Academic literature on the topic 'Camel breeding'

Wild camel is the endangered native species of Central Asia that are found only in the western north of China, and Trans Altai Gobi of Mongolia. In this article was written that the reproductivity of captive wild bactrian camels based on the result and analysis developed at the research center for “Captive Wild camel breeding center”located near administration of Great Gobi Strictly Protected Area “A” part, between 1992 -2015. A gestation age, birth repetition and birth time of female captive wild camels at the breeding center under semi-captive condition have been observed and analysed. According to the research, captive wild camel birth time is started from the last 10 days of March and it finished at the last 10 days of May. Most extensive birth time is April. Captive male wild camel at the breeding center starting to mate at the beginning of January, and finished at the end of February. Therefore, an average gestation period of captive female camels is 400-440 days. However, sometimes, it can fluctuated due to age, fattening, and climate condition. But also birth date of female camels may different because of sex of calf.

Camel drivers living in the peri-urban area of Sahelian cities carry out several economic activities. These activities can have an impact on techno-economic practice of livestock. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2018 to assess the practice and contribution of sheep breeding and camel milk to the income of camel drivers in the peri-urban area of N'Djamena. It affected 42 sedentary camel drivers (27.6%). Young camel drivers (31.52 ± 9.3 years old) raise a mixed herd. Arab sheep is exploited for the subsistence. Its productivity is improved by monitoring reproduction, breeding selection (format) and supplementation. A family workforce and salaried shepherds ensure manage and sell. Camels walk during the day under the control of a young camel driver. Camel is milked manually by a woman and/or a man. The demand for sheep on the market is higher than that of goats and camels. The contribution rate of the average annual income of sheep sold (ScoreAISSm) is 51.2 ± 23.6% of the total average annual income from breeding (ScoreTAIBm) (1960187 ± 1028966 CFA francs). This rate is high in Group A households not selling camel milk compared to Group 2 (p<0.01). Average annual income from the sale of camel milk (ScoreCMm) provides the daily expenses of the household in Group B. The correlations between the number of women–ScoreTAIB and the number of women–ScoreCMm are positive (p<0.01). Depending on opportunities offered by the place of sedentarisation, camel drivers develop strategies to better meet the urban market demand while maintaining a pastoral way of life.

The present study was conducted to gather the information regarding habitat, population, management, production and economic analysis of the camels worldwide. The main findings of review showed camel population around 25.89 million worldwide in almost 47 countries. Majority of camel herders were reported un-educated. Researchers further indicated that camels generally are reared under sedentary (50%), transhumant (25%), nomadic (15%) and household (10%) management systems. Age of camel famers ranges from 25 to 50 years. The female ratio markedly remains higher than males and young ones because the females are generally used for milk production. However the males are mostly used to carry the luggage, carrying load pulling cart etc. It was also stated by scientists that camels are mostly allowed for open grazing of natural vagetations. Breeding is practiced by natural method and the camel spend 20 to 30 minutes for matting. The female camels reach at the puberty age in 3-5 years, while male at 3.5 to 5.5 years. The duration of estrus cycle in camels vary from 16 to 22 days. Breeding period of camels remain between November and March. The average hair production of camels is 1.63 kg, average daily milk production 6.40 liter. Male have carrying capacity of 553 kg. In conclusion the husbandry practices of camel farming worldwide are based on old traditional methods, however the scientific farming rarely exits. There is no extension services available for the herders to motivate, educate and aware them modern management practices. Market infrastructure, as per study review, is not well established. Mostly the camel herder sale out their animals to middlemen due to long market distances.

