surendra liked the company. He liked to talk. [End Page 158] One time, memorably, he'd taken off his black loafers, slamming them down on the table. "What's this, what's this? Look, look, see? These, these—holes?" And A.J., pointing across the way: "Surendra, my man. The mall is right there. Get some new shoes." "New shoes? New shoes?! Abhishek, Abhishek, you hear the little prince? New shoes. With what Jagdish pays. Sub-minimum wage, sub-minimum, understand? And these tippers, these tippers, these . . . itsy-shitsy tippers. But oh! oh! oh! The little prince says, Get new shoes! Well! I'll just go then! With what I just spent on a new coat. A winter coat, man!—and my balls still frozen, still frozen, still!" Said A.J., "We're talking about shoes. Surendra! You can get a decent pair for like . . . forty bucks!" "Oh oh oh, Abhishek, Abhishek, you hear?" Abhishek with the moustache and mullet stood by the door, poised to receive customers should they materialize. He shrugged and sighed: "Ah-chaaa." "Forty bucks! Fort-y doll-ars! But you're a real NRI, aren't you, aren't you now? A real NRI prince." NRI—Sergei was lost. A.J. had to break it down: "Non-resident Indian. Like, an Indian who left India." "But," said Sergei, "aren't you all?" "There are NRIs," Surendra thundered, "and NRIs. Look at him, look, look. With his shoes and clothes. His car." "The car's a piece of shit!" And Sergei: "In America . . . car is piece of shit . . . but in Soviet Russia . . . piece of shit is car." Surendra ignored them both: once hot on the topic—the many gifts and easements rendered unto...

Shedding and characterization of gastrointestinal nematodes of growing beef heifers in Central Texas

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) do not detrimentally affect cattle to the extent of small ruminants. However, they are developing resistance to drugs used to treat them. Genetic strategies to control the nematodes and/or their detrimental effects could be a sustainable alternative to treatment with drugs. An essential first step in development of such a strategy is characterization of nematode populations in commonly used breed types of cattle in local conditions. Fecal egg counts (FEC) were obtained every two months on a cohort of 53 crossbred Nellore-Angus heifers grazing Central Texas pastures from an average heifer age of 3 months to approximately 2 years of age. For 10 of those 12 sets of samples, coprocultures were set up to characterize gastrointestinal nematode species present. Heifers were ½ Nellore ½ Angus (n = 18) or ¾ Angus ¼ Nellore (n = 35). They were born in the spring of 2014 to cows that were from 3–5 years old. They were maintained as a group throughout weaning, postweaning, exposure to bulls as yearlings, and as pregnant cows through the birth of their first calves. An interaction of breed group with sampling time (P < 0.0001) highlighted favorable FEC of ¼ Nellore heifers as compared to ½ Nellore in all but two sampling times. Fecal egg count means were, in general, higher for heifers of both groups in sampling times up to one year of age. Season effects on FEC may be important, but the effect of age may have obscured their detection. There were few significant correlation coefficients for FEC traits with a variety of production traits of these females. Average FEC residuals were positively correlated (r = 0.28 and 0.41; P < 0.05) with winter coat shedding score evaluated at approximately 17 and 24 months of age. Residual correlations of average FEC with calf weaning weight and incidence of shedding with calf age at weaning (r> 0.3) may be indicative of the increased susceptibility of females that lactate heavily or longer to internal parasite infection. Proportions of GIN genera by sampling day differed from χ2 expectation (P < 0.0001). Cooperia and Haemonchus species were detected in large proportions in sampling dates that corresponded to heifers less than one year of age. Ostertagia and Trichostrongylus species predominated in sampling dates after heifers reached one year of age.

When to count? Indices of population size for mountain hares of the north-west Lammermuir Hills, Scotland

Surveys with binoculars at two different times of day and in various months of the year, along with camera trap studies of diel activity patterns, were used to inform an appropriate period to count mountain hares ( Lepus timidus) on managed red grouse (Lagopus lagopus ) moorland of the Lammermuir Hills, south-east Scotland. Factors affecting the numbers of hares counted were time relative to sunrise, the presence of winter coat colour and reproductive behaviour in spring. Counts of hares in March and April starting one hour before dawn were used as an index of population size of the mountain hare over three years of observations on three hill-tops, with densities of 23-33 hares km-2. The number of hares seen was stable or rose slightly over the three years despite a partial cull on one of the hills. In support of suitability of the timing of surveys used, camera trap studies revealed that the period around dawn in March and April was associated with high levels of hare activity.

