Urinary corticosterone responses and haematological stress indicators in the endangered Fijian ground frog (Platymantis vitiana) during transportation and captivity

2011 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Narayan ◽  
Jean-Marc Hero
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
In Situ Conservation ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Outdoor Enclosure ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Fiji Island ◽  
Logical Representation

Physiological stress assessment is important for in-situ conservation and captive management of threatened wildlife. Leukocyte (white blood cell) evaluation, especially the neutrophil : lymphocyte (N : L) ratio, provides a logical representation of experimentally elevated corticosterone (stress hormone) in amphibians. Urinary corticosterone enzyme-immunoassay (EIA) is a rapid non-invasive tool for assessing stress responses in amphibians. To our knowledge, no one has explored the relationship between N : L ratio and urinary corticosterone in wild amphibians in a non-experimental way. This study provides a comparative assessment of relative leukocyte numbers, N : L ratios and urinary corticosterone responses of the endangered Fijian ground frog (Platymantis vitiana) during transportation and captivity. Adult frogs (n = 40) were collected from Viwa, Fiji Island for captive breeding. Frogs showed significant changes in leukocyte proportions during transportation and captivity. N : L ratios were higher 6 h after transportation and over 5 and 15 days in captivity. Urinary corticosterone responses of the frogs were also higher 6 h after transportation and after 5 and 15 days in captivity. All leukocyte proportions, N : L ratios and urinary corticosterone concentrations of the frogs returned near baseline levels after the frogs were kept in an environmentally enriched outdoor enclosure for over 25 days. These results highlight the value of leukocyte evaluation and urinary corticosterone EIAs as physiological tools for evaluating stress in amphibians.

Patagonian huemul deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus) under captive conditions: an historical overview

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Vidal ◽  
Jo Anne M. Smith-Flueck ◽  
Werner T. Flueck ◽  
Eduardo Arias
Keyword(s):  
Captive Breeding ◽  
The Past ◽  
Construction Design ◽  
Captive Breeding Program ◽  
Hippocamelus Bisulcus ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Current Program ◽  
Endangered Status ◽  
Historical Accounts

Huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) is a native deer of Patagonia whose endangered status has raised concerns for several decades, and yet conservation efforts to reverse this situation have not succeeded for most populations. Captive breeding projects attempted in the past were short-lived; animals were often lost due to poor methodology or unsanitary conditions during capture, transport stresses and rudimentary husbandry, and reintroductions could not be realised. Despite inappropriate capture and transport techniques of the past, a few individuals did make it to captive centres where they managed to survive for several years, with a minimum of eight births recorded. Regardless of the successes, it is the past failures that impinge upon today’s conservation efforts. In Argentina, a recent financially backed proposal – establishing a huemul breeding centre and including an in situ reintroduction program – was prevented by the prevailing opinion that captive breeding was neither feasible nor a necessary conservation tool for huemul. In Chile, the Huilo Huilo Foundation was able to obtain government consent and to establish the only captive breeding project in the last two decades with the main objective of reintroducing individuals in the future. Here we present some of the historical accounts to demonstrate the suitability of the species to captivity. We then describe the Chilean semi-captive breeding program (begun in 2005) including capture, transport, site selection, construction design and maintenance procedures of the two centres. The first centre has grown from an initial two adults to nine individuals. The second centre, which initially served for rehabilitation of an injured male, is awaiting arrival of some females. The success of the current program demonstrates that huemul can do well in captivity, and wherever considered beneficial, could serve as a significant conservation tool for the recovery of the species, inclusive of a research program and reintroductions to qualified sites.

scholarly journals Ark or park: the need to predict relative effectiveness of ex situ and in situ conservation before attempting captive breeding

2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 841-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul M. Dolman ◽  
Nigel J. Collar ◽  
Keith M. Scotland ◽  
Robert. J. Burnside
Keyword(s):  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Relative Effectiveness ◽  
In Situ Conservation ◽  
Ex Situ

scholarly journals Conservation and behavior of Africa’s “Big Five”

2014 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 486-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Caro ◽  
Jason Riggio
Keyword(s):  
Big Five ◽  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
In Situ Conservation ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Flagship Species ◽  
African Species ◽  
In The Wild