SummaryThe Mewari and Jaisalmeri breeds of camel are among the four major breeds of Indian camel. The Mewari breed is known for the production of milk and its adaptability to the hilly terrain of the Aravali hills in south Rajasthan whereas the Jaisalmeri breed is known for its riding and race potential. A total of 320 camels from 16 herds in eight villages belonging to three districts of the major breeding tract of the Mewari camel were covered. The population of the Mewari camel was estimated to be 16 221 heads with a 28% decline in the last five years. The extent of cross breeding was estimated to be 36%. The average adult Mewari camel had a 193 cm height at wither, 194 cm heart girth and 158 cm body length. Adult Mewari camels produce about 700 grams of hair per annum and the females produce 5–7 litres of milk per day. An integrated rotational grazing pasture development programme could be of great use in maintaining the Mewari camels with diverse livestock species under optimum production.To define the status of the Jaisalmeri camel, an investigation encompassing 1 760 camel breeders belonging to the 181 villages distributed over the entire strata of the tract was carried out. The population of the Jaisalmeri camel was estimated to be 118 083 heads with a 31% decline in the last five years. An adult Jaisalmeri camel had a 199 cm height at wither, 211 cm heart girth and 156 cm body length. Adult males and females weighed 593 and 519 kg, respectively. Emphasis should be placed on making the breedable males of the breed available throughout the strata and on improving the utility of the breed for in-situ maintenance of genetic diversity in the breed.

This study aims to determine the prevalence of STEC in she-camels suffering from mastitis in semi-arid regions by using traditional culture methods and then confirming it with Serological and molecular techniques in milk samples, camel feces, as well as human stool samples for human contacts. In addition, an antibiotic susceptibility profile for these isolates was investigation. Mastitic milk samples were taken after California Mastitis Test (CMT) procedure, and fecal samples were taken from she-camels and human stool samples, then cultured using traditional methods to isolate Escherichiacoli. These isolates were initially classified serologically, then an mPCR (Multiplex PCR) was used to determine virulence genes. Finally, both camel and human isolates were tested for antibiotic susceptibility. Out of a total of 180 she-camels, 34 (18.9%) were mastitic (8.3% clinical and 10.6% sub-clinical mastitis), where it was higher in camels bred with other animals. The total presence of E. coli was 21.9, 13.9, and 33.7% in milk, camel feces, and human stool, respectively, whereas the occurrence of STEC from the total E. coli isolates were 36, 16, and 31.4% for milk, camel feces, and stool, respectively. Among the camel isolates, stx1 was the most frequently detected virulence gene, while hlyA was not detected. The most detected virulence gene in human isolates was stx2 (45.5%), followed by stx1. Camel STEC showed resistance to Oxytetracycline only, while human STEC showed multiple drug resistance to Amoxicillin, Gentamycin, and Clindamycin with 81.8, 72.7, and 63.6%, respectively. Breeding camels in semi-arid areas separately from other animals may reduce the risk of infection with some bacteria, including E. coli; in contrast, mixed breeding with other animals contributes a significant risk factor for STEC emergence in camels.

The lack of applied scientific research on camels, despite them being recognized as production animals, compels the reorganization of emerging camel breeding systems with the aim of achieving successful camel welfare management strategies all over the world. Relevant and properly-framed research widely impacts dissemination of scientific contents and drives public willingness to enhance ethically acceptable conditions for domestic animals. Consumer perception of this livestock industry will improve and high-quality products will be obtained. This paper draws on bibliometric indicators as promoting factors for camel-related research advances, tracing historical scientific publications indexed in ScienceDirect directory from 1880–2019. Camel as a species did not affect Journal Citation Reports (JCR) impact (p > 0.05) despite the journal, author number, corresponding author origin, discipline and publication year affecting it (p < 0.001). Countries with traditionally well-established camel farming are also responsible for the papers with the highest academic impact. However, camel research advances may have only locally and partially influenced welfare related laws, so intentional harming acts and basic needs neglect may persist in these species. A sustainable camel industry requires those involved in camel research to influence business stakeholders and animal welfare advocacies by highlighting the benefits of camel wellbeing promotion, co-innovation partnership establishment and urgent enhancement of policy reform.

