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The food market follows a trend towards the sophistication of supply, which is changing the way to address the creation of value around agricultural production. Nowadays, the concept of quality involves other kinds of variables because the consumer demands products with a certification seal for sustainability, animal welfare, local identity, etc. In this sense, the how and/or where it was produced and/or who generated the product become relevant aspects since they provide background and immerse the product into a story to be told through its consumption, especially in the framework of a territorial vision of rural development. Therefore, local culture, history and prestige become economic assets, capable of generating productive synergies. This review aims to explore the constitutive elements of value which, although hidden, may constitute a story (so far wasted) for a traditional livestock product from southern Chile: the Osorno Steer. The historiography background review allows us to conclude that this product has a unique history that is associated with a clearly distinguishable territory located in the regions of Los Ríos and Los Lagos, a limited genetic origin, a relatively specific mode of production, recognizable quality criteria, and a prestigious name with an identity character. All of this would allow this food to be valued based on its origin, as long as the relationships of said value are specified through a production feasibility protocol., El mercado de alimentos ha seguido una tendencia hacia la sofisticación de la oferta, lo cual está cambiando el enfoque para abordar la creación de valor en torno a la producción agropecuaria. El cómo y/o dónde se produce y/o el quién genera un producto pasan a ser aspectos relevantes, ya que otorgan un relato y sumergen al producto en una historia a contar a través de su consumo, especialmente en el marco de una visión territorial del desarrollo rural. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue revisar y explorar los elementos constitutivos de valor que pudieran estar ocultos constituyendo un relato (hasta el momento desaprovechado) de un producto tradicional de la ganadería del sur de Chile: el Novillo de Osorno. La revisión de antecedentes historiográficos permite concluir que este producto posee una historia singular que se asocia a un territorio claramente distinguible, en lo que hoy son las regiones de Los Ríos y Los Lagos, con un origen genético acotado, un modo de producción relativamente específico, criterios de calidad reconocibles y un nombre prestigioso con carácter identitario. Esto permitiría valorizar este alimento en base a su origen, en la medida que se especifiquen las relaciones de dicho valor con un protocolo con factibilidad productiva.

SUMMARY: The objective of the present work was to characterize the morphostructural architecture of bovine biotypes that are mostly used in milk production in southern Chile. Measurements were carried out in 26 dairy farms located in the provinces of Osorno and Ranco, in Los Lagos and Los Ríos regions, respectively. In each farm, four animals were randomly selected from the herd; 104 four year-old cows were measured. Cows were classified into four biotypes: Holstein Friesian (HD), Overo Negro (OD), hybrid Friesian Holstein (HM) and hybrid Overo Negro (OM), according to the opinion of the owner or administrator. Nine body measurements were taken: head length (HL), head width (HW), withers height (WH), rump height (RH), bicostal diameter (BD), longitudinal diameter (LD), rump width (RW), rump length (RL) and dorso-sternal diameter (DED). Data were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) and the Fisher LSD test. The evaluated animals seem to converge around a basic architecture derived from cultural selection patterns regardless of the racial biotype. This architecture could be typical of grazing systems or be influenced by aspects of selection additional to those directly related to production. The data suggest that the body architecture of the dairy cattle evaluated would respond to selection patterns more than to racial biotypes. It was also seen that measures such as DED, RW and LD have a greater incidence than the other variables within the observed common selection patterns. Finally, within the evaluated animal population, two selection patterns coexist, one represented by small size body architecture and another one that, although despite its larger dimensions, also represents a small dairy animal in comparison to the sizes reported for Holstein Friesian breed in other areas. RESUMEN: El objetivo de este trabajo fue caracterizar la arquitectura morfoestructural de los biotipos bovinos que mayoritariamente se utilizan en la producción de leche en el sur de Chile. Para ello se realizaron evaluaciones en 26 predios lecheros ubicados en las provincias de Osorno y Ranco, en las regiones de Los Lagos y Los Ríos, respectivamente. Se midieron 104 animales clasificados en cuatro biotipos según lo declarado por los ganaderos: Holstein Friesian (HD), Overo negro (OD) y cruzamientos de Holstein Friesian (HM) y Overo Negro (OM). En cada animal se determinaron nueve medidas corporales: longitud de la cabeza (HL), ancho de la cabeza (HW), alzada a la cruz (WH), alzada a la grupa (RH), diámetro bicostal (BD), diámetro longitudinal (LD), ancho de la grupa (RW), longitud de la grupa (RL) y diámetro dorso-esternal (DED). Los datos se analizaron mediante análisis de componentes principales (PCA) y el test de Fischer LSD, usando para ello el programa XLstat pro. De acuerdo a los resultados se puede concluir que, independiente del biotipo racial, los animales evaluados parecen converger en torno a una arquitectura básica derivada de patrones de selección fenotípica con un componente cultural que pudiera ser propia de los sistemas de pastoreo, o influenciada por aspectos de selección adicionales a los relacionados directamente a la producción. En este sentido, los datos indican que la arquitectura corporal del ganado lechero respondería más a patrones de selección que a biotipos raciales. También se apreció que la profundidad (DED), el ancho de grupa (RW) y el largo (LD) presentan una mayor incidencia que las demás variables evaluadas dentro de los patrones de selección común observados. Finalmente, fue posible apreciar que al interior de la población animal evaluada coexisten dos patrones de selección. Uno representado por una arquitectura corporal de pequeño tamaño y otro que, si bien exhibe mayores dimensiones, también representa un tipo de animal lechero de menor tamaño en comparación a las dimensiones que alcanzan los biotipos relacionados a la raza Holstein Friesian en otras zonas.

