scholarly journals Effects of physiological changes and social life events on adrenal glucocorticoid activity in female zoo-housed Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0241910
Author(s):  
Sharon S. Glaeser ◽  
Katie L. Edwards ◽  
Nadja Wielebnowski ◽  
Janine L. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Ovarian Cycle ◽  
Elephas Maximus ◽  
Cycle Phase ◽  
Physiological Changes ◽  
Asian Elephants ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Adrenal Glucocorticoid

Ensuring good health and welfare is an increasingly important consideration for conservation of endangered species and includes breeding of individuals managed under human care. Understanding how factors in the captive environment affect individual animal wellbeing can be aided by long-term monitoring of biological functioning. This study involved longitudinal assessments (4 to 28 years) of reproductive and adrenal hormones in zoo-housed female Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) (age range 4 to ~71 years) to elucidate patterns in adrenal glucocorticoid (GC) activity in association with reproductive and demographic factors, and examine individual response to major social changes. Concentrations of serum and urinary cortisol covaried more consistently with physiological changes (ovarian cycle phase, puberty, pregnancy, lactational anestrus, and age) than with social life events (births, deaths, and facility transfers). Cortisol fluctuated across the ovarian cycle with mean concentrations being higher in the follicular than in the luteal phase, and concentrations were highest in lactational anestrous compared to all other reproductive states. The elephants in this study exhibited substantial individuality in adrenal GC response to major social change, reinforcing the need to assess welfare on an individual basis and to consider factors influencing the impact of perceived stressors, such as social relationships, social support, temperament, and life history. Outcomes from this study deepen our understanding of Asian elephant physiology and highlight the importance of taking intrinsic patterns of hormone secretion into account when evaluating the impact of external factors. Finally, a better understanding of the impact of social change and resiliency in response to real and perceived stressors allows us to improve social management to enhance welfare in both captive settings and free-ranging environments.

Social Life of Captive Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) in Southern India: Implications for Elephant Welfare

2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Varadharajan Vanitha ◽  
Krishnamoorthy Thiyagesan ◽  
Nagarajan Baskaran
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Southern India ◽  
Elephas Maximus ◽  
Asian Elephants

scholarly journals Demonstration of 2-unsaturated C19-steroids in the urine of female Asian elephants, Elephas maximus, and their dependence on ovarian activity

Reproduction ◽  
2001 ◽  
pp. 475-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Dehnhard ◽  
M Heistermann ◽  
F Goritz ◽  
R Hermes ◽  
T Hildebrandt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Luteal Phase ◽  
Additional Data ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Ovarian Cycle ◽  
Elephas Maximus ◽  
Ovarian Activity ◽  
Cycle Duration ◽  
Asian Elephants ◽  
Volatile Substances

Air-borne volatile substances have been demonstrated to signal oestrus, induce ovulation and synchronize ovarian activity in different mammals. An oestrous-related pheromone of the female Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is known to induce behavioural responses in elephant bulls. Additional data revealed that timing of oestrus in females with close social relationships tends to be synchronized. Therefore, urine from female Asian elephants might be expected to contain luteal phase-dependent volatile substances, which may function as additional chemical signals in this species. The aim of the present study was to identify such compounds and to investigate their pattern of excretion throughout the ovarian cycle. Urine samples were collected three times a week during the follicular phase and one to three times a week during the luteal phase from five adult female Asian elephants from a total of 13 non-conception cycles and one conception cycle, including the first 72 weeks of pregnancy. A simple headspace solid-phase microextraction method has been developed for quantification of urinary volatile substances and analysis was performed by gas chromatography. The comparison of urine collected during the follicular and the luteal phase indicated the presence of two luteal phase-dependent substances. Mass spectrometry was used to identify one substance as 5alpha-androst-2-en-17-one and a second substance as the corresponding alcoholic compound 5alpha-androst-2-en-17beta-ol. The 5alpha-androst-2-en-17beta-ol and -17-one profiles reflected cyclic ovarian activity with clear (10-20-fold) luteal phase increases. Furthermore, measurements of both compounds were correlated positively with the concentration of urinary pregnanetriol and indicated cycle duration (15.1 +/- 1.2 weeks) similar to that obtained from pregnanetriol measurements (15.2 +/- 1.6 weeks). The results demonstrate the presence of two luteal phase-specific steroidal volatile compounds in elephant urine. One of the substances, 5alpha-androst-2-en-17-one, has been demonstrated in human axillary bacterial isolates. The measurement of both volatile substances in elephant urine can be used for rapid detection of the stage of the ovarian cycle, as the analysis can be completed within 2 h.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Demographics and Social Life Events of Asian (Elephas maximus) and African Elephants (Loxodonta africana) in North American Zoos

