Concentrations of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites in physically injured free-ranging African elephants Loxodonta africana

Wildlife Biology

Volumn 16, Issue 3, 2010, Pages 323-332

  Ganswindt, André ^a   Münscher, Stefanie ^a   Henley, Michelle ^b,d   Palme, Rupert ^c   Thompson, Peter ^a   Bertschinger, Henk ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA   (South Africa)

^b UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA   (South Africa)

^c UNIVERSITY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE   (Austria)

^d SAVE THE ELEPHANTS   (Kenya)

Author keywords

African elephant; cortisol; enzyme immunoassay; injury; Kruger National Park; Loxodonta africana; non invasive; stress

Indexed keywords

ANIMALIA; ELEPHANTIDAE; LOXODONTA; LOXODONTA AFRICANA;

EID: 77958567503     PISSN: 09096396     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2981/09-081     Document Type: Article

References (40)

1. Altmann, J. 1974: Observational study of behaviour: sampling methods. - Behaviour 49:227-265.
2. Bomholt, S. F., Harbuz, M. S., Blackburn-Munro, G. & Blackburn-Munro, R. E. 2004: Involvement and role of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress axis in animal models of chronic pain and inflammation. - Stress 7:1-14.
3. Brown, J. L., Kersey, D. C., Freeman, E. W. & Wagener, T. 2010: Assessment of diurnal urinary cortisol excretion in Asian and African elephants using different endocrine methods. - Zoo Biology 29:274-283.
4. Burchfield, S. R. 1979: The stress response: A new perspective. - Psychosomatic Medicine 41:661-672.
5. Cabezas, S., Blas, J., Marchant, T. A. & Morneo, S. 2007: Physiological stress levels predict survival probabilities in wild rabbits. - Hormones and Behavior 51:313-320.
6. Codron, J., Lee-Thorp, J. A., Sponheimer, M., Codron, D., Grant, R. C. & De Ruiter, D. J. 2006: Elephant (Loxodonta africana) diets in Kruger National Park, South Africa: spatial and landscape differences. - Journal of Mammalogy 8:27-34.
7. De Nys, H. M., Bertschinger, H. J., Turkstra, J. A., Colenbrander, B., Palme, R. & Human, A. M. 2010: Vaccination against GnRH may suppress aggressive behaviour and musth in African elephant (Loxodonta africana) bulls - a pilot study. - Journal of the South African Veterinary Association 81:8-15.
8. Dingemanse, N. J., Edelaar, P. & Kempenaers, B. 2010: Why is there variation in baseline glucocorticoid levels? - Trends in Ecology and Evolution 25:261-262.
9. Foley, C. A. H., Papageorge, S. & Wasser, S. K. 2001: Noninvasive stress and reproductive measures of social and ecological pressures in free-ranging African elephants (Loxodonta africana). - Conservation Biology 15:1134-1142.
10. Ganswindt, A. 2008: Physical, physiological, and behavioural changes associated with male African elephant (Loxodonta africana) sexual activity and the phenomenon of musth. - In: Morris, S. & Vosloo, A. (Eds.); 4th CPB Meeting in Africa: Mara 2008. Molecules to migration: The pressures of life. Medimond Publishing Co, via Maserati 6/2, 40124 Bologna, Italy, pp. 449-456.
11. Ganswindt, A., Heistermann, M. & Hodges, J. K. 2005a: Physical, physiological and behavioural correlates of musthincaptive African elephants (Loxodonta africana). - Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 78:505-514.
12. Ganswindt, A., Heistermann, M., Palme, R., Borragan, S. & Hodges, J. K. 2003: Non-invasive assessment of adrenal function in the male African elephant (Loxodonta africana) and its relation to musth. - General and Comparative Endocrinology 134:156-166.
13. Ganswindt, A., Muenscher, S., Henley, M., Henley, S., Heistermann, M., Palme, R., Thompson, P. & Bertschinger, H. 2010: Endocrine correlates of musth and the impact of ecological and social factors in free-ranging African elephants (Loxodonta africana). - Hormones and Behavior 57:506-510.
14. Ganswindt, A., Rasmussen, H. B., Heistermann, M. & Hodges, J. K. 2005b: The sexually active states of freeranging male African elephants (Loxodonta africana): Defining musth and non-musth using endocrinology, physical signals, and behaviour. - Hormones and Behavior 47:83-91.
15. Keet, D. F., Grobler, D. G., Raath, J. P., Gouws, J., Carstens, J. & Nesbit, J. W. 1997: Ulcerative pododermatitis in free-ranging African elephant (Loxodonta africana) in the Kruger National Park. - Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research 64:25-32.
16. Kelling, A. S. 2008: An examination of salivary cortisol concentrations in three captive African elephants (Loxodonta africana) at Zoo Atlanta. - PhD thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia, USA, 136 pp.