SUMMARY: The present study aimed to assess the degree of body architecture differentiation between Creole goats, two introduced breeds and their hybrids in semi arid areas of the north of Chile. The study was carried out between 2012 and 2015. One hundred and eighty five adult female goats belonging to 17 herds from the Coquimbo region were used. Ten animals of the Saanen breed and 10 animals of the Anglo nubian breed belonging to two hatcheries and 165 Creole and hybrid goats belonging to small farmers were measured. The animals were categorized into pure breed (20), hybrid (52) and creole (113). Eight body measurements were taken: head length (HL), head width (HW), longitudinal diameter (LD), bicostal diameter (BD), dorsal-sternal diameter (DSD), rump width (RW), rump length (RL) and whithers height (WH). Data were submitted to principal component analysis (PCA) and Fisher LSD test, using the XLSTAT-Pro Statistic software. The analysis indicated the existence of homogeneity subsets within the population, without a common architectural pattern for the entire population. The Creole biotype showed a smaller body architecture than the two breeds and hybrids with which it was compared, which could be an adaptative result. It is possible to assess that the Creole biotype has a differentiated body architecture with respect to the introduced goat breeds and the animals hybridized in different proportions. In addittion, it was observed that Creole goats maintain distinctive characteristics and they are differentiable even of the individuals with different degrees of hybridization. RESUMEN: El presente estudio tuvo por objetivo identificar si existe diferenciación en la arquitectura corporal entre caprinos Criollos, razas introducidas y rebaños hibridados con las mismas. El estudio se llevó a cabo entre 2012 y 2015 en la región de Coquimbo, Chile. Ciento ochenta y cinco cabras fueron estudiadas, pertenecientes a 17 rebaños distintos. Se midieron 10 animales de raza Saanen y 10 animales de raza Anglo nubian presentes en dos criaderos, y 165 animales Criollos e híbridos en predios de productores. Ocho medidas corporales fueron determinadas: longitud de la cabeza (HL), ancho de la cabeza (HW), diámetro longitudinal (LD), diámetro bicostal (BD), diámetro dorso-esternal (DSD), ancho de la grupa (RW), longitud de la grupa (RH) y alzada a la cruz (WH). Los datos de medidas se analizaron mediante análisis de componentes principales (PCA) y test LSD de Fischer con el programa estadístico XLSTAT Pro. Los resultados indican que las diferencias entre variables refllejan la existencia de subcojuntos de homogeneidad dentro de la población, no apreciándose un patron arquitectónico común para toda la población. De esta manera, el biotipo Criollo presenta una arquitectura corporal más reducida que las razas con las que se compara en este estudio, lo cual pudiera ser una respuesta adaptativa. En este sentido, es posible afirmar que el biotipo Criollo presenta una arquitectura corporal diferenciada respecto de las razas introducidas a la región y a los animales hibridados en distintas proporciones con dichas razas, con lo cual es posible observar que mantiene características distintivas y que es diferenciable incluso de distintos grados de hibridaje presente en dicha población.

