scholarly journals Plasma concentrations of LH, prolactin, oestradiol and progesterone in female red deer (Cervus elaphus) during pregnancy

Reproduction ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 475-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Kelly ◽  
K. P. McNatty ◽  
G. H. Moore ◽  
D. Ross ◽  
M. Gibb
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Plasma Concentrations

Temporal changes in LH and testosterone and their relationship with the first antler in red deer (Cervus elaphus) stags from 3 to 15 months of age

1991 ◽  
Vol 131 (3) ◽  
pp. 467-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Suttie ◽  
P. F. Fennessy ◽  
S. F. Crosbie ◽  
I. D. Corson ◽  
F. J. Laas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Plasma Concentrations ◽  
Pulse Frequency ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Pulsatile Secretion ◽  
Antler Growth ◽  
Velvet Antler

ABSTRACT Blood samples were taken from six tame red deer stags at 3–15 months of age once a month from a jugular catheter every 30 min for 24 h to investigate hormonal secretion during puberty and during growth of the pedicle and first antler. All plasma samples were analysed for LH and testosterone concentrations and the resultant data were analysed using the PULSAR pulse detection routine. In addition each stag was injected with gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH; 20 ng/kg body weight) after the above samples had been taken and the bleeding regimen was continued for a further 2 h. Body weight, antler size and status (i.e. whether the stags had a pedicle or antler) were also recorded. The pulsatile secretion of LH could be considered to have occurred in three phases. The first of these was one of development, with the LH pulse frequency increasing to 8 pulses/24 h, the second a phase of regression, with a decrease in LH pulse frequency to 2 pulses/24 h, and finally a second phase of development characterized by increased LH pulse frequency to 12 pulses/24 h. Testosterone secretion generally followed the same pattern. During the period before the permanent bony pedicles grew, there were less than five LH pulses/24 h. When the pedicles were growing, LH and testosterone pulsatile secretion increased but the pulse frequency of both hormones fell during velvet antler growth. However, the overall mean testosterone level did not significantly decrease between the growth stages (2·74 and 2·29 nmol/l respectively) although mean testosterone plasma rose during pedicle growth and fell during velvet antler growth. Both hormone plasma concentrations increased dramatically, and testosterone was particularly high (11·82 nmol/l), at the time of antler cleaning. All stags responded to exogenous GnRH by secreting LH and testosterone in all sampling periods. The LH response to GnRH increased during pedicle growth and fell during antler growth before rising again in autumn as the breeding season approached. Testosterone responses largely paralleled those of LH except that they remained high in early antler development. The results are consistent with the following hypotheses. (1) Pedicle initiation is caused by increased plasma level of testosterone stimulated by increasing LH pulse frequency and (2) testosterone is stimulatory for pedicle growth but not necessarily so for velvet antler growth. Journal of Endocrinology (1991) 131, 467–474

Thyroid hormones are required for the expression of seasonal changes in red deer (Cervus elaphus) stags

1994 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 187 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZD Shi ◽  
GK Barrell
Keyword(s):  
Thyroid Hormones ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Plasma Concentrations ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Plasma Testosterone ◽  
Testicular Regression ◽  
Mixed Age

Experiment 1, from 6 July 1990 (winter) to 8 November 1990 (spring), examined the effect of an early elevation of plasma thyroid hormone concentrations on the expression of seasonal changes in 20-month-old stags. Four stags were injected subcutaneously with 1 mg thyroxine (T4) daily, and four with vehicle only. Plasma T4 concentration was elevated by injection of T4; the mean concentration 24 h after injection was 192 +/- 31 nmol L-1 compared with 58 +/- 5 nmol L-1 in controls on 21 September. However, live weight, testicular diameter, plasma testosterone concentration and moulting underwent similar changes in both groups of animals. Experiment 2 tested the hypothesis that thyroid hormones are required for the expression of changes that occur during spring and early summer in red deer stags. Thyroidectomized (THX) stags (n = 4) of mixed age (> 22 months old) were given a replacement dosage of T4 or vehicle only (controls) during spring (from 7 September). T4-treated THX stags underwent testicular regression, antler regeneration and spring moult during spring and early summer (October-December), whereas control THX stags did not display these changes. During spring and summer, T4-treated stags gained more live weight (P < 0.05) than control stags. These results show that, in stags, thyroid hormones are required for the expression of seasonal changes and that these changes are not caused by the seasonal elevation of plasma concentrations of thyroid hormones.

Growth and reproductive development of red deer calves (Cervus elaphus) born out-of-season

1992 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Adam ◽  
C. E. Kyle ◽  
P. Young
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Plasma Concentrations ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Reproductive Development ◽  
Normal Birth ◽  
Melatonin Administration ◽  
Voluntary Food Intake