Coming from Nowhere

Coming from Nowhere Robert Lopez (bio) The first time someone called me a spic was during recess or after school in the playground or in the park across the street from my house. I was in shirtsleeves and it was hot or I had on a heavy winter coat with a ski hat and gloves and boots because it had snowed overnight and we could see our breath in the frigid winter cold. I like the thought of the word spic hanging frozen in the air, the vapors of which are exhaled and linger for an unnatural period of time, like in a Saturday morning cartoon, until they disappear. That’s how I’ve experienced most of what’s happened to me, from childhood on, as a series of vapors, exhalations, and disappearances. Back when children wore snowsuits in such weather, the ones that had the mittens tied into the sleeves, the winters were majestic all over New York. There were blizzards every other weekend and the drifts would bury the cars parked in the streets and the trees lining the sidewalks. It seemed as if we would never see the cars again and if school ever did reopen we’d have to use wooden tennis rackets as makeshift snowshoes to get there. We took photographs and when I say we I mean my mother and father took photographs of the cars, of my sister and me, all buried and content and whited out on our lawn outside of our Levitt house in the middle of a particularly conservative and culturally bankrupt part of the country known as Long Island. One wouldn’t think of this as a realistic setting where one person calls another a spic for the first time. One imagines a brilliant sun and blaring heat, people sweating and wearing mirrored sunglasses and sandals instead of ski hats and waterproof boots. My sister and I would go out to the backyard and build snow forts. We did this in matching snowsuits, designed to keep us safe and dry and warm, which were bulky and ridiculous and didn’t allow for any sort of athletic maneuver. You couldn’t fight in them, for instance, but you could build a fort and after the fort was built you could build another fort right next to it. I have no memory of what, if anything, we did inside the forts. [End Page 87] The first time someone called me a spic I was six or nine or eleven years old. The last time someone called me a spic was probably in high school and most likely a term of endearment. I don’t think my sister was ever called a spic, regardless of the weather. I’m sure she was called other things, but none of them ethnically motivated. I remember her friends used to call her Coco for Coco Lopez, which is a Puerto Rican coconut product used in many popular drinks. I don’t think girls were called spics in the 1980s. Maybe they never were. Now when it snows I stay inside. Maybe I look out the window, but I wait for the city to plow the streets and for the superintendents to shovel the sidewalks before I venture out into the world unless it is absolutely necessary, unless I have no choice and it’s about food or the possibility of tennis or sex. I never play in the snow, stopped all that around the age of eight. I hear stories of grown people sledding in the park or cross-country skiing after a blizzard, building snow structures and the like. I remember once a woman I dated expressed consternation when I didn’t throw a snowball at her after she pelted me with one while we were out walking one winter’s day. She accused me of having no fun. Now I like it best when I go on the Pratt or New School or Columbia website and they say that all classes are canceled. I don’t do anything special or especially productive with this unexpected day off and it isn’t as if I don’t like my job, but it still...

Introgression drives repeated evolution of winter coat color polymorphism in hares

Changing from summer-brown to winter-white pelage or plumage is a crucial adaptation to seasonal snow in more than 20 mammal and bird species. Many of these species maintain nonwhite winter morphs, locally adapted to less snowy conditions, which may have evolved independently. Mountain hares (Lepus timidus) from Fennoscandia were introduced into the Faroe Islands in 1855. While they were initially winter-white, within ∼65 y all Faroese hares became winter-gray, a morph that occurs in the source population at low frequency. The documented population history makes this a valuable model for understanding the genetic basis and evolution of the seasonal trait polymorphism. Through whole-genome scans of differentiation and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping, we associated winter coat color polymorphism to the genomic region of the pigmentation gene Agouti, previously linked to introgression-driven winter coat color variation in the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus). Lower Agouti expression in the skin of winter-gray individuals during the autumn molt suggests that regulatory changes may underlie the color polymorphism. Variation in the associated genomic region shows signatures of a selective sweep in the Faroese population, suggesting that positive selection drove the fixation of the variant after the introduction. Whole-genome analyses of several hare species revealed that the winter-gray variant originated through introgression from a noncolor changing species, in keeping with the history of ancient hybridization between the species. Our findings show the recurrent role of introgression in generating winter coat color variation by repeatedly recruiting the regulatory region of Agouti to modulate seasonal coat color change.

Voles and weasels in the boreal Fennoscandian small mammal community: what happens if the least weasel disappears due to climate change?

Climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation are major threats for populations and a challenge for individual behavior, interactions and survival. Predator–prey interactions are modified by climate processes. In the northern latitudes, strong seasonality is changing and the main predicted feature is shortening and instability of winter. Vole populations in the boreal Fennoscandia exhibit multiannual cycles. High amplitude peak numbers of voles and dramatic population lows alternate in 3–5‐year cycles shortening from North to South. One key factor, or driver, promoting the population crash and causing extreme extended lows, is suggested to be predation by the least weasel. We review the arms race between prey voles and weasels through the multiannual density fluctuation, affected by climate change, and especially the changes in the duration and stability of snow cover. For ground‐dwelling small mammals, snow provides thermoregulation and shelter for nest sites, and helps them hide from predators. Predicted increases in the instability of winter forms a major challenge for species with coat color change between brown summer camouflage and white winter coat. One of these is the least weasel, Mustela nivalis nivalis. Increased vulnerability of wrong‐colored weasels to predation affects vole populations and may have dramatic effects on vole dynamics. It may have cascading effects on other small rodent–predator interactions and even on plant–animal interactions and forest dynamics.

A camouflage conundrum: unexpected differences in winter coat color between sympatric species

AbstractAcross the globe, more than 21 species undergo seasonal changes in coloration, molting white in winter to become camouflaged against snow. Given the adaptive value of seasonal camouflage against local snow duration, one might predict that sympatric coat color changing species would have similar winter coat color. This hypothesis, however, contrasts with anecdotal evidence and modeling results that predict sympatric winter white and winter brown species in some areas with transient snow cover. In one such area, West Virginia, we document coat color phenology between three sympatric species: snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus), long‐tailed weasels (Mustela frenata), and least weasels (Mustela nivalis). Using a combination of field methods, we document and quantify each species’ winter coat color, illustrating an interspecific polymorphic response in winter coloration among sympatric winter white snowshoe hares and winter brown weasels. We then hypothesize what forces drive the interspecific differences between snowshoe hare and weasel winter coloration, highlighting areas of focus for future seasonal coat color research.

Getting ready for the winter: Timing and determinants of molt in an alpine ungulate.

Because growth of new hairs entails energetic costs, individual condition and access to food should determine the timing of molt. Previous studies on the timing of molt in ungulates have mostly focused on the influence of age class and reproductive status, but the effects of body condition and environmental phenology have not been evaluated. Our goal was to assess how intrinsic traits and environmental conditions determine the timing of winter coat shedding in a mountain goat population monitored for 27 years. The date of molt completion followed a U shape with age, suggesting that senescence occurs in terms of the molting process in mountain goats. Juveniles of both sexes delayed molting in a similar fashion, but molt timing differed between sexes during adulthood. Males molted progressively earlier until reaching age when reproduction peaked, after which they started delaying molting again. Females reached earliest molt dates at age of first reproduction and then progressively delayed molt date. Lactating females molted 10 days later than barren females on average, but this only occurred in females in good condition. Thus, although it has been shown that reproduction delays molt in ungulates, our results indicate that body condition can override this effect. Overall, our results revealed that access to both extrinsic and intrinsic resources is one of the key mechanisms driving molting processes in a mammalian herbivore.

A CONTROVERSIAL IDENTITY MARK: THE VILLAGERS’ COSTUMES IN ȘIRIA REGION, ARAD COUNTY

One of the great challenges of the Romanian ethnography after the union of Transylvania with Romania was - in parallel with the delimitation of the main ethnographic areas - the formation of a typology of the Romanian folk costume. Due to the specific history of this great province, this approach proved to be extremely complicated: compared to the conservative and eminently Romanian areas as the "cultural costumes" of the Apuseni (L. Apolzan), Năsăud, Ţara Oltului, Maramureş, Haţeg etc. , there were identified regions where, at least at first sight, the traditional costume worn by the Romanian population was far from being considered, according to the classic patterns in our ethnography, a specific Romanian identity mark. Such a case is the " villagers traditional costume" in Șiria region, Arad county, seen as a mixture of foreign styles (Hungarian, German and Slovak), the only remaining pieces of the old costume being the shirt, the lap and the winter coat. Marcel Olinescu's suggestion to study the costume in Șiria from the perspective of the Sociological School of Bucharest, therefore analysing it as a "social fact" leads to the conclusion that we are facing a specific phenomenon of creating a Romanian identity mark with a precise motivation meant to emphasize the privileged economic and social status of the Arad winegrowers. Compared to the white clothes worn by the mass of seasonal workers attracted to this El Dorado, the costume from Șiria, made of expensive fabrics, such as silk and velvet fabrics, brought the inhabitants of this area closer to the models at the top of the Arad society, where the clerks and the owners of the former large landed properties belonged to the cohabiting ethnic groups.

