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Gill, J. (1991). A new method for continuous recording of motor activity in horses. Comp Biochem Physiol A, 99(3), 333–341.
Abstract: 1. The use of an electronic recorder for the horse motor activity was described. 2. Examples of different types of motor activities are given in Figs 1-8. 3. The ultradian pattern of activity in all records was stressed. 4. The possibility of receiving of more physiological informations by this type of apparatus is discussed.
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Tavernor, W. D., & Lees, P. (1968). A pharmacological investigation of the influence of suxamethonium on cardiac function in the horse. Experientia, 24(6), 582–583.
Keywords: Animals; Arrhythmia/chemically induced; Consciousness; Halothane; Heart/innervation; Heart Rate/*drug effects; Horses/*physiology; Oxygen; Propranolol/pharmacology; Receptors, Sensory/drug effects; Stimulation, Chemical; Succinylcholine/antagonists & inhibitors/*pharmacology; Sympathetic Nervous System/physiology; Tachycardia/chemically induced; Thiopental
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Touma, C., Palme, R., & Sachser, N. (2004). Analyzing corticosterone metabolites in fecal samples of mice: a noninvasive technique to monitor stress hormones. Horm Behav, 45(1), 10–22.
Abstract: In small animals like mice, the monitoring of endocrine functions over time is constrained seriously by the adverse effects of blood sampling. Therefore, noninvasive techniques to monitor, for example, stress hormones in these animals are highly demanded in laboratory as well as in field research. The aim of our study was to evaluate the biological relevance of a recently developed technique to monitor stress hormone metabolites in fecal samples of laboratory mice. In total, six experiments were performed using six male and six female mice each. Two adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) challenge tests, two dexamethasone (Dex) suppression tests and two control experiments [investigating effects of the injection procedure itself and the diurnal variation (DV) of glucocorticoids (GCs), respectively] were conducted. The experiments clearly demonstrated that pharmacological stimulation and suppression of adrenocortical activity was reflected accurately by means of corticosterone metabolite (CM) measurements in the feces of males and females. Furthermore, the technique proved sensitive enough to detect dosage-dependent effects of the ACTH/Dex treatment and facilitated to reveal profound effects of the injection procedure itself. Even the naturally occurring DV of GCs could be monitored reliably. Thus, our results confirm that measurement of fecal CM with the recently established 5alpha-pregnane-3beta,11beta,21-triol-20-one enzyme immunoassay is a very powerful tool to monitor adrenocortical activity in laboratory mice. Since mice represent the vast majority of all rodents used for research worldwide and the number of transgenic and knockout mice utilized as animal models is still increasing, this noninvasive technique can open new perspectives in biomedical and behavioral science.
Keywords: Adrenal Cortex/drug effects; Adrenal Cortex Function Tests; Adrenocorticotropic Hormone/pharmacology; Analysis of Variance; Animals; Circadian Rhythm; Corticosterone/*analysis/metabolism; Dexamethasone/pharmacology; Feces/*chemistry; Female; Immunoenzyme Techniques/*methods; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Models, Animal; Reproducibility of Results; Stress, Psychological/*metabolism
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Shaw, E. B., Houpt, K. A., & Holmes, D. F. (1988). Body temperature and behaviour of mares during the last two weeks of pregnancy. Equine Vet J, 20(3), 199–202.
Abstract: Average daily core body temperature and behavioural patterns of pregnant mares were studied, in search of definitive signs of parturition within 24 h of the event. Nineteen pony mares were sampled twice daily for core body temperature. A significant temperature drop, averaging 0.1 degrees C (0.2 degrees F) was observed during the day prior to parturition. Between 18.00 h and 06.00 h, during the two weeks before parturition, Thoroughbred and Standardbred mares (n = 52) spent an average 66.8 per cent of their time standing, 27.0 per cent eating, 4.9 per cent lying in sternal recumbency, 1.0 per cent lying in lateral recumbency, and 0.3 per cent walking. On the night before parturition, mares spent significantly less time lying in sternal recumbency than on previous nights and on the night of parturition all behaviour patterns except eating were significantly different from the nights of the two weeks before parturition. There was an increase in walking (5.3 per cent), lying in sternal recumbency (8 per cent) and lying in lateral recumbency (5.3 per cent) whereas standing (53.3 per cent) was decreased. In 58 observed pregnancies, 54 mares (97 per cent) foaled in a recumbent position and 50 mares (86 per cent) foaled between 18.00 h and 06.00 h.
