A. Climent

Phenotypic and genetic parameters of birth weight and weaning weight of rabbits born from unilaterally ovariectomized and intact does

Abstract Litters from 130 does of a synthetic line were used in the experiment. The left ovary was removed before puberty in 64 of these females (ULO does). The offspring of the first and second parities of all the does was individually weighed at birth (IBW) and at weaning (IWW). Litter size was higher in the intact does, but survival from birth to first week was the same for both groups. The relationship between survival and average birth weight was slightly positive for intact females and null for ULO does. Survival showed a low negative relationship with litter size in intact females, and null for ULO does. IBW was higher in kits of ULO females. IWW was also higher in kits of ULO females, but this difference disappeared when corrected for litter size. The correlation between the number born alive and the standard deviation within litter of individual birth weight was null for both groups. The heritabilites of IBW were 0.21 and 0.26 in kits of ULO and intact does, and 0.25 and 0.24 for IWW in kits of ULO and intact does. Genetic correlation between IBW in kits of ULO and intact females was 0.98, and 0.90 for IWW. It does not seem that birth weight is now a main factor responsible of the variation in postnatal survival, but if selection for litter size at birth leads to lower survivals, birth weight can be included as an objective of selection.

Letter form de editor board: World rabbit science: towards an open access journal

Dear World Rabbit Science readers: World Rabbit Science’s main aim has always been to provide universal access to scientifi c knowledge in the fi eld of cuniculture. From the outset, World Rabbit Science has engaged in different actions designed to achieve this goal. One example of this is the fact that since 2008, World Rabbit Science has published its contents online, allowing free access to all articles, reviews, conference abstracts… with the exception of the last two years, when they were only accessible by subscription. World Rabbit Science is also fully accessible in many developing countries through the AGORA platform....