AbstractThe key role of the epididymis is contributing to sperm storage, maturation, and survival. The epididymis of camel has a unique structure called the intraepithelial gland. The present work aimed to investigate the structure of the epididymal intraepithelial gland with special references to the seasonal variation. The samples were collected from the distal part of the corpus epididymes of completely healthy mature camels (Camelus dromedarius) in the breeding and nonbreeding seasons. Tomato lectin-positive material had been demonstrated within the epididymal spermatozoa. Here, we provide the first transmission electron microscopic study for the intraepithelial gland of camel epididymis detecting the autophagy during the nonbreeding season. The autophagosomes originated from the endoplasmic reticulum, surrounding mitochondria, and located mainly next to the basement membrane. This location is probably valuable for subsequent passing of their contents into the interstitium for possible recycling. The histochemical and ultrastructural characteristics of the gland in the breeding season indicated a hyperactive secretory microenvironment enriched with the glycoprotein-producing machinery, which could be controlled by androgens. The present data suggest that the camel intraepithelial gland has a significant impact on the reproductive activity through their secretory microenvironment during the breeding season. Moreover, it recycles the unused organelles or proteins for reuse or to supply energy under stress conditions in the nonbreeding season.

The reproductive performance of camels is poor and has remained a major obstacle to the growth of dromedary populations. The limited breeding season is one of the most important causes of the poor reproductive performance. In seasonal animals, melatonin is the chemical messenger that allows the perception of daylight length changes. Commercial melatonin products have been developed for the manipulation of seasonal breeding in animals. The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of melatonin implantation on libido, serum melatonin, and testosterone concentrations in dromedary camels during the non-breeding season (June and July). Ten camel bulls were used in the 35-day-long trial; 5 of them were implanted with 30 Melovine® implant (Ceva, Libourne, France) subcutaneously on Day 0, whereas the other 5 camel bulls remained untreated as a control. Libido was evaluated weekly in response to oestrous-induced female camels treated with oestrogen (1 mL Oestrocon; oestradiol benzoate 5 mg mL−1) 2 days before assessment of libido. Libido was scored as follows: 0 = not interested: the male did not show any libido; 1 = low interested: the male went near the female and showed low frequency of sniffing and flehmen; 2 = interested: the male went near the female, it showed sniffing, flehmen, grinding of teeth/whistling, yawning; 3 = high interested: the male went near the female and was very agitated, it showed sniffing, flehmen, grinding of teeth/whistling, yawning, urination, and tail raising. It stood with open legs, and poll gland secretion and neck rubbing were observed; 4 = excited, like 3, but the male showed blatering and dulaa extrusion, was very excited, stood with open legs, high poll gland secretion and neck rubbing were observed. Blood samples were collected weekly. Serum melatonin and testosterone concentrations were evaluated using commercial ELISA kits. Comparisons among groups were evaluated using repeated-measures ANOVA, using SAS software (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). A difference was considered significant at the P < 0.05 level. The results revealed that at Day 0, all camel bulls in 2 groups had no libido and there was no significant difference in the melatonin or testosterone levels in the 2 groups. The libido increased gradually in the melatonin group and reached the maximum (3–5) at week 4 and week 5. The control group had low libido (0–1) along the trial. Statistically, the libido was significantly higher in the melatonin group than control group. Additionally, testosterone levels were significantly higher in melatonin group than control group, especially in the fourth week of the present trial (565.07 ± 33.04 pg mL−1 and 458.49 ± 25.36 pg mL−1, respectively). In conclusion, melatonin implantation in the non-breeding season significantly improved the libido and the reproductive performance of dromedary camel bulls. Therefore, it may be possible to improve the reproductive efficiency of camels by extending the breeding season through treatment with melatonin during the non-breeding season.