Polyurethane foam(PUF) disks in passive air samplers (PAS) and passive dry deposition (Pas-DD) collectors were used to assess the presence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and current-use pesticides (CUPs) in a rural area of central Chile (Peumo, VI Region). The samplers were exposed from September 2015 (spring) to March 2016 (summer), with the PUFs collected at intervals of 30, 60, and 90 days. Both samplers (PUF-PAS and Pas-DD) captured more than one pesticide per sampling period. Chlorpyrifos-ethyl and pyrimethanil presented the highest air concentration with PUF-PAS (3470.2 ng m(-3) for chlorpyrifos-ethyl and 52.8 ng m(-3) for pyrimethanil). The deposited amount of chlorpyrifos-ethyl, pyrimethanil, penconazole, diazinon and malathion in some Pas-DD, was superior to amount of pesticides captured by PUF-PAS. Differences between the amount deposited and captured by each sampler should be studied in greater detail, because wind speed, atmospheric particulate matter size and sampler design are some fundamental variables in this process. These results provide preliminary information on the presence of current-use pesticides in the atmosphere of Peumo, VI Region, serving as a foundation for future environmental monitoring programs. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Aim of this paper is to describe the protocol of the study "Impact of a Community-based Program on Prevention and Mitigation of Frailty in community-dwelling older adults" developed in the framework of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing. This proposal has been developed by the Partnership Action groups on frailty, fall prevention and polypharmacy in older. The proposal wants to assess the impact of community-based programs aimed to counteract three main outcomes related to frailty: hospitalization, institutionalization and death. Bringing together researchers from seven European countries, the proposal aims to achieve the critical mass and the geographical extension enough to provide information useful to all older European citizens. An observational study will be carried out to calculate the incidence of the different outcomes in relation to the various interventions that will be assessed; results will be compared with data coming from already established national, regional and local dataset using the observed/expected approach. The sample will be made up by at least 2000 citizens for each outcome. All the citizens will be assessed at the baseline with two multidimensional questionnaires: the RISC questionnaire and the Short Functional Geriatric Evaluation questionnaire. The outcomes will be assessed every six-twelve months.

Objetivo: Determinar la concordancia entre el estado nutricional y la percepción de la imagen corporal en universitarios chilenos y panameños. Métodos: Estudio observacional transversal en 792 estudiantes de ambos sexos, de 18 a 30 años de edad de la Universidad Santo Tomás de Vina del Mar en Chile, la Universidad Autónoma de Chile y la Universidad Latinoamericana de Ciencia y Tecnología (ULACIT) de Panamá. Se determinó el IMC real y el IMC percibido y luego éstos fueron comparados. Resultados: De 792 estudiantes evaluados, 480 eran de Chile (51,4% mujeres) y 312 de Panamá (56,7% mujeres). El IMC percibido por los chilenos fue mayor al real, en hombres y mujeres (60%); en cambio, los panameños presentan una sobreestimación menor al 50% en ambos sexos. En ambos países y para ambos sexos el porcentaje de estudiantes que se perciben igual es similar (20%). Hay concordancia diagnóstica entre el IMC y la imagen corporal en la mitad de los alumnos chilenos y en un tercio de las alumnas, pero la mejor concordancia se observó en personas con sobrepeso (69% y 90,5% respectivamente). En los panameños se observó concordancia diagnóstica de 40% en varones y 19,2% en mujeres; la mejor concordancia se observó en hombres con sobrepeso (83%). Conclusión: En los estudiantes con normopeso de ambos países existe una tendencia a sobreestimar el peso, mientras que por el contrario los obesos tienden a subestimarlo.

