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Non-invasive assessment of adrenocortical activity as a measure of stress in giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)

dc.contributor.authorBashaw, Meredith J.
dc.contributor.authorSicks, Florian
dc.contributor.authorPalme, Rupert
dc.contributor.authorSchwarzenberger, Franz
dc.contributor.authorTordiffe, Adrian Stephen Wolferstan
dc.contributor.authorGanswindt, Andre
dc.date.accessioned2016-11-14T09:56:12Z
dc.date.available2016-11-14T09:56:12Z
dc.date.issued2016-10-18
dc.descriptionAdditional file 1: Full dataset in Microsoft Excel workbook format.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND : Numbers of giraffes are declining rapidly in their native habitat. As giraffe research and conservation efforts increase, the demand for more complete measures of the impact of conservation interventions and the effects of captive environments on animal health and welfare have risen. We compared the ability of six different enzyme immunoassays to quantify changes in fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) resulting from three sources: adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation test, transport, and time of day that samples were collected. RESULTS : Two male giraffes underwent ACTH injections; all six assays detected FGM increases following injection for Giraffe 1, while only three assays detected FGM increases following injection for Giraffe 2. Consistent with other ruminant species, the two 11-oxoetiocholanolone assays (one for 11,17-dioxoandrostanes and the other for 3α,11-oxo metabolites) measured the most pronounced and prolonged elevation of FGM, while an assay for 3β,11β-diol detected peaks of smaller magnitude and duration. Both of the 11-oxoetiocholanolone assays detected significant FGM increases after transport in Giraffes 3–7, and preliminary data suggest FGM detected by the assay for 11,17-dioxoandrostanes may differ across time of day. CONCLUSIONS : We conclude the assay for 11,17-dioxoandrostanes is the most sensitive assay tested for FGM in giraffes and the assay for FGM with a 5β-3α-ol-11-one structure is also effective. 11-oxoetiocholanolone enzyme immunoassays have now been demonstrated to be successful in a wide variety of ruminant species, providing indirect evidence that 5β-reduction may be a common metabolic pathway for glucocorticoids in ruminants. As FGM peaks were detected in at least some giraffes using all assays tested, giraffes appear to excrete a wide variety of different FGM. The assays validated here will provide a valuable tool for research on the health, welfare, and conservation of giraffes.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentAnatomy and Physiologyen_ZA
dc.description.departmentParaclinical Sciencesen_ZA
dc.description.librarianam2016en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipThe Association of Friends and Supporters of Goethe University Frankfurt provided financial support for F. Sicks to travel to Vienna to analyze fecal samples and von Opel Hessische Zoostiftung supported a studentship for F. Sicks. One commercial funder [Tierpark Berlin] provided support in the form of salary for F. Sicks during data analysis and preparation of this manuscript. The specific role of this author is articulated in the ‘Author Contributions’ section.en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcvetresen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBashaw, MJ, Sicks, F, Palme, R, Schwarzenberger, F, Tordiffe, ASW & Ganswindt, A 2016, 'Non-invasive assessment of adrenocortical activity as a measure of stress in giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)', BMC Veterinary Research, vol. 12, art. #235, pp. 1-13.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1746-6148
dc.identifier.other10.1186/s12917-016-0864-8
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/58047
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherBioMed Centralen_ZA
dc.rights© 2016 The Author(s). Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.en_ZA
dc.subjectValidationen_ZA
dc.subjectUngulateen_ZA
dc.subjectRuminanten_ZA
dc.subjectZooen_ZA
dc.subjectEndocrineen_ZA
dc.subjectAdrenal physiologyen_ZA
dc.subjectGlucocorticoiden_ZA
dc.subjectHealth5en_ZA
dc.subjectFecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM)en_ZA
dc.subjectGiraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)en_ZA
dc.subjectAdrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)en_ZA
dc.subjectACTH challengeen_ZA
dc.titleNon-invasive assessment of adrenocortical activity as a measure of stress in giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)en_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA

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