With the aim of developing livestock breeding, the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/686 (hereafter referred to as Reg. 686) has taken steps to define traceability and animal health for the movement of germ material within the European Union (EU), including that of camelid species. Despite the economic importance of the camel market and the efforts of the EU to regulate their movements, there are considerable difficulties in the collection of semen and its freezing, limiting the use of artificial insemination in this species. If, on the one hand, there is little diffusion of the camel breeding and, consequently, limited diffusion of animals and germplasm, there will probably be a significant increase over the years. To avoid the spread of emerging diseases—or even those no longer present in Europe—the entry of genetic material from non-EU countries must be strictly monitored. Camels are rarely clinically compliant, but can transfer even fatal diseases to domestic ungulate farms in the EU. Based on these considerations, we conducted a narrative review of the European regulations on this issue, focusing on aspects related to their application in camels.

Les dynamiques en cours au sein des espaces pastoraux en milieu aride telles que la diminution drastique en termes de qualité et de quantité des ressources pastorales, l’avancée des fronts agricoles et urbains, la mise en place de lois pastorales visant à sécuriser le pastoralisme ont pour conséquence de remettre en question les systèmes de relations et d’accords sur lesquels se fonde le capital social mobilisé par les éleveurs pour accéder aux ressources pastorales et de complémentation nécessaires au maintien de leur troupeau. L’enjeu principal de notre thèse est de comprendre comment les éleveurs adaptent leur capital social à ces transformations pour sécuriser leur capacité à accéder aux ressources et maintenir leur troupeau dans un contexte qui tend à accroître leur vulnérabilité. Si l’approche du capital social comme facteur déterminant de l’accès aux ressources au sein des sociétés pastorales ne constitue pas un objet d’étude nouveau, elle continue à soulever de nombreuses questions théoriques et méthodologiques en sciences humaines et sociales. À partir d’une étude portant sur les éleveurs camelins au sein de la province de Tan-Tan au sud-ouest du Maroc, notre thèse propose de construire un cadre d’analyse pluridisciplinaire mobilisant la géographie (sociale, politique, historique), la socio-anthropologie et la socio-économie, visant à développer une nouvelle approche du capital social visant non pas à mesurer un stock global de capital social, mais plutôt à mettre l’accent sur les processus par lesquels les éleveurs le construisent, l’entretiennent et le développent à travers la notion de stratégies d’investissement social développée par le sociologue Pierre Bourdieu. Le premier chapitre de résultats porte sur l’évolution des jeux d’acteurs tribaux et étatiques depuis la période coloniale et leurs conséquences sur les réseaux sociaux à partir desquels les éleveurs construisent et entretiennent leurs stratégies d’investissement social. Le second chapitre de résultats présente la méthode que nous avons mise en place pour établir une typologie des profils d’éleveurs en fonction de ces différentes stratégies en interaction avec les autres formes de capitaux qu’ils détiennent. L’étude des capacités d’adaptation des différents profils d’éleveurs durant la sécheresse et la crise sanitaire liée à la pandémie du COVID-19 ayant touché la province de Tan-Tan durant notre période d’étude nous permet alors de démontrer que les éleveurs ayant été les mieux à même d’accéder aux ressources pastorales et de complémentation sont ceux qui se sont adaptés aux changements politiques et sociaux en développant des stratégies d’investissement social à cheval entre réseau coutumier et étatique ou en s’appuyant sur un capital financier et un prestige social important. Entre recherche et développement, cette thèse est une invitation à mettre au cœur de l’analyse de la résilience des populations pastorales l’étude des stratégies d’ investissement social mises en place par les éleveurs dans la mesure où elles constituent un facteur déterminant de leur capacité à accéder aux ressources nécessaires au maintien leur troupeau et par conséquent de leur capacité d’adaptation aux changements qui caractérisent les espaces pastoraux en milieu aride. Par ailleurs, elle met également l’accent sur la nécessité de prendre davantage en compte, dans le cadre des projets et politiques de développement pastoral, les multiples territoires et jeux d’acteurs au sein desquels s’insèrent les espaces pastoraux à partir desquels les éleveurs élaborent leurs stratégies sociales pour accéder aux ressources. Ce n’est en effet que par cette prise en compte et la mise en lumière des disparités existantes en termes de capacité d’accès aux ressources au sein de la communauté pastorale concernée que le développement pastoral pourra bénéficier à une majorité d’éleveurs et non pas seulement à ceux qui disposent des « bons » réseaux
The current dynamics within the pastoral areas in arid environments, such as the drastic decrease in terms of quality and quantity of pastoral resources, the advance of agricultural and urban fronts, and the implementation of pastoral laws aimed at securing pastoralism, have the consequence of questioning the systems of relations and agreements on which the social capital, mobilized by herders to access the pastoral and complementary resources necessary to maintain their herds, is based. The main challenge of our thesis is to understand how herders adapt their social capital to these transformations to secure their ability to access resources and preserve their herds in a context that tends to increase their vulnerability. While the approach of social capital as a determining factor in access to resources within pastoral societies is not a new subject of study, it continues to raise numerous theoretical and methodological questions in the human sciences. Based on a study of camel breeders in the province of Tan-Tan in southwest Morocco, our thesis proposes building a multidisciplinary analytical framework mobilizing geography (social, political, historical), socio-anthropology, and socio-economy. The aim is to develop a new approach to social capital that doesn't aim to measure a global stock of social capital, but rather to focus on the processes by which herders build, maintain, and develop it through the notion of social investment strategies developed by the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. The first chapter of results focuses on the evolution of tribal and state actor relations since the colonial period and their consequences on the social networks from which the herders construct and maintain their social investment strategies. The second chapter of results presents the method we have developed to establish a typology of herder profiles according to these different social strategies in interaction with the other forms of assets they o wn. The study of the adaptive capacities of different herder profiles during the drought and the health crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the province of Tan-Tan during our study period allows us to demonstrate that the herders who were best able to access pastoral and complementary resources are those who adapted to political and social changes by developing social investment strategies that straddle the customary and state networks or by relying on financial capital and significant social prestige. Between research and development, this thesis is an invitation to place at the heart of the analysis of the resilience of pastoral populations the study of the social investment strategies implemented by herders insofar as they constitute a determining factor in their capacity to access the resources necessary to maintain their herds and consequently their capacity to adapt to the changes that characterize pastoral areas in arid environments. It also emphasizes the ne ed for pastoral development projects and policies to take greater account of the multiple territories and sets of stakeholders within which pastoral areas are located and from which herders develop their social strategies for accessing resources. It is only by taking this into account and highlighting the existing disparities in terms of capacity to access resources within the pastoral community concerned that pastoral development will be able to benefit the majority of herders and not just those with “good” networks