The body shape of an animal population determines ranges of biological functionality and productive use. In sheep, meat productivity is closely related with the body size of the animal. Some sheep breeds are used in terminal crossbreeding to give the lamb favorable dimensional characteristics, but it is necessary to go deeper on the study of the relationships between morphostructure and productive aptitude of these breeds, since discrepancies could be due to the environmental effects or the degree of differentiation between the original pool of different breeds and the local populations. The study aimed to evaluate the morphostructural characters in four sheep breeds in Chile and discuss their relationship with the productive functionality of the body architecture. Two hundred and seventy-eight sheep belonging to Texel, Dorset, Coopworth and Suffolk Down breeds were used. Eleven body measurements (heart girth circumference, rump width, rump length, width of the cranium, length of the cranium, dorsal-sternal diameter, bicostal diameter, longitudinal diameter, cannon bone circumference, height at rump and height at withers) were taken. Nine zoometric indices (body index, cephalic index, thorax index, thorax depth index, pelvic index, longitudinal pelvic index, transverse pelvic index), metacarpal thorax index and metacarpal costal index) were composed from the individual measurements. The most important morphostructural relationships that contribute to explain the variability of the format of the four breeds of sheep studied were expressed by the metacarpal-thoracic index, the metacarpal-costal index, the thorax index and the bicostal index. Moreover, the breeds showed a high dispersion; the zoometric indices only partially explained the variability of the body format, expressing high format heterogeneity in influential variables as the metacarpal-thoracic index, the metacarpal-costal index and the body index. This could be because these racial populations are subjected to processes of differentiation within each breed. La forma del cuerpo de una población animal determina rangos de funcionalidad biológica y su uso productivo. En las ovejas, la productividad de la carne está muy relacionada con el tamaño del cuerpo del animal. Algunas razas de ovejas se utilizan en cruzamientos terminales para dar al cordero características dimensionales favorables, pero es necesario profundizar en el estudio de las relaciones entre morfoestructura y aptitud productiva de estas razas, ya que las discrepancias podrían deberse a los efectos del medio ambiente o al grado de la diferenciación entre la piscina original de diferentes razas y las poblaciones locales. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo evaluar los caracteres morfoestructurales en cuatro razas de ovinos en Chile y la relación de la funcionalidad productiva con la arquitectura del cuerpo. Se utilizaron 278 ovejas, raza Suffolk Down, pertenecientes a Texel, Dorset, Coopworth. Se tomaron 11 mediciones en el cuerpo (circunferencia del corazón, ancho del lomo, rabadilla, ancho del cráneo, longitud del cráneo, diámetro esternaldorsal, diámetro bicostal, diámetro longitudinal, circunferencia de hueso de la caña, altura de cadera y altura a la cruz). Nueve índices zoométricos (índice corporal, índice cefálico, índice de tórax, índice de profundidad del tórax, índice de la pelvis, índice pélvico longitudinal, índice transversal de la pelvis, índice metacarpiano del tórax e índice metacarpiano costal) fueron determinados a partir de mediciones individuales. Las relaciones morfoestructurales más importantes que contribuyen a explicar la variabilidad del formato de las cuatro razas de ovejas estudiadas se expresaron por el índice metacarpiano-torácico, el índice metacarpiano-costal, el índice de tórax y el índice bicostal. Por otra parte, las razas mostraron una alta dispersión de los índices zoométricos que explican sólo parcialmente la variabilidad del formato de cuerpo, la alto heterogeneidad de formato en las variables influyentes como el índice metacarpiano-torácica, el índice metacarpiano-costal y el índice del cuerpo. Esto podría ser debido a que estas poblaciones raciales son sometidos a procesos de diferenciación dentro de cada raza.

The moisture content variations in wood have a significant influence in wood’s physicochemical properties, as well as in its electromagnetic properties and to specific effects upon waves’ characteristics. In particular, this paper focuses on the analysis of the Ground-penetrating Radar’s (GPR) using an antenna of 1.6GHz central frequency capacity to register the velocity and the amplitude of the electromagnetic waves’ variation during the drying process of Pinus pinaster Ait timber joists. The results showed that when timber MC descends, the propagation velocity and amplitude of both the direct and the reflected wave increased. The high correlation found between the variables studied demonstrates GPR efficiency and the innovative application of this technique as a non-destructive evaluation tool for timber structures, particularly when studying its moisture content.La variación en el contenido de humedad (CH) tiene una influencia significativa tanto en las propiedades físico- químicas de la madera, como en sus propiedades electromagnéticas y por tanto afecta a las características de la propagación de las ondas. En concreto, en este trabajo se estudia la capacidad del georradar (GR) empleando una antena de 1.6GHz de frecuencia central para registrar las variaciones que se producen en la velocidad y en la amplitud de las ondas electromagnéticas cuando se propagan en unas viguetas de madera de Pinus pinaster Ait de uso estructural cuyo CH va disminuyendo. Se ha comprobado como cuando el CH descendía la velocidad de propagación y las amplitudes, tanto de la onda directa como de la reflejada aumentaba. Los altos factores de correlación encontrados demuestran que el GR es una técnica capaz de evaluar, de forma no destructiva, el CH de la madera de uso estructural.