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Bottoms, G. D., Roesel, O. F., Rausch, F. D., & Akins, E. L. (1972). Circadian variation in plasma cortisol and corticosterone in pigs and mares. Am J Vet Res, 33(4), 785–790.
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Berger, A., Scheibe, K. - M., Eichhorn, K., Scheibe, A., & Streich, J. (1999). Diurnal and ultradian rhythms of behaviour in a mare group of Przewalski horse (Equus ferus przewalskii), measured through one year under semi-reserve conditions. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 64(1), 1–17.
Abstract: Investigations were conducted on four horses from a group of 12 Przewalski mares raised in different zoos and kept in a 44-ha enclosure under semi-natural conditions. Activity and feeding were continuously measured every second and were saved every 15 min by the storage-telemetry system ETHOSYS, from June 1995 to July 1996. Body mass of the horses was regularly recorded. Daily and monthly mean values, power spectra and DFC (as a measure for stability of rhythms synchronised with circadiurnal period) for activity and feeding were calculated. The general pattern of activity and feeding over the year was closely related to sunrise and sunset. Feeding accounted for 40% of total activity in summer and 62% in spring (all-year average being 52%). The level of activity was lowest in winter; whereas feeding was lowest in summer. The time budget for feeding reflected both feeding conditions and the annual pattern of body condition. Greatest activity occurred during daylight hours. Only on hot summer days, activity at night was higher than during daylight hours. Spectral analysis of activity and feeding in Przewalski horse showed a time pattern which was characterised by 24-h rhythmicity, but also by ultradian components with period lengths between 4.8 and 12 h, i.e., an activity pattern of up to five strong bouts per day. Annual variation in the pattern of power spectra was not high during the year. Results are discussed in connection with horse feeding strategy. Analysing the time structure of long-term and continuously measured activity and feeding could be a useful method to follow the general living conditions, especially the nutritional situation and to detect stressful conditions.
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Kirkpatrick, J. F., Vail, R., Devous, S., Schwend, S., Baker, C. B., & Wiesner, L. (1976). Diurnal variation of plasma testosterone in wild stallions. Biol Reprod, 15(1), 98–101.
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Aurich, J., Wulf, M., Ille, N., Erber, R., von Lewinski, M., Palme, R., et al. (2015). Effects of season, age, sex and housing on salivary cortisol concentrations in horses. Domest. Anim. Endocrinol., .
Abstract: Abstract Analysis of salivary cortisol is increasingly used to assess stress responses in horses. Since spontaneous or experimentally induced increases in cortisol concentrations are often relatively small for stress studies proper controls are needed. This requires an understanding of factors affecting salivary cortisol over longer times. In this study, we have analysed salivary cortisol concentration over 6 mo in horses (n = 94) differing in age, sex, reproductive state and housing. Salivary cortisol followed a diurnal rhythm with highest concentrations in the morning and a decrease throughout the day (P < 0.001). This rhythm was disrupted in individual groups on individual days; however, alterations remained within the range of diurnal changes. Comparison between months showed highest cortisol concentrations in December (P < 0.001). Cortisol concentrations increased in breeding stallions during the breeding season (P < 0.001). No differences in salivary cortisol concentrations between non-pregnant mares with and without a corpus luteum existed. In stallions, mean daily salivary cortisol and plasma testosterone concentration were weakly correlated (r = 0.251, P < 0.01). No differences in salivary cortisol between female and male young horses and no consistent differences between horses of different age existed. Group housing and individual stabling did not affect salivary cortisol. In conclusion, salivary cortisol concentrations in horses follow a diurnal rhythm and are increased in active breeding sires. Time of the day and reproductive state of the horses are thus important for experiments that include analysis of cortisol in saliva.