Sites of the Neolithic Jeitun Culture in southern Turkmenistan present the earliest evidence of animal husbandry, mainly based on sheep (Ovis aries) and goats (Capra hircus), in Central Asia. In its northern parts, subsistence economy relied on the exploitation of wild animal resources in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic. The steppes of north Kazakhstan played a prominent role in the domestication of the horse (Equus caballus) some time prior to 3000 bc. In subsequent periods, horse breeding was of great economic importance in this area. In the Bronze Age, the Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) became a common livestock animal in the Eurasian dry zones. Its domestication seems to have taken place in the southwestern part of Central Asia. According to geography, vegetation, and climate, different types of animal keeping and herd management developed in the centuries of the Bronze and Iron Ages.

AbstractIn order to produce successful varieties, wheat breeding programs must develop several strategies that fall under one of the following topics: line development, population improvement, and selection methods. Part I of this chapter focuses on breeding activities related to line development, while Part II discusses population improvement and selection methods. Line development refers to the process of obtaining homozygous inbreds derived from crosses between parental lines. A wide variety of line development methods have been proposed in pursuit of greater efficiency and effectiveness. This chapter aims to provide basic knowledge on line development methods in relation to wheat breeding, describe how and why they came about, and synthesize the results of empirical studies that have evaluated them in order to foster critical thinking and innovation in breeding strategy design.