El estado actual de la contaminación ambiental con Sustancias Persistentes Bioacumulables y Toxicas (PBTS) en los alimentos y población Chilena es prácticamente desconocida. Por este motivo esta comunicación corta tiene como objeto abrir la discusión sobre la necesidad de evaluar el nivel de contaminación por PBTS proveniente de los alimentos que consume la población Chilena, considerando a la dieta como una principal vía de exposición.

© 2015 Macmillan Publishers Limited. Ruminant livestock are important sources of human food and global greenhouse gas emissions. Feed degradation and methane formation by ruminants rely on metabolic interactions between rumen microbes and affect ruminant productivity. Rumen and camelid foregut microbial community composition was determined in 742 samples from 32 animal species and 35 countries, to estimate if this was influenced by diet, host species, or geography. Similar bacteria and archaea dominated in nearly all samples, while protozoal communities were more variable. The dominant bacteria are poorly characterised, but the methanogenic archaea are better known and highly conserved across the world. This universality and limited diversity could make it possible to mitigate methane emissions by developing strategies that target the few dominant methanogens. Differences in microbial community compositions were predominantly attributable to diet, with the host being less influential. There were few strong co-occurrence patterns between microbes, suggesting that major metabolic interactions are non-selective rather than specific., We thank Ron Ronimus, Paul Newton, and Christina Moon for reading and commenting on the manuscript. We thank all who provided assistance that allowed Global Rumen Census collaborators to supply samples and metadata (Supplemental Text 1). AgResearch was funded by the New Zealand Government as part of its support for the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases. The following funding sources allowed Global Rumen Census collaborators to supply samples and metadata, listed with the primary contact(s) for each funding source: Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovación, Martín Fraga; Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency, Canada, Tim A. McAllister; Area de Ciencia y Técnica, Universidad Juan A Maza (Resolución Proy. N° 508/2012), Diego Javier Grilli; Canada British Columbia Ranching Task Force Funding Initiative, John Church; CNPq, Hilário Cuquetto Mantovani, Luiz Gustavo Ribeiro Pereira; FAPEMIG, Hilário Cuquetto Mantovani; FAPEMIG, PECUS RumenGases, Luiz Gustavo Ribeiro Pereira; Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science & Technology Development (project number PJ010906), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea, Sang-Suk Lee; Dutch Dairy Board & Product Board Animal Feed, André Bannink, Kasper Dieho, Jan Dijkstra; Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Vahideh Heidarian Miri; Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ilma Tapio; Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Argentina (Project PNBIO1431044), Silvio Cravero, María Cerón Cucchi; Irish Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Alexandre B. De Menezes; Meat & Livestock Australia; and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry (Australian Government), Chris McSweeney; Ministerio de Agricultura y desarrollo sostenible (Colombia), Olga Lucía Mayorga; Montana Agricultural Experiment Station project (MONB00113), Carl Yeoman; Multistate project W-3177 Enhancing the competitiveness of US beef (MONB00195), Carl Yeoman; NSW Stud Merino Breeders’ Association, Alexandre Vieira Chaves; Queensland Enteric Methane Hub, Diane Ouwerkerk; RuminOmics, Jan Kopecny, Ilma Tapio; Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) of the Scottish Government and the Technology Strategy Board, UK, R. John Wallace; Science Foundation Ireland (09/RFP/GEN2447), Sinead Waters; Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación, Mario A. Cobos-Peralta; Slovenian Research Agency (project number J1-6732 and P4-0097), Blaz Stres; Strategic Priority Research Program, Climate Change: Carbon Budget and Relevant Issues (Grant No.XDA05020700), ZhiLiang Tan; The European Research Commission Starting Grant Fellowship (336355—MicroDE), Phil B. Pope; The Independent Danish Research Council (project number 4002-00036), Torsten Nygaard Kristensen; and The Independent Danish Research Council (Technology and Production, project number 11-105913), Jan Lassen. These funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

