Years ago there were differences of opinion on Ferret-Genetics that got
heated with some people talking about ruby (light red into medium red)
vs garnet (darker so some pigment may be present) eyes in ferrets.
There was one male who said there were no such differences.

Later a study came out showing that most male humans simply can not
discriminate among the reds anywhere near as well as most human women
which may be why the discussion devolved.

Now there is this human study:
http://www.womenshealth.gov/news/headlines/668256.cfm

beginning:
>Males seem better with fine detail, rapidly moving images; females
>seem better differentiating colors.

Sept. 3 in the journal Biology of Sex Differences

This also makes me interested because in ferret visual studies except
for albinos ferrets are very good at honing in on motion as are a
number of members of Carnivora. There are many visual studies in
ferrets and more can be learned at PubMed where 87 results come up
for the search term
ferret vision
though none for
ferret vision gender
or other configurations that could relate to the new human study.

Of course, both genders have the androgens (including testosterone) and
the estrogens -- although in different proportions, and the hormones
can be turned into each other in the body as need arises, plus ferrets
are usually awash in a multigender environment as fetuses -- so the
hypothesized mechanism may turn out to be valid once studied well
enough, or perhaps there is a different route to such differences. If
so, it is a new action for an androgen.

It would be interesting to know if ferrets differ btwn females and
males within their ranges in terms of these types of perception. Also,
it would be interesting to know just why albino ferrets appear to be
worse at a range of visual tasks including motion detection, and it may
be simple eye differences, and if they develop with the related brain
centers partly devoted to another sense making that sense better, or
not.

Sukie (not a vet)  Ferrets make the world a game.

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html

"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)

A nation is as free as the least within it.

[Posted in FML 7541]