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Author |
McGuigan, M.P.; Wilson, A.M. |
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Title |
The effect of gait and digital flexor muscle activation on limb compliance in the forelimb of the horse Equus caballus |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2003 |
Publication |
The Journal of Experimental Biology |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Biol |
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Volume |
206 |
Issue |
Pt 8 |
Pages |
1325-1336 |
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Keywords |
Animals; Biomechanics; Forelimb/anatomy & histology/*physiology; Gait/*physiology; Horses/anatomy & histology/*physiology; Muscle Contraction/*physiology; Running |
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Abstract  |
A horse's legs are compressed during the stance phase, storing and then returning elastic strain energy in spring-like muscle-tendon units. The arrangement of the muscle-tendon units around the lever-like joints means that as the leg shortens the muscle-tendon units are stretched. The forelimb anatomy means that the leg can be conceptually divided into two springs: the proximal spring, from the scapula to the elbow, and the distal spring, from the elbow to the foot. In this paper we report the results of a series of experiments testing the hypothesis that there is minimal scope for muscle contraction in either spring to adjust limb compliance. Firstly, we demonstrate that the distal, passive leg spring changes length by 127 mm (range 106-128 mm) at gallop and the proximal spring by 12 mm (9-15 mm). Secondly, we demonstrate that there is a linear relationship between limb force and metacarpo-phalangeal (MCP) joint angle that is minimally influenced by digital flexor muscle activation in vitro or as a function of gait in vivo. Finally, we determined the relationship between MCP joint angle and vertical ground-reaction force at trot and then predicted the forelimb peak vertical ground-reaction force during a 12 m s(-1) gallop on a treadmill. These were 12.79 N kg(-1) body mass (BM) (range 12.07-13.73 N kg(-1) BM) for the lead forelimb and 15.23 N kg(-1) BM (13.51-17.10 N kg(-1) BM) for the non-lead forelimb. |
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Structure and Motion Laboratory, Veterinary Basic Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, UK. m.p.mcguigan@leeds.ac.uk |
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0022-0949 |
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PMID:12624168 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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3655 |
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Author |
Leighty, K.A.; Fragaszy, D.M. |
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Title |
Joystick acquisition in tufted capuchins (Cebus apella) |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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Volume |
6 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
141-148 |
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Keywords |
Animals; Cebus/*physiology; *Computer Peripherals; Functional Laterality; Male; *Task Performance and Analysis; *User-Computer Interface |
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Abstract |
A number of nonhuman primate species have demonstrated the ability to use a joystick to control a cursor on a computer screen, yet the acquisition of this skill has not been the focus of systematic inquiry. Here, we examined joystick acquisition in four tufted capuchins under two directional relationships of joystick movement and resultant cursor displacement, isomorphic and inverted. To document the natural history of the acquisition of this skill, we recorded the development of visual tracking of the cursor and body tilting. Rates of acquisition were comparable between the two conditions. After mastering the task in one condition, subjects remastered the task at an accelerated rate in the opposing condition. All subjects significantly increased or maintained high proportions of cursor tracking throughout acquisition. All subjects demonstrated a postural tilt while moving the cursor from the mid-phase of acquisition through task mastery. In the isomorphic condition, all subjects tilted significantly more often in the direction of goal location than in the opposite direction. In three of the four series of tilting that were scored for subjects in the inverted condition, tilting occurred significantly more often toward the direction of goal location than the direction of required hand movement. Together these findings suggest that body tilting participates in the organization of directional movement of the cursor rather than reflecting merely the motoric requirements of the task (to manipulate a joystick). |
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Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-3013, USA. kleighty@uga.edu |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:12838395 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2564 |
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Author |
Horowitz, A.C. |
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Title |
Do humans ape? Or do apes human? Imitation and intention in humans (Homo sapiens) and other animals |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Journal of comparative psychology |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Comp Psychol |
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117 |
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3 |
Pages |
325-336 |
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Adolescent; Adult; Animals; *Appetitive Behavior; Attention; Child, Preschool; Concept Formation; Female; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; Male; Motivation; Pan troglodytes/*psychology; *Problem Solving; *Psychomotor Performance; Reaction Time; Species Specificity |
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A. Whiten, D. M. Custance, J.-C. Gomez, P. Teixidor, and K. A. Bard (1996) tested chimpanzees' (Pan troglodytes) and human children's (Homo sapiens) skills at imitation with a 2-action test on an “artificial fruit.” Chimpanzees imitated to a restricted degree; children were more thoroughly imitative. Such results prompted some to assert that the difference in imitation indicates a difference in the subjects' understanding of the intentions of the demonstrator (M. Tomasello, 1996). In this experiment, 37 adult human subjects were tested with the artificial fruit. Far from being perfect imitators, the adults were less imitative than the children. These results cast doubt on the inference from imitative performance to an ability to understand others' intentions. The results also demonstrate how any test of imitation requires a control group and attention to the level of behavioral analysis. |