PLoS ONE ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e0154750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia A. Prado-Oviedo ◽  
Mary K. Bonaparte-Saller ◽  
Elizabeth J. Malloy ◽  
Cheryl L. Meehan ◽  
Joy A. Mench ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
North American ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Loxodonta Africana ◽  
Elephas Maximus ◽  
African Elephants

scholarly journals The Impact of the African Inland Mission (AIM) On Social Change between 1895 and 1971 in Machakos District, Kenya

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-186
Author(s):  
Musyoki A. Muia ◽  
Prof. Reuben Matheka ◽  
Dr. Mary Chepchieng
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Herbert Spencer ◽  
Mission Church ◽  
The Impact

This study aimed at analysing the African Inland Mission and social transformation in Machakos District of Eastern Kenya from 1895 to 1971.  It sought to establish how the elements of the Akamba social life underwent a social change as a result of the mission's presence in the district. The study was guided by the question: How effective was the mission in influencing social change in the district? The structural- functionalism theory formulated by Herbert Spencer and developed further by Emile Durkheim was used to analyse the role of the African Inland Mission in influencing social change in Machakos District. The qualitative research design involving the use of in-depth interviews with key informants was used. A target population consisting of local residents, former administrators and African Inland Mission/church leaders was interviewed. The study used the purposive method of sampling. Primary data was collected using in-depth oral interviews as well as from archival records, while secondary data was obtained through a thematic review of literature related to the topic of study. This study has provided sufficient knowledge on the African Inland Mission and the social transformation in Machakos District in the colonial and the early post-colonial periods of Kenyan history. In addition, the findings have constituted part of the historiography of the African Inland Mission in Kenya.

Pendidikan Islam dan Humanitas

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 341-355
Author(s):  
Mohammad Liwa Irrubai
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Liberal Education ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Current Issue ◽  
Alternative Solution ◽  
Educational Objectives ◽  
Basic Issue ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Education Today ◽  
Human Problem

Today, the human problem in social life concerning education is growing more complex; many new ideas emerge as the level of human intellectuality grows. This paper will reveal the current issue of education in Indonesia and discuss ideas from the concept of liberal education. The basic issue of education criticized by liberal education is that education today focuses more on the needs of society than the educational objectives themselves. Education as a tool to transfer science, values, and agents of social change is seen as one alternative solution in the framework of improving people's lives. The education in which values are embodied is one of the efforts offered by genuine liberal education, aimed at giving us the habits, ideas and techniques necessary to continue our own education. Humans have the ability to learn continuously throughout life so that we can prepare ourselves to study and again as long as we are alive.

Overseas Development Administration. A Guide to Social Analysis for Projects in Developing Countries. London: HMSO. 1995. viii+248 pages. Hardbound. £18.95.

1996 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-190
Author(s):  
Mir Annice Mahmood
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Social Analysis ◽  
Economic Perspective ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Overseas Development

This book, hereinafter referred to as the Guide, has been developed for those social analysts (e.g., anthropologists, sociologists, and human geographers) who have had little or no practical experience in applying their knowledge as development practitioners. In the past, development projects would be analysed from a narrow financial and economic perspective. But with the evolution of thinking on development, this narrow financial and economic aspect has now been broadened to include the impact on society as the very meaning of development has now come to symbolise social change. Thus, development is not restricted only to plans and figures; the human environment in its entirety is now considered for analysis while designing and implementing development projects.

The Impact of Stressful Life Events and Social Support on Drinking among Older Adults: A General Population Survey

1992 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen M. Jennison
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Stressful Life Events ◽  
Prolonged Exposure ◽  
Drinking Behavior ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Stressful Life ◽  
Stress Buffering ◽  
The Impact

This article is an analysis of stressful life events, the buffering hypothesis, and alcohol use in a national sample of 1,418 respondents 60 years of age and over. The results indicate that older adults who experience stressful losses are significantly more likely to drink excessively than those who have not experienced such losses or who have experienced them to a lesser extent. Increased drinking among older adults may therefore be a reaction to life circumstances in which alcohol represents an attempt to cope with traumatic loss, personal as well as within the kinship network. Supportive resources of spouse, family, friends, and church appear to have a stress-buffering effects that reduces the excessive-drinking response to life crisis. Data suggest, however, that older persons are vulnerable to the magnitude of losses experienced as they grow older and lose more of their family, friends, and peers. These stressors appear to seriously impact their drinking behavior and are not effectively buffered. Respondents report that drinking may increase during periods of prolonged exposure to emotionally depleting life change and loss, when supportive needs may exceed the capacities of personal and social support resources.

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