Daily activity and body temperature of the sable (Martes zibellina Linnaeus, 1758) (Mustelidae, Mammalia) in cage conditions in Yakutia

The article presents the results of our observations of the behavior of farm sables on a fur farm located 100 km south of Yakutsk city. The behavior was analyzed on video recordings obtained with the help of outdoor video cameras, around the clock throughout the year. The observations showed a significant correlation between the time of use of the insulated shelter and the maximum (r = 0.68; α ≤ 0.01) and minimum (r = 0.66; α ≤ 0.01) air temperatures. The longest stay outside the house was observed in the spring and summer periods. With the transition of daytime temperatures above the zero mark in April, the sables practically ceased to be used by insulated houses. During the hottest days of the summer period, the use of cabins increased again. There was almost no activity during the whole day. The longest stay of sables in insulated shelters was in December (on average 16–17 hours) and January–February (on average about 18 hours). In January–February, their activity prevailed in the evening (19.9 and 27.9%, respectively). From March to August, the greatest activity was confined to the night period (29.8–44.9% of the total time of the period). In September– December, the sables’ activation was observed in the morning period, from 6 to 12 AM (43.3– 58.4%). At night, the sables were active on average 27.6±4.0% of the total time of the period. In the morning, this indicator was 28.3±5.4%. The lowest activity was recorded in the afternoon – 19.4±4.8%. In the evening, the activity of the animals increased up to 24.6±2.8%. The annual dynamics of the body temperature of the studied farm sable correlates with the ambient temperature (r = 0.41; α ≤ 0.050). The lowest average daily body temperatures were recorded in January (+36.8±0.03°C; n =744; limit from +33.9°C to +38.53°C), the highest – in July (+37.2±0.02°C; n = 744; limit from +34.9°C to +38.8°C). A comparison of the indicators providing cold tolerance in caged animals and sables from natural populations showed almost identical results.

1. Andrianov B. V., Sorokina S. Yu., Lazebny O. E., Goryacheva I. I., Gorelova T. V., Kashtanov S. N. Mitochondrial genome variation in domesticated sable (Martes zibellina). Russian Journal of Genetics, 2012, vol. 48, iss. 4, pp. 442–454. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1022795412020032

2. Anufriev A. I. Ekologicheskie mekhanizmy temperaturnykh adaptatsii mlekopitayushchikh i zimuyushchikh ptits Yakutii [Ecological Mechanisms of Temperature Adaptation of Mammals and Wintering Birds of Yakutia]. Novosibirsk, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Publ., 2013. 220 p. (in Russian).

3. Anufriev A. I. Ocherki ekologii i zimnei spyachki mlekopitayushchikh v usloviyakh kholoda [Essays on the Ecology and Hibernation of Mammals in Cold Conditions]. Novosibirsk, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Publ., 2023. 152 p. (in Russian).

4. Anufriev A. I., Sedalischev V. T. Sable ecology in the winter season. Uspekhi sovremennoy nauki, 2017, no. 11, pp.186–189 (in Russian).

5. Balakirev N. A., Orlova E. A., Shumilina N. N., Fedorova O. I., Larina E. E., Novikov M. V. On the mating of domesticated and wild sables (Martes zibellina Linnaeus, 1758) to generate genotypes with various fur coloring. Agricultural Biology, 2023, vol. 58, no. 4, pp. 726–744 (in Russian). https://doi.org/10.15389/agrobiology.2023.4.726rus

6. Beketov S. V., Kazakova T. I., Chernova I. E. Environmental conditions as a provocative background for reproduction indices in sables (Martes zibellina) differing in coat pigmentation heaviness. Vavilov Journal of Genetics and Breeding, 2012, vol. 16, no. 4/2, pp. 1013–1024 (in Russian).

7. Gavrilova M. K. Klimat Tsentral'noi Yakutii [The Climate of Central Yakutia]. Yakutsk, Yakutskoe knizhnoe izdatel'stvo, 1973. 118 p. (in Russian).

8. Gusev O. K. Ekologiya i uchet sobolya [Ecology and Accounting for Sable]. Moscow, Lesnaya promyshlennost', 1966. 124 p. (in Russian).