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Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA. ahorowitz@crl.ucsd.edu |
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Washington, D.C. : 1983 |
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0735-7036 |
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PMID:14498809 |
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yes |
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refbase @ user @ |
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736 |
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Branchi, I.; Bichler, Z.; Berger-Sweeney, J.; Ricceri, L. |
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Title |
Animal models of mental retardation: from gene to cognitive function |
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Journal Article |
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2003 |
Publication |
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews |
Abbreviated Journal |
Neurosci Biobehav Rev |
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27 |
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1-2 |
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141-153 |
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Animals; Animals, Genetically Modified/growth & development; Behavior/physiology; Behavior, Animal; Brain/*growth & development; Cognition/*physiology; *Disease Models, Animal; Environment; Genes; Genetic Diseases, Inborn/physiopathology; Humans; Mental Retardation/classification/*genetics/*physiopathology |
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About 2-3% of all children are affected by mental retardation, and genetic conditions rank among the leading causes of mental retardation. Alterations in the information encoded by genes that regulate critical steps of brain development can disrupt the normal course of development, and have profound consequences on mental processes. Genetically modified mouse models have helped to elucidate the contribution of specific gene alterations and gene-environment interactions to the phenotype of several forms of mental retardation. Mouse models of several neurodevelopmental pathologies, such as Down and Rett syndromes and X-linked forms of mental retardation, have been developed. Because behavior is the ultimate output of brain, behavioral phenotyping of these models provides functional information that may not be detectable using molecular, cellular or histological evaluations. In particular, the study of ontogeny of behavior is recommended in mouse models of disorders having a developmental onset. Identifying the role of specific genes in neuropathologies provides a framework in which to understand key stages of human brain development, and provides a target for potential therapeutic intervention. |
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Section of Behavioural Pathophysiology, Laboratorio di Fisiopatologia di Organo e di Sistema, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Roma, Italy. branchi@iss.it |
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0149-7634 |
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PMID:12732230 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2805 |
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Author |
Wilson, R.T. |
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Title |
Biodiversity of Domestic Livestock in the Republic of Yemen |
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Journal Article |
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2003 |
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Tropical Animal Health and Production |
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35 |
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1 |
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27-46 |
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Abstract This paper describes the domestic livestock of the Republic of Yemen and aspires to complement earlier sources listing or partially describing `breeds'. It attempts to cover all species and provide indications of production parameters through a literature review and via field observations made by the author in 1999. Information is provided on livestock numbers and the economic importance of animal production. Most animals are kept in sedentary mixed crop-livestock production systems; transhumant systems have the next greatest number of stock; with nomadic systems being of least and declining importance. Yemen's livestock appear to comprise at least 11 breeds of sheep, 5 breeds of goat, 2 breeds of cattle, 4 breeds of camel, 2 breeds of donkey and 1 breed of horse. There are no data on breeds of poultry but domestic fowl (where clearly considerable diversity exists) and pigeons are kept. There is little formal information on the history and relationships of most breeds. Some appear to be of ancient local origin, whereas others show affinities with those of neighbouring and other countries. None of the identified types is considered endangered, so conservation would be premature. A more formal and detailed genetic characterization, to add to the largely morphological and traditional classification, may, however, reveal such a need. |
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Abstract This paper describes the domestic livestock of the Republic of Yemen and aspires to complement earlier sources listing or partially describing `breeds'. It attempts to cover all species and provide indications of production parameters through a literature review and via field observations made by the author in 1999. Information is provided on livestock numbers and the economic importance of animal production. Most animals are kept in sedentary mixed crop-livestock production systems; transhumant systems have the next greatest number of stock; with nomadic systems being of least and declining importance. Yemen's livestock appear to comprise at least 11 breeds of sheep, 5 breeds of goat, 2 breeds of cattle, 4 breeds of camel, 2 breeds of donkey and 1 breed of horse. There are no data on breeds of poultry but domestic fowl (where clearly considerable diversity exists) and pigeons are kept. There is little formal information on the history and relationships of most breeds. Some appear to be of ancient local origin, whereas others show affinities with those of neighbouring and other countries. None of the identified types is considered endangered, so conservation would be premature. A more formal and detailed genetic characterization, to add to the largely morphological and traditional classification, may, however, reveal such a need. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4389 |
