Impacts of the season and reproductive status on fecal reproductive and adrenocortical steroid metabolites in zoo Cuban crocodiles (Crocodylus rhombifer).

Impacts of the season and reproductive status on fecal reproductive and adrenocortical steroid metabolites in zoo Cuban crocodiles (Crocodylus rhombifer).

Augustine, Lauren;Miller, Kyle;Peters, Alan;Franklin, Ashley D;Steinbeiser, Cathleen M;Brown, Janine L;Prado, Natalia A;
Zoo Biology 2020
148
augustine2020impactszoo

Abstract

Conservation strategies for crocodilians often include captive breeding to create stable assurance populations. Evaluating adrenal and gonadal hormone patterns can provide animal managers with data to more effectively monitor animal welfare and reproductive status. This study evaluated the effects of season (breeding, nesting, or off), sex (male and female), and reproductive status of females (egg-laying/housed with a male or non-laying/housed solo) on concentrations of fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM), fecal androgen metabolite (FAM), and fecal progestogen metabolite (FPM) in seven Cuban crocodiles, Crocodylus rhombifer, at the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park. Overall, seasonal changes in FGM and FPM concentrations were only observed in egg-laying females; FGM and FPM concentrations were both higher during the nesting season compared to the breeding and off seasons. Seasonal changes in FAM concentrations were only observed in males; males had higher FAM concentrations during the breeding and nesting seasons compared to the off season. Future studies investigating the use of fecal hormone metabolites in crocodilians are necessary to understand differences between individuals and species, to further elucidate the interactions between hormones and environmental factors, such as social housing, and to develop long-term datasets for the management of this species.

Citation

ID: 171538
Ref Key: augustine2020impactszoo
Use this key to autocite in SciMatic or Thesis Manager

References

Blockchain Verification

Account:
NFT Contract Address:
0x95644003c57E6F55A65596E3D9Eac6813e3566dA
Article ID:
171538
Unique Identifier:
10.1002/zoo.21559
Network:
Scimatic Chain (ID: 481)
Loading...
Blockchain Readiness Checklist
Authors
Abstract
Journal Name
Year
Title
5/5
Creates 1,000,000 NFT tokens for this article
Token Features:
  • ERC-1155 Standard NFT
  • 1 Million Supply per Article
  • Transferable via MetaMask
  • Permanent Blockchain Record
Blockchain QR Code
Scan with Saymatik Web3.0 Wallet

Saymatik Web3.0 Wallet