CONCENTRATIONS OF SOME MICROELEMENTS IN T HE FUR OF GREENLAND COYPU DURING ONTOGENY

Experiments were conducted at an Experimental Farm of Fur-Bearing Anim als, affiliated to the Research Institute of Animal Production at Nitr a. The animals were housed in halls in one-storey cages with pools. Th ey received granular feed mix KK, they drank water from the pools and were also given green feed (alfalfa) or fodder beet as a saturation su pplement. The coypus were clinically healthy, in optimum breeding cond ition. The experiment lasted eight months and the experimental observa tion involved approximately 25 males and 25 females depending upon the ir age category. Samples of fur (ca. 2 g) were cut from the animals' f ur in two body regions (middle of the belly), depending upon the growt h of the particular generations of fur: Bt the coypu age of 60 days (p ubescent fur), 135 days (molting) and 240 days (fur maturity); These e lements (in mg per 1 kg dry matter) were determined in fur samples by dispersion X-ray fluorescent spectrometry; Fe, Zn, Sr, Cu, Br, Mn, Pb, Rb. Concentrations of the investigated elements were also determined in feed ingredients. The results acquired were subjected to mathematic o-statistical processing and significance of differences in the arithm etic means between the males and females was tested by t-test. No sign ificant differences in concentrations of the investigated elements wer e determined in the fur from the dorsal region at the age of 60 days b y analysis of between-sexes differences. There were significant (P les s than or equal to 0.01) differences in Cu content only in the fur fro m the ventral region. Similar results like in the pubescent fur were o btained in the molting period at the age of 135 days. Concentrations o f the investigated elements reached approximately the same levels, but there were significant differences in Sr and Cu contents only in the fur from the dorsal region. In the period of fur maturity large betwee n-the-sexes differences were revealed in comparison with pubescent fur and fur in the molting period. Significant differences in the content of these elements were determined in the fur from the dorsal region: Fe (P less than or equal to 0.01), Cu (P less than or equal to 0.05), Mn (P less than or equal to 0.05), Pb (P less than or equal to 0.05) w hile in the fur from the ventral region it was in Pb (P less than or e qual to 0.05) and Rb (P less than or equal to 0.01).