9. Kashtanov S. N., Lazebny О. Е., Njukhalov А. P., Chernova I. Е., Svisheva G. Р., Trapezov O. V. Heaviness of hair pigmentation and reproductivity in sables (Martes zibellina L.). Vavilov Journal of Genetics and Breeding, 2014, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 245–257 (in Russian).

10. Kashtanov S. N., Zakharov E. S., Begletsov O. A., Svishcheva G. R., Rychkov S. Yu., Filimonov P. A., Onokhov A. A., Levenkova E. S., Meschersky I. G., Rozhnov V. V. Expansion of the sable (Martes zibellina L.) from the north of the Central Siberian plateau into tundra ecosystems. Russian Journal of Genetics, 2022, vol. 58, iss. 8, pp. 955–966. https://doi.org/10.1134/s1022795422080038

11. Lukashev N. A. Materials on the daily activity of sable in northeastern Altai and Western Sayan. In: Sbornik nauchno-tekhnicheskoi informatsii Vsesoyuznogo nauchno-issledovatel'skogo instituta okhotnich'ego khozyaistva i zverovodstva [Collection of Scientific and Technical Information from the All-Russian Research Institute of Hunting and Animal Husbandry]. Kirov, AllRussian Research Institute of Hunting and Animal Husbandry named after Professor B. M. Zhitkov Publ., 1976, iss. 53–55, pp. 18–23 (in Russian).

12. Manakhov A. D., Mintseva M. Yu., Andreeva T. V., Filimonov P. A., Onokhov A. A., Chernova I. E., Kashtanov S. N., Rogaev E. I. Genome analysis of sable fur color links lightened pigmentation phenotype to a frameshift variant in the tyrosinase-related protein 1 gene. Genes, 2021, vol. 12, iss. 2, article no. 157. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12020157

13. Nyuhalov A. P., Svishcheva G. R., Chernova I. E., Lazebny O. E., Kashtanov S. N. Selection on darker fur color in sable and its effect on reproduction. Krolikovodstvo i Zverovodstvo, 2012, no. 6, pp. 8–13 (in Russian).

14. Revin Yu. V., Safronov V. M., Volpert Ya. L., Popov A. L. Ekologiya i dinamika chislennosti mlekopitayushchikh Predverkhoyan'ya [Ecology and Dynamics of Mammal Populations in the Predverhoyan Region]. Novosibirsk, Nauka, 1988. 200 p. (in Russian).

15. Svischeva G. R., Kashtanov S. N. Reproductive strategy of the sable (Martes zibellina Linnaeus 1758): Analysis of litter size inheritance in farm-bred populations. The Herald of Vavilov Society for Geneticists and Breeding Scientists, 2010, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 444–450 (in Russian).

16. Tavrovskiy V. A., Egorov O. V., Krivosheev V. G., Popov M. V., Labutin Yu. V. Mlekopitayushchie Yakutii [Mammals of Yakutia]. Moscow, Nauka, 1971. 660 p. (in Russian).

17. Zakharov E. S., Savvina M. S., Vasiliev M. E., Koryakina L. P., Zakharova N. N. Sable breeding in Yakutia. Krolikovodstvo i Zverovodstvo, 2024, no. 6, pp. 4–10 (in Russian). https://doi.org/10.52178/00234885_2024_6_4

18. Zakharova N. N., Semenova M. A., Zakharov E. S., Anufriev A. I. Some ecological and physiological features of sable (Martes zibellina) in Yakutia. In: Modern Achievements and Problems of Animal Physiology and Feeding. Collection of Abstracts from the International Scientific Forum dedicated to the 120th anniversary of Academician A. D. Sineshchikov and the 100th anniversary of Professor V. A. Krokhina. Podolsk, Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry named after Academy Member L. K. Ernst Publ., 2024, pp. 49–50 (in Russian).

19. Zimin S. V. Primary daily activity data brown bear, elk, wild reindeer, squirrels, sable and white hare obtainedusing photo traps in “Vishersky” Reserve for the period from 2016 to May 2020. Bulletin of Perm State Humanitarian and Pedagogical University. Series 2. Physics, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences, 2020, iss. 1, pp. 9 – 17 (in Russian).