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Author Baltic, M.; Jenni-Eiermann, S.; Arlettaz, R.; Palme, R.
Title (up) A noninvasive technique to evaluate human-generated stress in the black grouse Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Abbreviated Journal Ann N Y Acad Sci
Volume 1046 Issue Pages 81-95
Keywords Adrenocorticotropic Hormone/metabolism; Animals; Bird Diseases/*metabolism; Conservation of Natural Resources; Corticosterone/*metabolism; Ecosystem; Feces/*chemistry; Female; Galliformes/*metabolism; Immunoenzyme Techniques/methods/veterinary; Male; Reproducibility of Results; Stress/metabolism/*veterinary; Tritium/diagnostic use
Abstract The continuous development of tourism and related leisure activities is exerting an increasingly intense pressure on wildlife. In this study, a novel noninvasive method for measuring stress in the black grouse, an endangered, emblematic species of European ecosystems that is currently declining in several parts of its European range, is tested and physiologically validated. A radiometabolism study and an ACTH challenge test were performed on four captive black grouse (two of each sex) in order to get basic information about the metabolism and excretion of corticosterone and to find an appropriate enzyme-immunoassay (EIA) to measure its metabolites in the feces. Peak radioactivity in the droppings was detected within 1 to 2 hours. Injected (3)H-corticosterone was excreted as polar metabolites and by itself was almost absent. A cortisone-EIA was chosen from among seven tested EIAs for different groups of glucocorticoid metabolites, because it cross-reacted with some of the formed metabolites and best reflected the increase of excreted corticosterone metabolites, after the ACTH challenge test. Concentrations of the metabolites from fecal samples collected from snow burrows of free-ranging black grouse were within the same range as in captive birds. The noninvasive method described may be appropriate for evaluating the stress faced by free-living black grouse populations in the wild, particularly in mountain ecosystems where human disturbance, especially by winter sports, is of increasing conservation concern.
Address Zoological Institute, Division of Conservation Biology, Baltzerstrasse 6, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0077-8923 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16055845 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4080
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Author Touma, C.; Palme, R.; Sachser, N.
Title (up) Analyzing corticosterone metabolites in fecal samples of mice: a noninvasive technique to monitor stress hormones Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Hormones and Behavior Abbreviated Journal Horm Behav
Volume 45 Issue 1 Pages 10-22
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
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.
Address Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Muenster, D-48149 Muenster, Germany. touma@uni-muenster.de
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0018-506X ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:14733887 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4084
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Author Bottoms, G.D.; Roesel, O.F.; Rausch, F.D.; Akins, E.L.
Title (up) Circadian variation in plasma cortisol and corticosterone in pigs and mares Type Journal Article
Year 1972 Publication American Journal of Veterinary Research Abbreviated Journal Am J Vet Res
Volume 33 Issue 4 Pages 785-790
Keywords Animals; *Circadian Rhythm; Corticosterone/*blood; Female; Horses/*metabolism; Hydrocortisone/*blood; Methods; Swine/*metabolism; Time Factors
Abstract
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0002-9645 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:5017871 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4074
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Author Heistermann, M.; Palme, R.; Ganswindt, A.
Title (up) Comparison of different enzyme-immunoassays for assessment of adrenocortical activity in primates based on fecal analysis Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication American journal of primatology Abbreviated Journal Am. J. Primatol.
Volume 68 Issue 3 Pages 257-273
Keywords 11-Hydroxycorticosteroids/*analysis; Adrenocorticotropic Hormone/pharmacology; Anesthesia; Animals; Corticosterone/analysis; Feces/*chemistry; Glucocorticoids/*analysis; Haplorhini/*metabolism; Hydrocortisone/analysis; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/drug effects/physiology; Immunoenzyme Techniques/*methods; Pituitary-Adrenal System/drug effects/physiology; Species Specificity
Abstract Most studies published to date that used fecal glucocorticoid measurements to assess adrenocortical activity in primate (and many nonprimate) species applied a specific cortisol or corticosterone assay. However, since these native glucocorticoids are virtually absent in the feces of most vertebrates, including primates, the validity of this approach has recently been questioned. Therefore, the overall aim of the present study was to assess the validity of four enzyme-immunoassays (EIAs) using antibodies raised against cortisol, corticosterone, and reduced cortisol metabolites (two group-specific antibodies) for assessing adrenocortical activity using fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (GCM) measurements in selected primate species (marmoset, long-tailed macaque, Barbary macaque, chimpanzee, and gorilla). Using physiological stimulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis by administering exogenous ACTH or anesthesia, we demonstrated that at least two assays detected the predicted increase in fecal GCM levels in response to treatment in each species. However, the magnitude of response varied between assays and species, and no one assay was applicable to all species. While the corticosterone assay generally was of only limited suitability for assessing glucocorticoid output, the specific cortisol assay was valuable for those species that (according to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis data) excreted clearly detectable amounts of authentic cortisol into the feces. In contrast, in species in which cortisol was virtually absent in the feces, group-specific assays provided a much stronger signal, and these assays also performed well in the other primate species tested (except the marmoset). Collectively, the data suggest that the reliability of a given fecal glucocorticoid assay in reflecting activity of the HPA axis in primates clearly depends on the species in question. Although to date there is no single assay system that can be used successfully across species, our data suggest that group-specific assays have a high potential for cross-species application. Nevertheless, regardless of which GC antibody is chosen, our study clearly reinforces the necessity of appropriately validating the respective assay system before it is used.