17. Kitaysky, A. S., Wingfield, J. C. & Piatt, J. F. 1999: Dynamics of food availability, body condition and physiological stress response in breeding Black-legged Kittiwakes. - Functional Ecology 13:577-584.
18. Laws, N., Ganswindt, A., Harris, M., Harris, S., Heistermann, M. & Sherwin, C. 2007: A case-study: Faecal corticosteroid and behaviour as indicators of welfare during relocation of an Asiatic Elephant. - Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 10:349-358.
19. Liptrap, R. M. 1993: Stress and reproduction in domestic animals. - Annals of the New York Academy of Science 697:275-84.
20. Merl, S., Scherzer, S., Palme, R. & Möstl, E. 2000: Pain causes increased concentrations of glucocorticoid metabolites in horse feces. - Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 20:586-590.
21. Möstl, E., Maggs, J. L., Schröter, G., Besenfelder, U. & Palme, R. 2002: Measurement of cortisol metabolites in faeces of ruminants. - Veterinary Research Communications 26:127-139.
22. Möstl, E. & Palme, R. 2002: Hormones as indicators of stress. - Domestic Animal Endocrinology 23:67-74.
23. Munck, A., Guyre, P. M. & Holbrook, N. I. 1984: Physiological functions of glucocorticoids in stress and their relationship to pharmacological actions. - Endocrine Reviews 5:25-44.
24. Obanda, V., Ndeerreh, D., Mijele, D., Lekolool, I., Chege, S., Gakuya, F. & Omondi, P. 2008: Injuries of freeranging African elephants (Loxodonta africana africana) in various ranges of Kenya. - Pachyderm 44:54-59.
25. O'Connor, T. M., O'Halloran, D. J. & Shanahan, F. 2000: The stress response and the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal axis: from molecule to melancholia. - Quarterly Journal of Medicine 93:323-333.
26. Poole, J. H. 1987: Rutting behaviour in African elephants: the phenomenon of musth. - Behaviour 102:283-316.
27. Poole, J. H. 1989: Announcing intent: the aggressive state of musth in African elephants. - Animal Behaviour 37:140-152.
28. Pretorius, Y. 2004: Stress in the African elephant on Mabula Game Reserve, South Africa. - M. Sc. thesis, University of Natal, Durban, South Africa, 141 pp.
29. Rabiee, A. R., MacMillan, K. L. & Schwarzenberger, F. 2001: The effect of level of feed intake on progesterone clearance rate by measuring faecal progesterone metabolites in grazing dairy cows. - Animal Reproduction Science 67:205-214.
30. Rasmussen, H. B., Ganswindt, A., Douglas-Hamilton, I. & Vollrath, F. 2008: Endocrine and behavioural changes in male African elephants: linking hormone changes to sexual state and reproductive tactic. - Hormones and Behavior 54:539-548.
31. Sapolsky, R. M. 2002: Behavioural Endocrinology. - MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, UK, 409 pp.
32. Schwarzenberger, F. 2007: The many uses of non-invasive faecal steroid monitoring in zoo and wildlife species. - International Zoo Yearbook 41:52-74.
33. Selye, H. 1936: ASyndrome Produced by Diverse Nocuous Agents. - Nature 138:32.
34. Touma, C. & Palme, R. 2005: Measuring fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in mammals and birds: The importance of validation. - Annals of the New York Academy of Science 1046:54-74.
35. van Aarde, R., Ferreira, S., Jackson, T., Page, B., De Beer, Y., Gough, K., Guldemond, R., Junker, J., Olivier, P., Ott, T. & Trimble, M. 2008: Elephant Management - A scientific assessment for South Africa. - Wits University Press, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg, South Africa, 84 pp.
36. Venter, F. J., Scholes, R. J. & Eckhardt, H. C. 2003: The Kruger Experience. - Island Press, Washington, Covelo, London, UK, 83 pp.
37. Viljoen, J. J., Ganswindt, A., Du Toit, J. T. & Langbauer, W. R., Jr. 2008a: Translocation stress and faecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels in free-ranging African savanna elephants. - South African Journal of Wildlife Research 38:146-152.
38. Viljoen, J. J., Ganswindt, A., Palme, R., Reynecke, H. C., Du Toit, J. T. & Langbauer, W. R., Jr. 2008b: Measurement of concentrations of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites in free-ranging African elephants within the Kruger National Park. - Koedoe 50:18-21.
39. Voigtländer, T., Unterberger, U., Touma, C., Palme, R., Polster, B., Strohschneider, M., Dorner, S. & Budka, H. 2006: Prominent corticosteroid disturbance in experimental prion disease. - European Journal of Neuroscience 23:2723-2730.
40. Weary, D. M., Niel, L., Flower, F. C. & Fraser, D. 2006: Identifying and preventing pain in animals. - Applied Animal Behaviour Science 100:64-76.