The retrieval of series of proxy data on the past climate will serve to acquire a deeper understanding of the climate system and a more accurate prediction of its future development, as a priority task for the scientific community. In particular, the analysis of climate data of the past is an essential tool for studying the dynamics of the earth's climatic system in conditions different from present ones, and irreplaceable for testing the validity of medium- and long-term forecasting models. The determination of the influence of anthropogenic impacts on the planet’s environment is predicated on a clear understanding of the natural ways in which the earth's climate responds to the complex set of external forcings. Therefore, in recent decades, many national and international research groups have focused attention on the study of the climate evolution in late-Quaternary sediments from the Mediterranean area. By virtue of its close relationship with continental masses subject to different climatic processes, the Mediterranean basin permits the documentation of climate evolution both globally and in the Northern Hemisphere. Finally, it is worth noting that shallow sea (continental shelf) areas are natural repositories for the monitoring of short-term climate change and anthropogenic impacts on the marine system. To make available information on climate history and environment yielded by marine sediments, this WP will be dedicated to analyzing and, where possible, collecting cores of marine sediments, especially those drilled in shallow sea environments, and focusing on climate dynamics in the Mediterranean over past centuries. During its course, the project will analyse and, where possible, sample marine sediment cores in continental shelf environments and in different sectors of the Mediterranean basin. Previous studies have indicated them as key sites for the identification of major short-term climate fluctuations, due to global and local forces active during the Quaternary and particularly in the past thousand years. In fact, the possibility of enriching the databases referring to this time interval (to date, still limited to the Mediterranean) will provide new working hypotheses for the implementation of numerical models that attempt simulate how the Mediterranean, in particular the marine-coastal sector, has responded to past climate dynamics (Medieval Warm Period / Little Ice Age transition, Little Ice Age, the Industrial Age, and Modern Warming). The cores obtained will be the focus of multidisciplinary studies involving national and international research groups.

The analysis of tsunami catalogues and of data published on NOAA web site pointed out that in the Mediterranean basin from 2000 years B.C. to present about 480 tsunamis occurred of which at least a third involved the Italian peninsula. Within this framework we present a GIS-aided procedure that takes advantage of spatial analysis to apply the Papathoma Tsunami Vulnerability Assessment model at urban scale, aiming at assessing the vulnerability of wide areas at spatial resolution of the census district. The method was applied to the sector of Napoli city enclosed between the Posillipo hill and the Somma-Vesuvio volcano because of the high population rates (apex value of 5000 inh/km2) and potential occurrence of hazardous events as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and mass failures that can trigger tsunamis. The vulnerability status of the urban environment was depicted into a map. About the 21% of the study area, corresponding with the lowlands along the shoreline, shows a very high tsunami vulnerability high vulnerability characterizes the 26% of territory while medium-low vulnerability typifies a wide area of the Sebeto-Volla plain, ca 800 m far from the shoreline. This map results a good tool to plan the actions aimed at reducing risk and promote resilience of the territory.

In this paper, the degree of differentiation and morphostructural variability reached by the type of animal resulting from sustained directional selection, in addition to its implications for the emergence of a new sheep breed are analyzed. Twenty-five rams and 200 ewes from a sheep flock submitted to directional selection since 1987 were measured. Thirteen body measurements were taken in other to evaluate the structural morphology and sexual dimorphism. These measurements were compared with identical measures taken in Australian Merino and Marin Magellan Meat Merino sheep breeds. The intrapopulation homogeneity was assessed using the coefficients of variation of the average percentage of body measurements. It is concluded that sustained directional selection has generated the differentiation of the morphostructural format of the subject population compared to the main Merino-type breeds in the Chilean Patagonia. The population shows a similar (and in some cases lower) morphostructural variability than those found in recognized sheep breeds in Chile, so it is possible to state that this population behaves like a different animal group, with breed characteristics. En el presente trabajo se analiza el grado de diferenciación y variabilidad morfoestructural alcanzado por el tipo de animal resultante de una selección direccional sostenida y sus implicancias en la emergencia de un nuevo grupo racial ovino. Se midieron 25 machos y 200 ovejas adultas. Se tomaron 13 medidas corporales, evaluando la diferenciación de la morfología estructural y el dimorfismo sexual. Estas mediciones se compararon con las realizadas en animales de raza Merino Australiano y Marin Magellan Meat Merino. La homogeneidad intrapoblacional se evaluó a través de los coeficientes de variación porcentual de las medias de las medidas corporales. Se concluye que la selección direccional realizada de forma sostenida ha generado una diferenciación del formato morfoestructural al comparar a la población sujeta a selección con las principales raza de tipo Merino existentes en la Patagonia Chilena. La población evaluada evidencia una variabilidad morfoestructural similar, y en muchos casos menor a la encontrada en razas ovinas reconocidas como tales en Chile, con lo cual es posible señalar que se comporta como un grupo animal distinguible con caracteres de raza.