AbstractSince the productivity of farmed red deer is constrained by their inherent seasonal biology, the potential advantages of breeding out-of-season following melatonin administration were investigated. Calves born in February (F; no. = 8) were heavier at weaning in September of the same year than calves born with normal birth dates in June (}; no. = 8) (73·2 v. 441 (s.e.d. 3·59) kg; P < 0·001) and at the end of April of the next year (88·0 v. 67·6 (s.e.d. 6·44) kg; P < 0·02) although their suckled live-weight gain to 100 days of age was lower (304 v. 361 (s.e.d. 21·4) g/day; P < 0·05). After weaning, F calves had higher voluntary food intake than / calves (g dry matter per head per day) from September to November (1643 v. 2224 (s.e.d. 92·6); P < 0·002), November to February (1435 v. 926 (s.e.d. 67·9); P < 0·002), and February to April (1487 v. 2059 (s.e.d. 115·5); P < 0·02).Unlike J calves, F calves showed puberty in their first autumn. F male calves (no. = 3) grew antlers which hardened in November, whereas J males (no. = 3) did not, and F males, aged 8 months, had significantly higher mean plasma concentrations of testosterone than J males, aged 4 months (1·35 v. 0·28 (s.e.d. 0·154) fj.g/1, P < 0·001). Oestrous cyclicity was observed in 3/5 group F females, aged 9 months, but in 0/5 group ] females, aged 5 months. Although the dams of F and ] calves had similar live weights at mating, birth and 100 days pos t partum, F dams were heavier (P < 0·05) at weaning. Following parturition, F dams had a mean voluntary food intake of 2700 (s.e. 110) g dry matter per head per day from February to April.

Effects of immunization against GnRH upon body growth, voluntary food intake and plasma hormone concentration in yearling red deer stags (Cervus elaphus)

1993 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. O. Freudenberger ◽  
P. R. Wilson ◽  
T. N. Barry ◽  
Y. X. Sun ◽  
R. W. Purchas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Plasma Concentrations ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Body Growth ◽  
Scrotal Circumference ◽  
Voluntary Feed Intake ◽  
Antler Growth ◽  
Velvet Antler

SUMMARYRed deer stags in New Zealand were given a series of immunizations against GnRH at 9–12 months of age (spring/early summer) in 1989 and 1990 and the effects upon plasma concentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone during the rut (15–17 months; autumn) and upon body growth to slaughter at 22 months (spring) were studied in two experiments. Control animals showed a sharp peak in plasma LH and testosterone concentration during late summer/early autumn, just preceding the rut, with scrotal circumference increasing to a maximum during the rut; body growth stopped during the rut in Expt 1 but not in Expt 2. Immunization caused the development of significant antibodies against GnRH during late spring and summer, and reduced but did not eliminate the increase in plasma LH and testosterone and scrotal enlargement leading up to the rut. Immunization did not affect body growth or voluntary feed intake during the rut in either experiment, but in Expt 1 early immunization significantly increased growth during both the pre-rut and post-rut periods. Immunization did not effect dressing out percentage, slightly increased carcass fatness in Expt 1 but not Expt 2, and reduced velvet antler growth by 12 months of age.

Physiological responses of farmed red deer to management practices and their modulation by long-acting neuroleptics

1996 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Diverio ◽  
P. J. Goddard ◽  
I. J. Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Plasma Concentrations ◽  
Stress Factors ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Heart Rates ◽  
Long Acting ◽  
Behavioural Evidence

SUMMARYTwelve red deer (Cervus elaphus) hinds from a research facility in Eastern Scotland were randomly divided into two groups between June and September to study the physiological response to three management practices, given sequentially, which were expected to cause increasing levels of stress (herding; herding and handling; and herding, handling and a veterinary procedure). One group of animals received a long-acting neuroleptic (LAN; perphenazine enanthate and zuclopenthixol acetate) on three occasions at 4-week intervals. Automatic blood sampling equipment (ABSE) was used to obtain blood samples remotely before, during and after the application of each of the stressors. The plasma concentrations of cortisol, creatine phosphokinase (CPK), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total protein (TP), 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4) and testosterone (T) were measured and heart rates recorded. The ABSE provided a useful means of collecting blood samples without the superimposition of stress factors associated with conventional sampling. Increases in plasma concentrations of cortisol (P<0·01), CPK (P<0·01) and AST (P<0·05) were observed in all animals in response to all three management practices. There were smaller increases in plasma cortisol concentration (P<0·05) in those animals treated with LAN. The results suggested a degree of habituation of the hinds to some procedures common to all treatments, in agreement with previous analysis of the behavioual response of these animals. Peaks of heart rate were recorded over the 30-min period stressors were applied. Higher heart rates and T3 and T4 concentrations were observed in LAN-treated animals. Heart rates returned to baseline more rapidly in the LAN-treated animals. Higher plasma concentrations of testosterone were recorded in the first week of the study (P<0·001). Physiological and behavioural evidence supports the view that LANs are effective long-term tranquillizers in red deer.

Vocalizations in red deer (Cervus elaphus), sika deer (Cervus nippon), and red × sika hybrids

1998 ◽  
Vol 244 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Long ◽  
N.P. Moore ◽  
T. J. Hayden
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Sika Deer ◽  
Cervus Nippon

The deer of the island of Lampedusa (Pelagian Archipelago, Italy): literary references and osteological evidence

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARCO MASSETP ◽  
BRUNO ZAVA
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Taxonomic Relationships

During the nineteenth century, scientific literature and official reports recorded the occurrence of a population of red deer, Cervus elaphus, on the island of Lampedusa (Pelagian Archipelago, Italy). Osteological specimens collected by the zoologist Enrico Hillier Giglioli towards the end of the century confirmed these references. Since cervids are not found among the fossil fauna of the island, the red deer must have been introduced by man although we do not yet know precisely when. The former existence of the species on Lampedusa is discussed by comparison of literary material and bone evidence. The population's probable origins and its taxonomic relationships with other Mediterranean red deer populations are also analysed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document