Address Department of Reproductive Biology, German Primate Center, Gottingen, Germany. mheiste@gwdg.de
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0275-2565 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16477600 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4078
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Author Koolhaas, J.M.; Korte, S.M.; De Boer, S.F.; Van Der Vegt, B.J.; Van Reenen, C.G.; Hopster, H.; De Jong, I.C.; Ruis, M.A.W.; Blokhuis, H.J.
Title (up) Coping styles in animals: current status in behavior and stress-physiology Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews Abbreviated Journal
Volume 23 Issue 7 Pages 925-935
Keywords Coping; Aggression; Stress; Disease; Corticosterone
Abstract This paper summarizes the current views on coping styles as a useful concept in understanding individual adaptive capacity and vulnerability to stress-related disease. Studies in feral populations indicate the existence of a proactive and a reactive coping style. These coping styles seem to play a role in the population ecology of the species. Despite domestication, genetic selection and inbreeding, the same coping styles can, to some extent, also be observed in laboratory and farm animals. Coping styles are characterized by consistent behavioral and neuroendocrine characteristics, some of which seem to be causally linked to each other. Evidence is accumulating that the two coping styles might explain a differential vulnerability to stress mediated disease due to the differential adaptive value of the two coping styles and the accompanying neuroendocrine differentiation.
Address
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4416
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Author Yarnell, K.; Hall, C.; Royle, C.; Walker, S.L.
Title (up) Domesticated horses differ in their behavioural and physiological responses to isolated and group housing Type Journal Article
Year 2015 Publication Physiology & Behavior Abbreviated Journal Physiol.Behav.
Volume 143 Issue Pages 51-57
Keywords Equine; Behaviour; Corticosterone; Housing
Abstract Abstract The predominant housing system used for domestic horses is individual stabling; however, housing that limits social interaction and requires the horse to live in semi-isolation has been reported to be a concern for equine welfare. The aim of the current study was to compare behavioural and physiological responses of domestic horses in different types of housing design that provided varying levels of social contact. Horses (n = 16) were divided equally into four groups and exposed to each of four housing treatments for a period of five days per treatment in a randomized block design. The four housing treatments used were single housed no physical contact (SHNC), single housed semi-contact (SHSC), paired housed full contact (PHFC) and group housed full contact (GHFC). During each housing treatment, adrenal activity was recorded using non-invasive faecal corticosterone metabolite analysis (fGC). Thermal images of the eye were captured and eye temperature was assessed as a non-invasive measure of the stress response. Behavioural analysis of time budget was carried out and an ease of handling score was assigned to each horse in each treatment using video footage. SHNC horses had significantly higher (p = 0.01) concentrations of fGC and were significantly (p = 0.003) more difficult to handle compared to the other housing types. GHFC horses, although not significantly different, had numerically lower concentrations of fGC and were more compliant to handling when compared to all other housing treatments. Eye temperature was significantly (p = 0.0001) lower in the group housed treatment when compared to all other treatments. These results indicate that based on physiological and behavioural measures incorporating social contact into the housing design of domestic horses could improve the standard of domestic equine welfare.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0031-9384 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5920
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Author Touma, C.; Sachser, N.; Mostl, E.; Palme, R.
Title (up) Effects of sex and time of day on metabolism and excretion of corticosterone in urine and feces of mice Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication General and Comparative Endocrinology Abbreviated Journal Gen Comp Endocrinol
Volume 130 Issue 3 Pages 267-278
Keywords Animals; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Circadian Rhythm/*physiology; Corticosterone/*metabolism/urine; Feces/*chemistry; Female; Immunoenzyme Techniques; Kinetics; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Reference Values; Sex Factors; Stress/metabolism; Time Factors; Tritium
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.
Address Department of Behavioral Biology, Institute of Neuro and Behavioral Biology, University of Muenster, Badestrasse 9, D-48149 Muenster, Germany. touma@uni-muenster.de
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0016-6480 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:12606269 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4086
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Author Kralj-Fiser, S.; Scheiber, I.B.R.; Blejec, A.; Moestl, E.; Kotrschal, K.