Keywords: horse; cortisol; diurnal rhythm; reproduction; housing
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Touma, C., Sachser, N., Mostl, E., & Palme, R. (2003). Effects of sex and time of day on metabolism and excretion of corticosterone in urine and feces of mice. Gen Comp Endocrinol, 130(3), 267–278.
Abstract: Non-invasive techniques to monitor stress hormones in small animals like mice offer several advantages and are highly demanded in laboratory as well as in field research. Since knowledge about the species-specific metabolism and excretion of glucocorticoids is essential to develop such a technique, we conducted radiometabolism studies in mice (Mus musculus f. domesticus, strain C57BL/6J). Each mouse was injected intraperitoneally with 740 kBq of 3H-labelled corticosterone and all voided urine and fecal samples were collected for five days. In a first experiment 16 animals (eight of each sex) received the injection at 9 a.m., while eight mice (four of each sex) were injected at 9 p.m. in a second experiment. In both experiments radioactive metabolites were recovered predominantly in the feces, although males excreted significantly higher proportions via the feces (about 73%) than females (about 53%). Peak radioactivity in the urine was detected within about 2h after injection, while in the feces peak concentrations were observed later (depending on the time of injection: about 10h postinjection in experiment 1 and about 4h postinjection in experiment 2, thus proving an effect of the time of day). The number and relative abundance of fecal [3H]corticosterone metabolites was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The HPLC separations revealed that corticosterone was extensively metabolized mainly to more polar substances. Regarding the types of metabolites formed, significant differences were found between males and females, but not between the experiments. Additionally, the immunoreactivity of these metabolites was assessed by screening the HPLC fractions with four enzyme immunoassays (EIA). However, only a newly established EIA for 5alpha-pregnane-3beta,11beta,21-triol-20-one (measuring corticosterone metabolites with a 5alpha-3beta,11beta-diol structure) detected several peaks of radioactive metabolites with high intensity in both sexes, while the other EIAs showed only minor immunoreactivity. Thus, our study for the first time provides substantial information about metabolism and excretion of corticosterone in urine and feces of mice and is the first demonstrating a significant impact of the animals' sex and the time of day. Based on these data it should be possible to monitor adrenocortical activity non-invasively in this species by measuring fecal corticosterone metabolites with the newly developed EIA. Since mice are extensively used in research world-wide, this could open new perspectives in various fields from ecology to behavioral endocrinology.
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Scheibe, K. M., Schleusner, T., Berger, A., Eichhorn, K., Langbein, J., Dal Zotto, L., et al. (1998). ETHOSYS (R)--new system for recording and analysis of behaviour of free-ranging domestic animals and wildlife. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 55(3-4), 195–211.
Abstract: A storage telemetry system has been developed to monitor domestic animals and wildlife, and has been tested under variable conditions on sheep, Przewalski horse and mouflon. It can be used for automatic recording of different patterns of behaviour, such as activity and feeding, and is based on advanced analysis of sensor-emitted signals. The system is made up of collars (ETHOREC) with sensors and electronic devices for behaviour recording, a central station (ETHOLINK) and software for data transmission and processing (ETHODAT). All components of the ETHOREC recording device are integrated in the collar. Long-time recording of behaviour through up to four different channels and in numerous animals at one and the same time are necessary elements to facilitate biorhythmic analysis of animals under free-ranging conditions. The results obtained from this telemetry system were compared with visual observations on six sheep and four Przewalski horses. Parallel recordings were taken from four sheep, using a recorder for jaw movements. Locomotor activity usually was rated somewhat higher by observers, whereas feed uptake was rated lower. Higher feed uptake values were measured by means of the jaw movement recorder, although deviations thus measured varied less than those noticed by visual observations. All measured series exhibited significant correlations with control values. The system, consequently, was found to be more suitable for determination of diurnal patterns, change over time and relative comparison between behaviour levels than it actually was for measurement of absolute duration of a given behaviour.
Keywords: Telemetry; Diurnal patterns; Activity; Rhythms; Feeding and nutrition
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