Abstract We examine the conservation status of Africa’s “Big Five”: lion, leopard, buffalo, black and white rhinoceros and elephant, and the role of behavioral knowledge in their conservation. Efforts to conserve these flagship species consist of in situ conservation, captive breeding and reintroductions. With a few exceptions, we find limited evidence that knowledge of behavior informs conservation programs targeted at these species. For management in the wild, knowledge of infanticide and ranging can provide guidelines for realistic hunting quotas and corridors between protected areas, respectively. For ex situ and reintroduction programs, behavioral knowledge is chiefly focused on improved animal husbandry. Despite a formidable understanding of these species’ behavior, the practicalities of using such knowledge may be diminished because exploitation of these species is so forceful and the bulk of efforts aimed at conserving these species (and indeed most other African species) are primarily in situ where behaviorally driven interventions are limited. Our comparative findings suggest that behavior has been of rather narrow use in the conservation of these flagship species [Current Zoology 60 (4): 486–499, 2014].

scholarly journals Non-invasive cortisol measurements as indicators of physiological stress responses in guinea pigs

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Nemeth ◽  
Elisabeth Pschernig ◽  
Bernard Wallner ◽  
Eva Millesi
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Guinea Pigs ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Biological Relevance ◽  
Saliva Cortisol ◽  
Cortisol Levels

Non-invasive measurements of glucocorticoid (GC) concentrations, including cortisol and corticosterone, serve as reliable indicators of adrenocortical activities and physiological stress loads in a variety of species. As an alternative to invasive analyses based on plasma, GC concentrations in saliva still represent single-point-of-time measurements, suitable for studying short-term or acute stress responses, whereas fecal GC metabolites (FGMs) reflect overall stress loads and stress responses after a species-specific time frame in the long-term. In our study species, the domestic guinea pig, GC measurements are commonly used to indicate stress responses to different environmental conditions, but the biological relevance of non-invasive measurements is widely unknown. We therefore established an experimental protocol based on the animals’ natural stress responses to different environmental conditions and compared GC levels in plasma, saliva, and fecal samples during non-stressful social isolations and stressful two-hour social confrontations with unfamiliar individuals. Plasma and saliva cortisol concentrations were significantly increased directly after the social confrontations, and plasma and saliva cortisol levels were strongly correlated. This demonstrates a high biological relevance of GC measurements in saliva. FGM levels measured 20 h afterwards, representing the reported mean gut passage time based on physiological validations, revealed that the overall stress load was not affected by the confrontations, but also no relations to plasma cortisol levels were detected. We therefore measured FGMs in two-hour intervals for 24 h after another social confrontation and detected significantly increased levels after four to twelve hours, reaching peak concentrations already after six hours. Our findings confirm that non-invasive GC measurements in guinea pigs are highly biologically relevant in indicating physiological stress responses compared to circulating levels in plasma in the short- and long-term. Our approach also underlines the importance of detailed investigations on how to use and interpret non-invasive measurements, including the determination of appropriate time points for sample collections.

scholarly journals Non-Invasive Assessment of the Seasonal Stress Response to Veterinary Procedures and Transportation of Zoo-Housed Lesser Anteater (Tamandua tetradactyla)

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Gabina V. Eguizábal ◽  
Mariella Superina ◽  
Rupert Palme ◽  
Camila J. Asencio ◽  
Daniel P. Villarreal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Activity Cycle ◽  
Total Activity ◽  
Wild Mammals ◽  
Natural Activity ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Faecal Glucocorticoid Metabolites ◽  
Management Procedures