Muhu vammuste lõikelistest eripäradest / Characteristics of the sewing patterns of Muhu overcoats

As the song festival, our main event involving folk costumes, takes place in the summer, when outer garments are not particularly necessary, such garments have received relatively little interest from researchers as an everyday part of folk costume. In this article, I shall examine the characteristics of the patterns of women’s overcoats in Muhu, sharing information I came across when making an overcoat for myself, and when studying, measuring and describing the overcoats found in the collections of Estonian museums.&#x0D; A total of 19 overcoats can be found in the collections of Estonian museums. The focus of this article is strictly on Muhu women’s overcoats. Outer garments have been covered before in various books on Estonian folk costumes, but the characteristics of the patterns of Muhu overcoats, including the side gussets, have not been studied in depth. Side gussets are triangular pieces of fabric located at the side seams of the front pieces of the overcoats. In most cases, the gusset is located at the hip or slightly lower; they tend to vary in size between coats (see Table 1). The museum items also included overcoats with gussets added to the shoulders and lower edges. Presumably, these pieces, which seem at first glance unnecessary, have been added for practical purposes.&#x0D; Such overcoats were made for special occasions in the life of a girl or young woman, such as for confirmations and weddings. The overcoat was also worn on top of the sheepskin winter coat to keep the latter clean. As a rule, the textile overcoats found in museums were sheep brown originally and could later be coloured black with alder bark.&#x0D; All the overcoats studied here were made in a similar way: they consist of four main pieces, with two-piece sleeves, differing only in their manner of sewing and decoration. The material used was hand-woven and fulled wool fabric. The process of wool fulling is long and complex; after textile mills emerged in Estonia, fabric was often taken there to be fulled. When the fabric was ready for sewing, it was narrow, just ca 60 centimetres wide. This meant that extreme care was needed in placing the pattern on the fabric so that as little of the fabric as possible would go to waste.&#x0D; The neck would be V-shaped at the front and at the back, with a black or dark blue baize binding decorated with both a rolled hem in orange and by embroidery. The chest part would be decorated with square pieces made of an orange fine wool background with embroidered wool ornaments. The central back seam was similar in all the museum examples, employing an extremely interesting technological solution. The width of the seam varies along the length of the entire seam –wider at the waist (up to 7 cm) so as to shape the waistline, and much narrower at the bottom in order to increase the width of the coat.&#x0D; The back pieces of all the overcoats came down longer than at the front, forming a gently sloping triangle at the central back seam. The lower edge of the overcoat was stitched with a couching stitch, and a coloured wool yarn finished off the closed hem. The coats were fastened with hooks at the front; a coloured ribbon, known locally as taht, located at chest-level could be used as an additional fastener.&#x0D; The front pieces and gussets of all the women’s overcoats studied here were joined with a lapped seam. To understand why gussets are necessary, I decided to experiment with placing the patterns on the fabric. Figure 4 clearly shows that placing the patterns meant for the front and back pieces with the shoulder seams facing one other ensured that the fabric would be used as economically as possible. The shoulder seam of the back piece intersects with the side seam of the front piece, which results in triangular cut-outs at the sides.&#x0D; Gussets are needed at the lower edges of the sides if the piece does not fit the width of the fabric and so the length of the lower edge needs increasing. Several pieces found in museums also have gussets at the shoulders: if the front and back pieces are placed very close to one other on a narrow piece of fabric, the side of the back piece intersects with the shoulder seam of the front piece. We can thus conclude that the gussets are a sign of a thrifty use of fabric which has been made into a decorative element by means of the stitching.&#x0D; Keywords: overcoats, folk costumes, Muhu, patterns, cut-out

Adaptive introgression underlies polymorphic seasonal camouflage in snowshoe hares.

Snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) maintain seasonal camouflage by molting to a white winter coat, but some hares remain brown during the winter in regions with low snow cover. We show that cis-regulatory variation controlling seasonal expression of the Agouti gene underlies this adaptive winter camouflage polymorphism. Genetic variation at Agouti clustered by winter coat color across multiple hare and jackrabbit species, revealing a history of recurrent interspecific gene flow. Brown winter coats in snowshoe hares likely originated from an introgressed black-tailed jackrabbit allele that has swept to high frequency in mild winter environments. These discoveries show that introgression of genetic variants that underlie key ecological traits can seed past and ongoing adaptation to rapidly changing environments.

How the snowshoe hare is losing its white winter coat

How the snowshoe hare is losing its white winter coat

Changing coats with the season

Adaptation![Figure][1] The Arctic fox molts in the autumn from a dark summer to a white winter coat. CREDIT: NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO Many species of mammals and birds molt from summer brown to winter white coats to facilitate camouflage. Mills et al. mapped global patterns