Tesis doctoral de Pere-miquel Parés Casanova
This thesis gives the results of the research done with the farmers of sheep farms in the vall d#aran. It indicates the morphological characteristics of the araneses breed through the study of 31 measurements and 17 indexes of ethnological and functional value, the most important qualitative variables in ethnology as well as a study of the wool. 54 breeding flocks have been investigated, 197 adult animals have been measured biometrically and a sample study of the wool of 53 animals has been carried out. The ovine census in 2003 was of 2,569 ewes and 92 rams, of which 1,489 ewes and 61 rams were considered to be of pure aranese breed. These figures put the araneses breed in category 4, a status indicating danger of extinction according to the criteria of the eaap (european association for animal production). The flocks are of very different sizes. They are reared on extensive natural pastures, taking advantage of high and medium alps in summer. The aranese is not a breed marked out for meat production. The lambs reach optimum weight around easter after rearing by suckling. The way of rearing varies greatly from farm to farm. Slightly less than half the farms synchronize the coming on heat of the ewes by separating them from the rams. In theses farms lambing period goes from march to may and from august to january, peaking in october and november. About three quarters of the breeders periodically practise some form of deparasitation. The electricity supply is irregular on the farms but water resources are always readily avalaible. The main activity of the farmers is not sheep farming. The average age of the farmers is 50.2 yr. In morphological terms the aranese breed exhibits a very pronounced morphological variability between the sexes and no biometrically different subpopulations can be detected at least among in the studied areas. The breed is subhypermetrical and longilineal. Their heads can be defined as subconvex, mesaticephalic, brachicranial and mesoprosopeial, with horns in an open spiral and with a polychrome coat. The white, the black, the #beret# and the #capiroia# are the most common. The wool is made up of closed square tufs wich a clear predominance of short-fine fibres of medium diametre, which are classified as of the commercial type v (xi if it is the black phenotype) according to the spanish classification. In this thesis, starting from the morphological characteristics and from the wool, there is a comparative study of the pyrenean sheep breeds. The aranese breed belongs to the #entrefí occití pirinenc#. Finally, as regards the study of theier genes the degreee of substructuration in the differents alps is very limited and of little significance. Using microsatellite markers, the aranese breed shows high genetic variability and little genetic differentiation in geographically neighbouring breeds such as the tarasconese and the xisqueta. The aranese and the tarasconese appear in similar groupings both genetically and morphologically.
Datos académicos de la tesis doctoral «Caracterització estructural i racial de la raÁ§a ovina aranesa«
- Título de la tesis: Caracterització estructural i racial de la raÁ§a ovina aranesa
- Autor: Pere-miquel Parés Casanova
- Universidad: Autónoma de barcelona
- Fecha de lectura de la tesis: 27/11/2008
Dirección y tribunal
- Director de la tesis
- Jordi Jordana Vidal
- Tribunal
- Presidente del tribunal: amadeu Francesch vidal
- josep María Marmi plana (vocal)
- (vocal)
- (vocal)