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Buechner-Maxwell, V.A.; Elvinger, F.; Thatcher, C.D.; Murray, M.J.; White, N.A.; Rooney, D.K. |
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Title |
Physiological Response of Normal Adult Horses to a Low-Residue Liquid Diet |
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2003 |
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Journal of Equine Veterinary Science |
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23 |
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7 |
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310-317 |
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Abstract The anorexic or dysphagic adult horse often requires nutritional support. Providing nutrients by the enteral route is the safest and most economic choice, but the dietary options available for use in horses are somewhat limited. The objective of this study was to compare the physiologic response of normal horses with a low-residue liquid or normal diet over a 10-day feeding period. Two groups of 6 normal adult horses were maintained on 1 of 2 diets for a 10-day period. Diets were formulated to meet the caloric needs of a horse maintained in a stall. The control group was fed 70% timothy hay and 30% textured concentrate for the test period, and the experimental group received the low-residue liquid diet, similar to liquid nutritional formulas designed for human use. Clinical parameters, body weight, packed cell volume, total plasma solids, blood glucose, and serum electrolytes were recorded daily for each horse during the dietary trial period. On days 1, 5, and 10 of the study, a complete blood count, serum biochemical profile, and urinalysis were performed. Horses' serum total bilirubin concentration and pattern of weight loss differed between groups. All other physical parameters, blood chemistry, complete blood count, and urinalysis results remained within the normal reference interval for the horses regardless of diet, although some statistical differences were observed. Horses returned to pasture and free-choice grass diet without complications at the end of the dietary trial period. These results demonstrate that few differences of biologic significance were observed between horses being fed low-residue diet and horses receiving a normal diet of hay and grain over a 10-day period. (Equine Vet J 2003;23:310-317) |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4229 |
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Waeber P.O.; Hemelrijk C.K. |
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Female Dominance and Social Structure in Alaotran Gentle Lemurs |
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Journal Article |
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2003 |
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Behaviour |
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Behaviour |
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140 |
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10 |
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1235-1246 |
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Abstract:
Lemur social systems have the striking social feature, that adult females consistently evoke submissive behaviour of adult males. In the Alaotran gentle lemur, Hapalemur griseus alaotrensis, however, female dominance has not been studied yet. Here we confirm female dominance over males on the basis of a 5-month field study of the social behaviour of four groups, in the Lake Alaotra marshland of eastern Madagascar. Further, we found that dominant individuals initiated aggressive interactions significantly more often than lowerranking ones, they initiated group movements more often and higher-ranking individuals were groomed more often. The spatial configuration was remarkable, since individuals were closer in space to those more distant in rank. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5148 |
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Broucek, J.; Ksac, P.; Uhrincat, M. |
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Title |
The effect of sire line on learning and locomotor behaviour of heifers |
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Journal Article |
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2003 |
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Czech Journal of Animal Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Czech J. Anim. Sci |
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48 |
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387-394 |
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heifers; sire; maze; open-field test; repeatability; learning; locomotor behaviour relationship |
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ABSTRACT: e aim of this study was to test the effect of sire line on maze learning ability and locomotor behaviour
in open-field tests of heifers, consistency over the time of grid crossing and relationship between the time of traversing the maze and grid crossings in open-field tests, respectively. We analysed the results of ethological tests for 54 Holstein heifers that descended from 7 sires. Maze behaviour was observed at the age of 15 weeks, an open-field test was applied at two age periods, 16 weeks and 18 months. We found out highly significant differences in the time of traversing the maze between heifers of different sire origin (P < 0.01). e number of grid crossings over the five minutes of the open-field test did not differ between the daughters of the age of 16 weeks and 18 months. Repeatability between the number of grid crossings at the age of 16 weeks and 18 months was proved by significant correlation (r = 0.2713*). On the contrary, significant relationships between the times of traversing the maze and locomotor behaviour in the open-field test (r =-0.3739*) were found only when the sequence of observations followed
after a week pause (age of 15 and 16 weeks). |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4322 |
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Call, J. |
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Beyond learning fixed rules and social cues: abstraction in the social arena |
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2003 |
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Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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Phil. Trans. Biol. Sci. |
