Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Determining adrenocortical activity as a measure of stress in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) based on faecal analysis

Determining adrenocortical activity as a measure of stress in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer)... Little is known about the levels of stress experienced by African buffalos affected by injury, disease, or socio-ecological and anthropogenic factors. To be able to start filling this gap, we examined the suitability of two 11-oxoaetiocholanolone enzyme-immunoassays (EIAs) detecting 11,17 dioxoandrostanes (11,17-DOA) as well as faecal glucocorticoid metabolites(FGMs) with a 5β-3α-ol-11-one structure (3α,11oxo-CM), respectively, for monitoring stress-related physiological responses in African buffalo. An adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) challenge in one male and one female housed at Mokopane Biodiversity Conservation Centre, South Africa, showed a threefold increase in circulating cortisol levels in a sample taken 40 min post-injection. Corresponding 11,17-DOA levels increased tenfold (female) and 15-fold (male) above baseline, and 3α,11oxo-CM concentrations increased ninefold (female) and 12-fold (male) above pre-injection levels, indicating that both EIAs are suitable for measuring FGMs in African buffalo.In addition, 11,17-DOA levels monitored during the adaptation process of individual housing revealed an up to 14-fold elevation in FGMs. Storage of faeces at ambient temperature for up to 16 h post-defecation resulted in an significant increase in 11,17-DOA levels 2 h after defecation. Finally, higher individual baseline 11,17-DOA concentrations were found in samples defecated overnight, indicating a possible diurnal effect in excretion of FGMs in African buffalo. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png African Zoology Taylor & Francis

Determining adrenocortical activity as a measure of stress in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) based on faecal analysis

Download PDF
9 pages

Determining adrenocortical activity as a measure of stress in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) based on faecal analysis

Abstract

Little is known about the levels of stress experienced by African buffalos affected by injury, disease, or socio-ecological and anthropogenic factors. To be able to start filling this gap, we examined the suitability of two 11-oxoaetiocholanolone enzyme-immunoassays (EIAs) detecting 11,17 dioxoandrostanes (11,17-DOA) as well as faecal glucocorticoid metabolites(FGMs) with a 5β-3α-ol-11-one structure (3α,11oxo-CM), respectively, for monitoring stress-related physiological...
Loading next page...
 
/lp/taylor-francis/determining-adrenocortical-activity-as-a-measure-of-stress-in-african-4O1VUfvDoa
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© Zoological Society of Southern Africa
ISSN
2224-073X
eISSN
1562-7020
DOI
10.1080/15627020.2012.11407558
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Little is known about the levels of stress experienced by African buffalos affected by injury, disease, or socio-ecological and anthropogenic factors. To be able to start filling this gap, we examined the suitability of two 11-oxoaetiocholanolone enzyme-immunoassays (EIAs) detecting 11,17 dioxoandrostanes (11,17-DOA) as well as faecal glucocorticoid metabolites(FGMs) with a 5β-3α-ol-11-one structure (3α,11oxo-CM), respectively, for monitoring stress-related physiological responses in African buffalo. An adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) challenge in one male and one female housed at Mokopane Biodiversity Conservation Centre, South Africa, showed a threefold increase in circulating cortisol levels in a sample taken 40 min post-injection. Corresponding 11,17-DOA levels increased tenfold (female) and 15-fold (male) above baseline, and 3α,11oxo-CM concentrations increased ninefold (female) and 12-fold (male) above pre-injection levels, indicating that both EIAs are suitable for measuring FGMs in African buffalo.In addition, 11,17-DOA levels monitored during the adaptation process of individual housing revealed an up to 14-fold elevation in FGMs. Storage of faeces at ambient temperature for up to 16 h post-defecation resulted in an significant increase in 11,17-DOA levels 2 h after defecation. Finally, higher individual baseline 11,17-DOA concentrations were found in samples defecated overnight, indicating a possible diurnal effect in excretion of FGMs in African buffalo.

Journal

African Zoology – Taylor & Francis

Published: Apr 1, 2012

Keywords: faecal glucocorticoid metabolites; ACTH challenge test; animal separation; hormone degradation rate; circadian variation

There are no references for this article.