AbstractIn this chapter, we provide the main elements for implementing deep neural networks in Keras for binary, categorical, and mixed outcomes under feedforward networks as well as the main practical issues involved in implementing deep learning models with binary response variables. The same practical issues are provided for implementing deep neural networks with categorical and count traits under a univariate framework. We follow with a detailed assessment of information for implementing multivariate deep learning models for continuous, binary, categorical, count, and mixed outcomes. In all the examples given, the data came from plant breeding experiments including genomic data. The training process for binary, ordinal, count, and multivariate outcomes is similar to fitting DNN models with univariate continuous outcomes, since once we have the data to be trained, we need to (a) define the DNN model in Keras, (b) configure and compile the model, (c) fit the model, and finally, (d) evaluate the prediction performance in the testing set. In the next section, we provide illustrative examples of training DNN for binary outcomes in Keras R (Chollet and Allaire, Deep learning with R. Manning Publications, Manning Early Access Program (MEA), 2017; Allaire and Chollet, Keras: R interface to Keras’, 2019).

In the present chapter, the recent studies on artificial insemination (AI) of livestock (large and small) animals via the intrauterine route are summarized. For this, intrauterine inseminations especially in cattle, horse, camel, buffalo, sheep, goat, dog, and cat species will be considered in detail. Brief data on inseminations in other species (pig, turkey, hen, honeybees, silkworm) is also given. Once semen sample is collected from sexually mature and clinically healthy breeding male animals, it has to be kept alive (mainly by dilution and cooling) first and then used either immediately (fresh) or stored (chilled/frozen) until being used in oestrous females. During insertion of the semen (particularly stored ones), it is necessary to place the inseminate in the vicinity of the ovum (Graafian follicle) as close as possible. Hence, fertility results of insemination are always higher when semen is deposited intrauterine. However, this is not as easy as we would expect, due mainly to the anatomical structure of females (cat, dog, sheep, and hen) or viability of semen (fish and camel). To overcome this female- or male-originated limiting factors of fertility, various novel approaches have been reported towards acceptable rates of fertility outcome. Hence, these recent insemination techniques are outlined herein.

American power at the end of World War II was paramount. The usual image of this might, however, is formed more by the array of military and industrial components of American culture than by something as seemingly mundane as wheat breeding. Nuclear-tipped missiles, airplane and tank factories, engineering prowess, and motivated soldiers are more generally assumed to be the components of military strength, not scientists patiently crossing one strain of wheat with another and searching through the progeny for a better variety. In the direct exercise of military power, of course, the weapon systems and soldiers are the most important elements of power. Armies, however, exist only on the foundation of food supplies that are adequate for both the military personnel and their civilian support force. American strategists in both world wars were acutely aware of the role of agriculture in the projection of military might, and they considerably amplified agriculture’s importance in the aftermath of World War II. Specifically, through a variety of public and private initiatives, wheat breeding and other lines of agricultural science became an integral part of postwar American strategic planning. Put somewhat differently, after 1945, wheat breeding by American scientists became more than just an exercise in the modernization of agriculture. Old motivations for seeking new varieties did not disappear, but new motivations arose to justify expenditures. In addition, American scientists came to do their work not only in the United States for American farmers but overseas for foreign governments. Wheat breeding acquired ideological dimensions more elaborate than simply “the promo tion of progress.” Instead, wheat breeding and other agricultural science became part of the “battle for freedom.” In the process, many countries moved to new relationships with each other and with their own natural resource base. How did wheat breeding get caught up with strategic and national security considerations? It is necessary to follow a somewhat convoluted trail to answer this question, and the story can begin with the status of the United States after the collapse of Germany and Japan in 1945.