Title (up) Individualities in a flock of free-roaming greylag geese: behavioral and physiological consistency over time and across situations Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Hormones and Behavior Abbreviated Journal Horm Behav
Volume 51 Issue 2 Pages 239-248
Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Corticosterone/metabolism; Feces; Female; Geese/*physiology; Individuality; Male; Personality/*physiology; Population Density; Reproducibility of Results; Seasons; *Social Behavior; Social Environment; Testosterone/*metabolism
Abstract The concept of personality implies individual differences in behavior and physiology that show some degree of repeatability/consistency over time and across contexts. Most studies of animal personality, particularly studies of individuals' variation in physiological mechanisms, have been conducted on selected individuals in controlled conditions. We attempted to detect consistent behaviors as well as physiological patterns in greylag ganders (Anser anser) from a free-roaming flock living in semi-natural conditions. We tested 10 individuals repeatedly, in a handling trial, resembling tests for characterization of “temperaments” in captive animals. We recorded the behavior of the same 10 individuals during four situations in the socially intact flock: (1) a “low density feeding condition”, (2) a “high density feeding condition”, (3) a “low density post-feeding situation” and (4) while the geese rested. We collected fecal samples for determination of excreted immuno-reactive corticosterone (BM) and testosterone metabolites (TM) after handling trials, as well as the “low density feeding” and the “high density feeding” conditions. BM levels were very highly consistent over the repeats of handling trials, and the “low density feeding condition” and tended to be consistent over the first two repeats of the “high density feeding condition”. Also, BM responses tended to be consistent across contexts. Despite seasonal variation, there tended to be inter-test consistency of TM, which pointed to some individual differences in TM as well. Aggressiveness turned out to be a highly repeatable trait, which was consistent across social situations, and tended to correlate with an individual's resistance during handling trials. Also, “proximity to the female partner” and “sociability” – the average number of neighboring geese in a close distance while resting – were consistent. We conclude that aggressiveness, “affiliative tendencies” and levels of excreted corticosterone and testosterone metabolites may be crucial factors of personality in geese.
Address University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical faculty, Slovenia. simona.kralj@guest.arnes.si
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0018-506X ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17196200 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4189
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Author Mostl, E.; Rettenbacher, S.; Palme, R.
Title (up) Measurement of corticosterone metabolites in birds' droppings: an analytical approach Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Abbreviated Journal Ann N Y Acad Sci
Volume 1046 Issue Pages 17-34
Keywords Animals; Birds/*metabolism; Corticosterone/*analysis/metabolism; Feces/*chemistry; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Immunoassay; Molecular Structure; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity
Abstract Fecal steroid analyses are becoming increasingly popular among both field and laboratory scientists. The benefits associated with sampling procedures that do not require restraint, anesthesia, and blood collection include less risk to subject and investigator, as well as the potential to obtain endocrine profiles that are not influenced by the sampling procedure itself. In the feces, a species-specific pattern of metabolites is present, because glucocorticoids are extensively metabolized. Therefore, selection of adequate extraction procedures and immunoassays for measuring the relevant metabolites is a serious issue. In this review, emphasis is placed on the establishment and analytical validation of methods to measure glucocorticoid metabolites for a noninvasive evaluation of adrenocortical activity in droppings of birds.
Address Institute of Biochemistry, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Veterinarplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, Austria. erich.moestl@vu-wien.ac.at
Corporate Author Thesis
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0077-8923 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16055841 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4082
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Author Thiel, D.; Jenni-Eiermann, S.; Palme, R.
Title (up) Measuring corticosterone metabolites in droppings of capercaillies (Tetrao urogallus) Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Abbreviated Journal Ann N Y Acad Sci
Volume 1046 Issue Pages 96-108
Keywords Adrenocorticotropic Hormone/administration & dosage/analysis/metabolism; Animals; Circadian Rhythm; Corticosterone/administration & dosage/*analysis/*metabolism; Feces/*chemistry; Female; Freezing; Galliformes/*metabolism; Male; Reproducibility of Results; Sex Factors; Temperature; Time Factors; Tritium/diagnostic use
Abstract The capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), the largest grouse species in the world, is decreasing in numbers in major parts of its distribution range. Disturbances by human outdoor activities are discussed as a possible reason for this population decline. An indicator for disturbances is the increase of the glucocorticoid corticosterone, a stress hormone, which helps to cope with life-threatening situations. However, repeated disturbances might result in a long-term increase of the basal corticosterone concentration, which can result in detrimental effects like reduced fitness and survival of an animal. To measure corticosterone metabolites (CMs) noninvasively in the droppings of free-living capercaillies, first an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) in captive birds had to be selected and validated. Therefore, the excretion pattern of intravenously injected radiolabeled corticosterone was determined and 3H metabolites were characterized. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separations of the samples containing peak concentrations revealed that corticosterone was extensively metabolized. The HPLC fractions were tested in several EIAs for glucocorticoid metabolites. The physiological relevance of this method was proved after pharmacological stimulation of the adrenocortical activity. Only the recently established cortisone assay, measuring CMs with a 3,11-dione structure, detected an expressed increase of concentrations following ACTH stimulation. To set up a sampling protocol suited for the field, we examined the influence of various storage conditions and time of day on concentrations of CMs.
Address Swiss Ornithological Institute, 6204 Sempach, Switzerland. dominik.thiel@vogelwarte.ch
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0077-8923 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16055846 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4079
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