Congrats. Can't wait to see pictures!
New Congo pups
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I'm very excited about these pups. Particularly the b/w girl that Dr. Jo mentioned. Apparently they saw a decent number of b/w dogs over in the Congo this time compared to past trips where they really hadn't seen any in that general area. (I'm not really sure where they were this time compared to previous trips.) I guess since black is a dominant color it probably can spread pretty quickly if given the chance. Maybe Jon and the others were really unlucky seeing them in past trips? I find it fascinating.
Edit: Oops, Quercus already said some of this.
That's okay Clay! I find it exciting and fascinating too…it doesn't hurt to repeat and keep the info fresh for people
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I'm very excited about these pups. Particularly the b/w girl that Dr. Jo mentioned. Apparently they saw a decent number of b/w dogs over in the Congo this time compared to past trips where they really hadn't seen any in that general area. (I'm not really sure where they were this time compared to previous trips.) I guess since black is a dominant color it probably can spread pretty quickly if given the chance. Maybe Jon and the others were really unlucky seeing them in past trips? I find it fascinating.
As I understand (and I am happy to be corrected), these puppies came from the same general area that the previous Avongara puppies have all come from; the location where the majority of native stock founder basenjis have come from now.
Just because black is the dominant color on the locus of the carrier, does not equate to black as a color "dominating" the population. It is entirely dependent on selection pressures of the population. A dominant gene doesn't spread (increase in frequency) unless favored by selection. To increase in frequency of a population there has to be selection in favor of one or another color. There needs to be some "advantage" to the color (either real or perceived) by the population who make the breeding selection. What you have is a relatively uncommon gene which happens to be dominant and thus readily apparent when it is present. Since the presence of homozygous individuals does NOT increase the frequency of the gene (absent selection, or genetic drift), the proportion of black individuals in the population should remain approximately constant over time unless there is some dramatic shift in the selection pressure. Dominance does not equate to prevalence in population genetics.
And of course we know that black is a mutation of the beta defensin gene. -
@JoT:
As I understand (and I am happy to be corrected), these puppies came from the same general area that the previous Avongara puppies have all come from; the location where the majority of native stock founder basenjis have come from now.
Just because black is the dominant color on the locus of the carrier, does not equate to black as a color "dominating" the population. It is entirely dependent on selection pressures of the population. A dominant gene doesn't spread (increase in frequency) unless favored by selection. To increase in frequency of a population there has to be selection in favor of one or another color. There needs to be some "advantage" to the color (either real or perceived) by the population who make the breeding selection. What you have is a relatively uncommon gene which happens to be dominant and thus readily apparent when it is present. Since the presence of homozygous individuals does NOT increase the frequency of the gene (absent selection, or genetic drift), the proportion of black individuals in the population should remain approximately constant over time unless there is some dramatic shift in the selection pressure. Dominance does not equate to prevalence in population genetics.
And of course we know that black is a mutation of the beta defensin gene.Thanks, Jo for the genetics correction and lesson.
I believe they said that red was still the overwhelming color present so I guess any changes in the relative percentage of black dogs in the population as a whole are still pretty small. I was just looking at it from a little too simplistic perspective knowing that by chance, you sometimes you get all black (or vice versus) when breeding to a red in a litter, so over a few years span you could locally have a relatively larger number of blacks appear. But that fluctuation probably would correct itself over a pretty short period of time.So, I'm guessing the "they were unlucky seeing them the previous trips" is the prevailing hypothesis then?
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I, too, would be interested in the Facebook link in order to see pictures. I'm not a member of the Yahoo Group, so can't view pictures there.
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I want to see pics too..but none of the links worked for me..
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Ok, so I finally saw the pics James posted on the group page…wow...adorable..the b/w is super cute..well, so are the r/w's..:D
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Thanks, Jo for the genetics correction and lesson.
I believe they said that red was still the overwhelming color present so I guess any changes in the relative percentage of black dogs in the population as a whole are still pretty small. I was just looking at it from a little too simplistic perspective knowing that by chance, you sometimes you get all black (or vice versus) when breeding to a red in a litter, so over a few years span you could locally have a relatively larger number of blacks appear. But that fluctuation probably would correct itself over a pretty short period of time.
So, I'm guessing the "they were unlucky seeing them the previous trips" is the prevailing hypothesis then?I apologize if my remarks sounded "teachy" or as if I was correcting you. That was not my intent. In actuality, I think your comments are spot on target.
Yes, I understand that red was still seen as most often. But, I was told that black & white was the second most common (but, as you pointed out far behind in numbers compared to red) color seen ubiquitously … from the very first day and during the whole trip; in almost every settlement even when separated by miles; and of all age groups on this trip. Black and whites were "abundant" on this trip.
It will certainly be very exciting when they start publishing stories and details. I am thrilled about their finds. In my opinion, they all three are beautiful little basenjis. -
Anyone else having issues logging into Yahoo Groups? It was telling me that my sign in name was not accepted? (The same name I have been using for many, many years.) Then it kept asking me to register but kept refusing my email address. I finally got it to work somehow but I don't know why it was such a pain.
I am happy that more pups were brought back and even happier that one is a black/white. I hope we get to see more of these pups soon.
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I agree Jo, they are all lovely puppies complete with Breed Type
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Sharron,
Whose facebook name or what group are these dogs being written about? I want to follow them. -
I'm very excited to see the pups, and quite thrilled about a BW being selected. The distribution of colors makes sense to me, it fits into a basic population dynamic theory. Dr. Jo - if you ever need an ecologist on a trip, I'm your girl.
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Re the facebook access. I have NO idea how to fix it.
Any help anyone?? -
@JoT:
I apologize if my remarks sounded "teachy" or as if I was correcting you. That was not my intent.
Oh no, I didn't think that at all. You put a lot more depth behind my comments and thought it was very appropriate. I love evoluntionary biology/genetics but only get into it from a more casual reader perspective.
You have real-life experience involved with this type of subject, which is why I will make a not-so-shameless plug for your seminar at the BCOA National in Manitowoc, WI this September. People can go to the Specialty site for details.
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Sharon, you should be able to go to the Facebook page where the pictures are, highlight the URL, copy, and then paste it here.
If that's what you did previously (I, too, just got the sign-in page with a "wavecable" email address), then just tell us the name of the person/group where these pictures can be found and we should be able to do our own search (unless the person/group has their security set such that their name isn't searchable).
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Re the facebook access. I have NO idea how to fix it.
Any help anyone??You can either let people know the name of the person who posted the pictures so they can go to their profile (and friend them if necessary) or ask the person if they can give you a link to that particular photo album (there is a link at the very bottom of the album page which allows people who are not on Facebook to see the album) to share.
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Ok, friend James Johannes.
He is the one who took the Photos of Katie's new imports. -
The b/w are certainly interesting and look really cute - I know Jon saw them on a previous trip but they were very elusive. He told us that when he came to give a talk at our club show.
You're very lucky as many of you'll, I assume, have the opportunity to see them 'in the flesh' in the future. I hope we'll see a lot more pictures.