Geneticists such as Liberty Hyde Bailey and Rowland Harry Biffen were prominent leaders in the new science of plant breeding. By 1940 they and their successors had constructed an elaborate body of theory and methods and had acquired a working collection of plant germ plasm. Plant breeding was an ongoing enterprise in a few countries, and production of such crops as wheat and maize already showed the commercial importance of the science. As noted in chapter 3, the promotion of plant breeding and other agricultural science was part of the industrial revolution and stemmed from (1) the repeal of the Corn Laws in Britain, (2) the development of international markets for wheat and other grains, (3) the population growth and emigration of European peoples to many other parts of earth, (4) the subsequent expansion of land in agriculture, and (5) the increasing mechanization of agriculture. Each of these interlinked factors reflected that the growing of wheat and other grains was increasingly a commercial matter and enhanced the role of science. Conditions conducive to the use of plant breeding also spawned organizations to train plant breeders, support their research, and provide easy access to their results. Agriculture, in turn, came increasingly to depend on a steady stream of new varieties from plant-breeding research. Institutional development in plant breeding did not occur in neat synchrony with the conceptual and methodological breakthroughs outlined in chapter 3. Instead, the growth of organizations depended upon (1) the promotion of the science by scientists, (2) the stresses imposed on farmers by market competition in agricultural products, (3) the perils nations faced in war, and (4) in the case of India, efforts by the British to alleviate famine so that India would remain profitable and governable. Both the organizational infrastructure created by 1940 and the conceptual developments were critically important to the subsequent transformation of wheat yields that occurred between 1940 and 1970. This chapter explores the institutional developments to 1940. Britain, America, and India each started to organize agricultural science before 1900 by forming scientific societies, agricultural improvement associations, private and public experiment stations, educational institutions, and government ministries to promote science.

Plant breeding in general and wheat breeding specifically were rudimentary activities on many grounds in the nineteenth century. Not many people engaged in the activity. Those who did were self-taught. because no formal educational programs existed in the subject. For the most part, they had only a few very modest institutional bases within which to work. Many farmers paid them little or no attention, and governments usually ignored their contributions and gave them next to no support. They had no organized way of broadly disseminating their results, which in any case were few in number. By 1970, wheat and other plant breeders occupied a very different position within both the scientific and political economic landscapes. Many people worked as breeders. They were highly trained in educational programs dedicated to the reproduction of plant breeders. Elaborate networks of institutions gave them employment. A substantial proportion of farmers cared very much what they did, and governments gave substantial, sometimes lavish, support. They had means of communicating their work that included both scientific and popular outlets. And they had substantial results to convey to farmers and the general public, some of them remarkable either for their scientific cleverness or for their broad political, economic, and ecological impacts, or both. Another way of gaining perspective on the change in status of wheat and other plant breeders is to suggest that their absence might not have been noticed by anybody but their families had they suddenly disappeared in the nineteenth century. In contrast, the twentieth century came increasingly to depend upon the plant breeders. Cessation of wheat breeding after 1970, for example, would have put some agricultural systems in distinct danger of slow decline or even collapse and failure. In both political economic and ecological terms, an increasing portion of the global human community became absolutely dependent upon wheat breeders and other plant scientists, certainly for prosperity as we now know it and possibly for survival and security. The transformation of wheat breeding from nearly invisible to virtually indispensable resulted from two mutually interacting events: a commercial-industrial revolution in agriculture and construction of a new science of plant breeding.

The chapter is set in a hospital room in Pappenheim, Germany, in November 1952, with the Shalikashvili family, set to leave for America, saying final goodbyes to John Shalikashvili’s grandmother, or Oma, Countess Marie Rudiger-Bielaieff. Told from the perspective of Oma, who is on her deathbed, the chapter continues the theme of nature vs. nurture by describing her European aristocratic breeding, overviews the “riches to rags” fall from privilege of her family line, and shows how she instilled the best of aristocratic family values in her child and grandchildren. It also describes the unusual circumstances of how the Shalikashvili family came to be emigrating to the New World—which raises theme of love/commitment and foreshadows Dimitri Shalikashvili’s betrayal of son John.

