Urinary Steroid Evaluations to Monitor Ovarian Function in Exotic Ungulates: I. Pregnanediol-3-GIucuronide lmmunoreactivity in the Okapi (Okapia johnstoni)
Immunoreactive pregnanediol-3-glucuronide was assessed in daily urine samples from five female okapis. Indexed by creatinine (CR), the resultant profiles accurately reflect ovulation and pregnancy in this species. The infertile cycle was approximately 14.5 days by this method with the preovulatory levels averaging less than 1 ng/mg CR (N = 88) for approximately eight days (N […]
Non-invasive monitoring of ovarian function in several felid species by measurement of fecal estradiol-17β and progestins
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.1430140304.abs An extraction and assay procedure to measure fecal estradiol-17β and progestin concentrations in several cat species was developed and validated for use for noninvasive monitoring of ovarian function. Fecal samples were collected over a range of 3–20 months from female tigers (three), lions (three), snow leopards (three), cheetahs (two), caracals (two), and domestic […]
Seasonal and altitudinal effects on glucocorticoid metabolites in a wild primate (Theropithecus gelada)
Behavioral ecologists are increasingly adopting sophisticated non-invasive methods for measuring glucocorticoids from “excreta” because samples are easy to collect, animals are left undisturbed, and measures may be more reflective of external events than serum samples. Some of the most common predictors for hormone profiles in wild animals are seasonal changes in ecology and behavior. For […]
Salivary cortisol in captive dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)- a non-invasive technique
Dolphins in captivity have to cope with severe changes in their environment. So far, there are few studies on the welfare of these animals under these conditions. The aim of the present study was to find if cortisol was present in the saliva of dolphins and to explore the possibility of performing serial, non-invasive cortisol […]