Characterization of estrogens, testosterone, and cortisol in normal bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) pregnancy

Steinman, Karen J.; Robeck, Todd R.; O’Brien, Justine K.

doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2015.12.019

Cited by 45 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…In the five young bottlenose dolphins hosted in Facility 1, serum cortisol concentrations were below 8 ng/mL in most samples and these were comparable with those reported by others (Suzuki et al 1998(Suzuki et al , 2003Steinman et al 2016). Other authors reported higher basal serum cortisol concentrations ranging from about 10 ng/mL (Thomson and Geraci 1986) to about 22 ng/mL (Fair et al 2014, Hart et al 2015 in the wild.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Collecting fecal samples under potentially stressful conditions allowed comparisons with the fecal cortisol concentrations observed in healthy subjects. Parturition is an unavoidably stressful event, and glucocorticoid secretion increases in maternal blood in late pregnancy and around parturition in the bottlenose dolphin (Steinman et al 2016) as well as in most mammals (Atkinson and Waddell 1995, Keller-Wood 1998, Power and Schulkin 2006, Norris 2007. Our fecal cortisol data support this.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

“…, ; Steinman et al . ). Other authors reported higher basal serum cortisol concentrations ranging from about 10 ng/mL (Thomson and Geraci ) to about 22 ng/mL (Fair et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Parturition is an unavoidably stressful event, and glucocorticoid secretion increases in maternal blood in late pregnancy and around parturition in the bottlenose dolphin (Steinman et al . ) as well as in most mammals (Atkinson and Waddell , Keller‐Wood , Power and Schulkin , Norris ). Our fecal cortisol data support this.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fecal cortisol radioimmunoassay to monitor adrenal gland activity in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) under human care

Biancani¹,

Dalt

Gallina³

et al. 2017

Marine Mammal Science

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Fecal glucocorticoid measurement is an important noninvasive tool to monitor animal health. A radioimmunoassay (RIA) method was developed to measure fecal cortisol in bottlenose dolphins under human care. The method was used to measure baseline hormone levels and evaluate the adrenal response to environmental challenges in a small number of individual dolphins. The method was validated by precision and accuracy tests and by comparison with liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry (LC‐MS). The parallelism test suggested few matrix interferences. The assay showed a good degree of precision within assay (CV = 5.4%) and between assays (CV = 4.1%). The RIA significantly correlated with the LC‐MS method (r = 0.838, P < 0.01). The recovery test and the comparison between RIA and LC‐MS suggested that the RIA slightly underestimates fecal cortisol concentrations, although the degree of accuracy was good. This study established that bottlenose dolphins excrete appreciable amounts of fecal cortisol (healthy subjects: 0.2–9.5 ng/g). Therefore, chronic HPA axis activation may be monitored in fecal samples by immunoassays after validating a suitable extraction protocol. The RIA could discriminate conditions of stimulation (pregnancy, parturition, isolation, transportation) and inhibition (diazepam administration) of the HPA axis and may, therefore, be useful for monitoring dolphin well‐being.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

“…, ; Steinman et al . ). Other authors reported higher basal serum cortisol concentrations ranging from about 10 ng/mL (Thomson and Geraci ) to about 22 ng/mL (Fair et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Fecal cortisol radioimmunoassay to monitor adrenal gland activity in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) under human care

Biancani¹,

Dalt

Gallina³

et al. 2017

Marine Mammal Science

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“…The utility of this approach is that it can be used with dart biopsy sampling to obtain reproductive information without the need to capture individuals. For cetacean species, it has been estimated that progesterone concentrations of pregnant animals rise to levels that are diagnostically distinct from confirmed non-pregnant animals within 3 wk post conception (Kellar et al 2006, Steinman et al 2016. However, unlike with the CRHA ultrasound animals, the endocrine evaluations of the blubber provide no diagnostic information about due date of the pregnant biopsied animals; therefore, the maximum ex pected due date was assumed to be no greater than 13 mo after the biopsy was collected, based on an estimated gestation duration of 12.5 mo, plus 2 wk (O'Brien & , Smith et al 2013.…”

Section: Blubber Endocrine Evaluations Of Dart Biopsiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low reproductive success rates of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in the northern Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon disaster (2010-2015)

Kellar¹,

Speakman²,

Smith³

et al. 2017

Endang. Species. Res.

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Following the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, reproductive success rates in 2 northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) bottlenose dolphin stocks exposed to oil were evaluated for 4 yr during and after the spill (2010 to 2015) in efforts to assess population-level reproductive health. Pregnancy was determined from either (1) ultrasound examinations of the reproductive tract during capture-release health assessments, or (2) endocrine evaluations of blubber tissue collected from dart biopsies of free-ranging dolphins. Follow-up photo-identification was then used to track the status of pregnant females and any associated neonatal calves for a minimum of 1 yr after the initial pregnancy detection (IPD). For all pregnant females observed following IPD, individuals seen with a calf (reproductive success) and without one (reproductive failure) were recorded. The resulting estimated reproductive success rates for both GoM stocks (19.4%; 7/36) were less than a third of those previously reported in other areas not impacted by the spill (i.e. Sarasota Bay, FL; Indian River Lagoon, FL; and Charleston Harbor, SC) using similar techniques (64.7%; 22/34). We also evaluated the relationships between reproductive success and 13 potential covariates, including stock, ordinal date, progesterone, cortisol, thyroid hormone concentrations, leukocyte count, lung health score, and total body length. Among these, the results only provide strong evidence (Bayes factor > 20) of a relationship between reproductive failure and the total leukocyte count covariate. The high reproductive failure rates measured in both GoM stocks following the DWH oil spill are consistent with mammalian literature that shows a link between petroleum exposure and reproductive abnormalities and failures.

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Maternal estradiol and progesterone concentrations among singleton spontaneous pregnancies during the first trimester

Grossi

Parisi

Duca

et al. 2018

J Endocrinol Invest

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Characterization of estrogens, testosterone, and cortisol in normal bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) pregnancy

Cited by 45 publications

References 58 publications

Fecal cortisol radioimmunoassay to monitor adrenal gland activity in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) under human care

Fecal cortisol radioimmunoassay to monitor adrenal gland activity in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) under human care

Low reproductive success rates of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in the northern Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon disaster (2010-2015)

Maternal estradiol and progesterone concentrations among singleton spontaneous pregnancies during the first trimester

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