Fecal corticoid metabolite measurement in the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)
This longitudinal study addresses the relationship of cortisol excretion to ovarian activity in captive female cheetahs. A radioimmunoassay was developed and validated to measure corticoid metabolite concentrations in feces. A restraint experiment was used to demonstrate that fecal cortisol is detec...
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Published in | Zoo biology Vol. 16; no. 2; pp. 133 - 147 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
New York
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company
1997
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | This longitudinal study addresses the relationship of cortisol excretion to ovarian activity in captive female cheetahs. A radioimmunoassay was developed and validated to measure corticoid metabolite concentrations in feces. A restraint experiment was used to demonstrate that fecal cortisol is detectable following stressful episodes. In studies of 7 females, fecal cortisol output indicated that they could be placed into 3 different categories. Females of the high‐in‐cortisol category (∼200 ng/g feces, n = 2) were independently rated by caretakers as the most nervous individuals in the collection (n = 24). These females appeared to be compromised in their ovarian cycling, as indicated by fecal estrogen measurements. In contrast, reproducing females fell into the low and intermediate cortisol excretion categories. A non‐cycling high‐cortisol female had an episodic cycle following a period of relatively low (intermediate) cortisol levels, followed by resumption of acyclicity and high cortisol excretion. Stress and reproductive failure may, therefore, be associated in the female cheetah. The close proximity of conspecifics as a potential source of stress and, consequently, suppressed ovarian activity in some females is suggested by these results. Zoo Biol 16:133–147. 1997 © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. |
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Bibliography: | ark:/67375/WNG-DT8MD9L7-4 Swiss National Science Foundation Geigy-Jubiläums-Stiftung istex:66D880702BBF36FCCD726787BA570E8F24F3D758 ArticleID:ZOO4 |
ISSN: | 0733-3188 1098-2361 |
DOI: | 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1997)16:2<133::AID-ZOO4>3.0.CO;2-B |