This chapter looks at how tundra swans arrived the day before Thanksgiving in the town of Island Lake in Wisconsin. Navigating by the stars and their memory of earth's moonlit landscape, they came, traveling from their summer breeding grounds in shallow pools, lakes, and rivers in the Arctic toward their winter residence in Chesapeake Bay and the marshes of Virginia and North Carolina. Tundra swans, which used to be called whistling swans for the sounds their wings make in flight, often travel in groups of several hundred. According to an Audubon guide, “they present a spectacular sight” when they make mass landings in places like the Niagara River. Like adolescents not quite ready to leave home, cygnets remain with the parent flock for at least a year, learning the route and where to feed and rest.

This chapter explores “native” British breeds within the context of agricultural improvement at the turn of the nineteenth century, arguing that the idea of a native breed arose at the same time and in opposition to that of an “improved” breed. Breeds were understood to encompass the relationship between heredity, anthropogenic selection, and the influence of climate or environment, although which of these factors was understood to take precedence could and did vary. As breeders increasingly selected their animals for early maturity, meatiness, or particular kinds of wool in the case of sheep in conformation with market imperatives, “native” came to signal a type of livestock defined more by its relationship to a particular place within Great Britain than by its degree of breeding. A growing propensity for moving animals from place to place, and combining existing breeds into new types of livestock, such as Shorthorn cattle or New Leicester sheep, informed these developments.

This chapter examines the fraught attempts to acclimatize Spanish merino sheep in Britain in the early nineteenth century. Proponents of the merino were motivated by the commercial value of merino wool, which is and was exceptionally fine, but the debate over the merino’s place in Britain ultimately came down to its flesh. The breed’s opponents argued that merino mutton was inferior to that of British breeds like the New Leicester, and further that the fineness of merino wool was dependent upon Spain’s climate and environment. The long and acrimonious controversy which attended the merino’s attempted naturalization in Great Britain revealed the degree to which competing understandings of the relative influence of climate or environment and anthropogenic selection in sheep-breeding unsettled the very category of breed itself. Ultimately, attempts to acclimatize merino sheep in Britain failed, as its wool (although finer than that of “native” British breeds) grew coarser under Britain’s damper climate, and its leaner carcass offended the proud palates of British diners.

Qatar is one of few Middle Eastern oil producing countries that realized the vitality of a needed swift transformation from resources to knowledge economy. Until a few decades ago, Qatar was dominated by nomadic people whose livelihood depended on fishing, pearling, camel breeding, and fishing ships building. However, the discovery of oil and gas has encouraged not only socio-economic change, but environmental change as well. The discussed account will cover the main strategies adopted by the country to create a distinctive model of development in the Middle East. The study also analyzes the shift over the past decade which reveals how Qatar views investments in knowledge-based urban development as essential vehicles to survive in a globalized and competitive world. More significantly, the study illustrates an interesting form of urban resilience in the face of major challenges which faced Qatar in the last decade including, winning the bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2022, the decline of oil prices and the air, sea and ground blockade imposed by its adjacent neighbors. The study sheds light on different urban planning strategies and policies adopted to shift the focus from creating a mega city with an image which resonate with typical global cities to a more sustainable, resilient, knowledge-based and decentralized urbanity. The model of Qatar is analyzed holistically in the paper to go form the strategic planning decisions all the way to case studies and best practice planning projects. The study demonstrates how Qatar has captured the world’s imagination by balancing global aspirations and local necessities in a sustainable and resilience context. This paper examines a framework for city and urban regions inspired by the theory of placemaking and its relevance to the boundaries of human urbanism. The paper sheds new light on the transformation of the city from a metropolitan exploiting the oil and gas revenues to a multi-centered model of urbanism. In doing so, the city adopted a number of significant strategies include the well distributed livable urban centers, transit-oriented development, introducing compacted urbanism and encouraging models of mixed use development. The paper concludes with a planning matrix which suggest that for Qatar, adopting such strategies and the deliberate move towards multi=centered urbanism is inevitable in the age of post globalizing world, the need for an urban human scale and the challenges of post Carbon paradigm.