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358 |
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1435 |
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1189-1196 |
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Abstraction is a central idea in many areas of physical comparative cognition such as categorization, numerical competence or problem solving. This idea, however, has rarely been applied to comparative social cognition. In this paper, I propose that the notion of abstraction can be applied to the social arena and become an important tool to investigate the social cognition and behaviour processes in animals. To make this point, I present recent evidence showing that chimpanzees know about what others can see and about what others intend. These data do not fit either low-level mechanisms based on stimulus-response associations or high-level explanations based on metarepresentational mechanisms such as false belief attribution. Instead, I argue that social abstraction, in particular the development of concepts such as seeing in others, is key to explaining the behaviour of our closest relative in a variety of situations. |
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refbase @ user @ |
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3524 |
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Ganswindt, A.; Palme, R.; Heistermann, M.; Borragan, S.; Hodges, J.K. |
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Non-invasive assessment of adrenocortical function in the male African elephant (Loxodonta africana) and its relation to musth |
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2003 |
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General and Comparative Endocrinology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Gen Comp Endocrinol |
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134 |
Issue |
2 |
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156-166 |
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Adrenal Cortex/*metabolism/secretion; Adrenal Cortex Function Tests/methods/*veterinary; Adrenocorticotropic Hormone/physiology; Animals; Carbon Isotopes/diagnostic use; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/veterinary; Elephants/*metabolism/urine; Feces/*chemistry; Glucocorticoids/analysis/urine; Hydrocortisone/*analysis/diagnostic use/urine; Immunoenzyme Techniques/methods/veterinary; Male; Reproduction/physiology; Sexual Behavior, Animal/physiology; Stress, Psychological/diagnosis/*physiopathology; Testosterone/*analysis/diagnostic use/urine |
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Abstract |
Adult male elephants periodically show the phenomenon of musth, a condition associated with increased aggressiveness, restlessness, significant weight reduction and markedly elevated androgen levels. It has been suggested that musth-related behaviours are costly and that therefore musth may represent a form of physiological stress. In order to provide data on this largely unanswered question, the first aim of this study was to evaluate different assays for non-invasive assessment of adrenocortical function in the male African elephant by (i) characterizing the metabolism and excretion of [3H]cortisol (3H-C) and [14C]testosterone (14C-T) and (ii) using this information to evaluate the specificity of four antibodies for determination of excreted cortisol metabolites, particularly with respect to possible cross-reactions with androgen metabolites, and to assess their biological validity using an ACTH challenge test. Based on the methodology established, the second objective was to provide data on fecal cortisol metabolite concentrations in bulls during the musth and non-musth condition. 3H-C (1 mCi) and 14C-T (100 microCi) were injected simultaneously into a 16 year old male and all urine and feces collected for 30 and 86 h, respectively. The majority (82%) of cortisol metabolites was excreted into the urine, whereas testosterone metabolites were mainly (57%) excreted into the feces. Almost all radioactive metabolites recovered from urine were conjugated (86% 3H-C and 97% 14C-T). In contrast, 86% and >99% of the 3H-C and 14C-T metabolites recovered from feces consisted of unconjugated forms. HPLC separations indicated the presence of various metabolites of cortisol in both urine and feces, with cortisol being abundant in hydrolysed urine, but virtually absent in feces. Although all antibodies measured substantial amounts of immunoreactivity after HPLC separation of peak radioactive samples and detected an increase in glucocorticoid output following the ACTH challenge, only two (in feces against 3alpha,11-oxo-cortisol metabolites, measured by an 11-oxo-etiocholanolone-EIA and in urine against cortisol, measured by a cortisol-EIA) did not show substantial cross-reactivity with excreted 14C-T metabolites and could provide an acceptable degree of specificity for reliable assessment of glucocorticoid output from urine and feces. Based on these findings, concentrations of immunoreactive 3alpha,11-oxo-cortisol metabolites were determined in weekly fecal samples collected from four adult bulls over periods of 11-20 months to examine whether musth is associated with increased adrenal activity. Results showed that in each male levels of these cortisol metabolites were not elevated during periods of musth, suggesting that in the African elephant musth is generally not associated with marked elevations in glucocorticoid output. Given the complex nature of musth and the variety of factors that are likely to influence its manifestation, it is clear, however, that further studies, particularly on free-ranging animals, are needed before a possible relationship between musth and adrenal function can be resolved. This study also clearly illustrates the potential problems associated with cross-reacting metabolites of gonadal steroids in EIAs measuring glucocorticoid metabolites. This has to be taken into account when selecting assays and interpreting results of glucocorticoid metabolite analysis, not only for studies in the elephant but also in other species. |
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German Primate Centre, Department of Reproductive Biology, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Gottingen, Germany. ganswindt@www.dpz.gdwg.de |
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English |
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0016-6480 |
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PMID:14511986 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4085 |
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