Management procedures affect behavioural and physiological stress responses of wild mammals under human care. According to the Reactive Scope Model, normal values are presumed to exist within predictive and reactive ranges. First, stress parameters of zoo-housed adult Tamandua tetradactyla were evaluated in winter and summer (29 days each), determining the level of behaviour and/or physiological parameters needed to respond to predictable environmental changes. Secondly, the effects of veterinary procedures and transportation were studied in both seasons. Non-invasive methods were applied, assessing behaviour through videos and adrenocortical activity by faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs). Lesser anteaters exhibited seasonality (summer > winter) in some behavioural parameters, such as nocturnal activities, as well as in the activity cycle (e.g., acrophase) and FGMs. A veterinary check elicited an increase in total activity (TA), natural behaviours and repetitive locomotion and affected the activity cycle, particularly in summer. Transport produced changes in TA, nocturnal and natural activity and some variables of the activity cycle, mostly during summer. Although the effects of routine management procedures were different from each other and presumably stressful, they elicited changes only at the behavioural level, which was greater during summer. The differences observed according to non-invasive methodologies highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in this context and suggest that it is unlikely that individual welfare was affected.

scholarly journals Non-invasive and husbandry treatment in a singular post-ovulatory egg stasis on an Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator)

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-26
Author(s):  
Puveanthan Nagappan Govendan ◽  
Zefanya Christiani ◽  
Michael Nadhor Nainggolan ◽  
Slamet Raharjo
Keyword(s):  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Coelomic Cavity ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Egg Deposition ◽  
Distended Abdomen ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Varanus Salvator ◽  
Monitor Lizards ◽  
Specimen Radiography ◽  
Asian Water

Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator) is among the largest species of monitor lizards kept in captivity due to the elegancy and character of the species. Captive breeding projects of monitor lizards are not common among reptile keepers. A two years old female V. salvator was presented with complains of anorexic and distended abdomen. No record of copulation or egg deposition was noticed from the particular specimen. Radiography confirmed a post-ovulatory egg-stasis (POES) occurring in the coelomic cavity. Fluid therapy and husbandry improvement was indicated as treatments. Oviposition of the POES was noticed 4 days after treatment. Young monitors could be prone to have less quantity of eggs but larger in size

Elephants on the Move: Spatial Formations of Wildlife Exchange

10.1068/d210t ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Whatmore ◽  
Lorraine Thorne
Keyword(s):  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Science Studies ◽  
In Situ Conservation ◽  
Global Networks ◽  
Feminist Science ◽  
The Status ◽  
Conservation Projects ◽  
Spatial Formations

In this paper we explore tensions between the notions and spaces of social agency mobilised in actant network theory and feminist science studies by focusing on their implications for the status and treatment of nonhuman animals, in this case the African elephant. The notion of a spatial formation of wildlife exchange (SFWE) is deployed to trace the diverse modalities and spatialities of social networks in which such creatures are caught up and the ways in which these practical orderings work through the bodies of elephants, both in the sense of their energies being variously transduced and of their experiences being reconfigured in the process. These themes are pursued through two contemporary global networks of wildlife conservation/science. The first, characterised as a mode of ordering of foresight, is a network concerned with ‘captive breeding’ and configured through the coding and exchange of computerised information on the lineages and breeding properties of animals held in zoological collections worldwide. The second, characterised as a mode of ordering of authenticity, is a network concerned with ‘in-situ’ conservation projects and configured through the recruitment of paying volunteers, corporate donors, and field scientists to a global programme of research expeditions. Our account traces three simultaneous moments in the patterning of elephants in each network—as virtual bodies, as bodies in place, and as living spaces.

scholarly journals Will current conservation responses save the Critically Endangered Sumatran rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis?

Oryx ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasmus Gren Havmøller ◽  
Junaidi Payne ◽  
Widodo Ramono ◽  
Susie Ellis ◽  
K. Yoganand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Captive Breeding ◽  
In Situ Conservation ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Current Conservation ◽  
Planning Stage ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Reproductive Techniques

AbstractThe Critically Endangered Sumatran rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis formerly ranged across South-east Asia. Hunting and habitat loss have made it one of the rarest large mammals and the species faces extinction despite decades of conservation efforts. The number of individuals remaining is unknown as a consequence of inadequate methods and lack of funds for the intensive field work required to estimate the population size of this rare and solitary species. However, all information indicates that numbers are low and declining. A few individuals persist in Borneo, and three tiny populations remain on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and show evidence of breeding. Rhino Protection Units are deployed at all known breeding sites but poaching and a presumed low breeding rate remain major threats. Protected areas have been created for the rhinoceros and other in situ conservation efforts have increased but the species has continued to go locally extinct across its range. Conventional captive breeding has also proven difficult; from a total of 45 Sumatran rhinoceros taken from the wild since 1984 there were no captive births until 2001. Since then only two pairs have been actively bred in captivity, resulting in four births, three by the same pair at the Cincinnati Zoo and one at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Sumatra, with the sex ratio skewed towards males. To avoid extinction it will be necessary to implement intensive management zones, manage the metapopulation as a single unit, and develop advanced reproductive techniques as a matter of urgency. Intensive census efforts are ongoing in Bukit Barisan Selatan but elsewhere similar efforts remain at the planning stage.

scholarly journals Genetic diversity in a unique population of dugong (Dugong dugon) along the sea coasts of Thailand

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anocha Poommouang ◽  
Wannapimol Kriangwanich ◽  
Kittisak Buddhachat ◽  
Janine L. Brown ◽  
Promporn Piboon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
In Situ Conservation ◽  
Inter Simple Sequence Repeat ◽  
Issr Markers ◽  
Andaman Sea ◽  
Ocean Pollution ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
D Loop

AbstractDugong (Dugong dugon) populations have been shrinking globally, due in large part to habitat fragmentation, degradation and ocean pollution, and today are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Thus, determining genetic diversity in the remaining populations is essential for conservation planning and protection. In this study, measures of inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers and mtDNA D-loop typing were used to evaluate the genetic diversity of 118 dugongs from skin samples of deceased dugongs collected in Thai waters over a 29-year period. Thirteen ISSR primers revealed that dugongs from the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand exhibited more genetic variation in the first 12 years of the study (1990–2002) compared to the last decade (2009–2019). Dugongs from the Andaman Sea, Trang, Satun and some areas of Krabi province exhibited greater diversity compared to other coastal regions of Thailand. Eleven haplotypes were identified, and when compared to other parts of the world (235 sequences obtained from NCBI), five clades were apparent from a total 353 sequences. Moreover, dugongs from the Andaman Sea were genetically distinct, with a separate haplotype belonging to two clades found only in Thai waters that separated from other groups around 1.2 million years ago. Genetic diversity of dugongs in present times was less than that of past decades, likely due to increased population fragmentation. Because dugongs are difficult to keep and breed in captivity, improved in situ conservation actions are needed to sustain genetically healthy wild populations, and in particular, the specific genetic group found only in the Andaman Sea.

scholarly journals Non-invasive monitoring of glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations in urine and faeces of the Sungazer (Smaug giganteus)

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e6132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Scheun ◽  
Dominique Greeff ◽  
Andre Ganswindt
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Adrenocortical Function ◽  
Conservation Practices ◽  
Acth Challenge ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Metabolite Concentrations ◽  
Invasive Techniques

Developing non-invasive techniques for monitoring physiological stress responses has been conducted in a number of mammal and bird species, revolutionizing field-based endocrinology and conservation practices. However, studies validating and monitoring glucocorticoid concentrations in reptiles are still limited. The aim of the study was to validate a method for monitoring glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations in urine (uGCM) and faeces (fGCM) of the cordylid lizard, the Sungazer (Smaug giganteus). An adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) challenge was conducted on one male and two females with both urine and faecal material being collected during baseline and post-injection periods. Steroid extracts were analysed with four enzyme immunoassays (EIAs)namely: 11-oxoaetiocholanolone, 5α-pregnane-3β-11β-21-triol-20-one, tetrahydrocorticosterone, and corticosterone. A considerable response in fGCM and uGCM concentrations following ACTH administration was observed in all subjects, with the 5α-pregnane-3β-11β-21-triol-20-one and tetrahydrocorticosterone EIAs appearing to be the most suited for monitoring alterations in glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations in S. giganteus using faeces or urine as hormone matrix. Both EIAs showed a significantly higher concentration of glucocorticoid metabolites in faeces compared to urine for both sexes. Collectively, the findings of this study confirmed that both urine and faeces can be used to non-invasively assess adrenocortical function in S. giganteus.

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