Coyote laparotomy: In vivo determination of reproductive success

Green, J.S.; Barnum, Douglas A.; Gates, N. L.; Flinders, Jerran T.

doi:10.1016/0093-691x(79)90071-2

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Some studies on carnivores have begun to show that hand-rearing affects their behaviour and reproductive success as well. Green et al [ 22 ] found that hand-reared coyotes ( Canis latrans ) kept in captivity produced fewer offspring than would be expected from wild mother-reared individuals. Both female and male domestic cats ( Felis catus ) raised by humans alone without conspecific contact copulated significantly less than those raised by their mothers alongside conspecifics [ 23 , 24 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Hand-Rearing on Reproductive Success in Captive Large Cats Panthera tigris altaica, Uncia uncia, Acinonyx jubatus and Neofelis nebulosa

Hampson

Schwitzer²

2016

PLoS ONE

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Species Survival Plans and European Endangered Species Programmes have been developed for several species of endangered felids in order to build up captive reserve populations and support their conservation in the wild. The Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), snow leopard (Uncia uncia), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) are managed in such ex situ conservation programmes. Many zoological institutions hand-rear offspring if rearing by the mother fails. Hand-rearing can cause behavioural problems, resulting in decreased copulation and lower breeding success in some species. In this study, studbook data subsets were examined: from 1901 to 2011; and 2000 to 2011. We analysed records from 4273 Siberian tigers, 2045 snow leopards, 3435 cheetahs, and 804 clouded leopards. We assessed the number of offspring produced, litter size, age at first reproduction, longevity, infant mortality and generational rearing of hand-reared versus parent-reared individuals. Hand-reared Siberian tigers (p<0.01; p = 0.0113), snow leopards (p<0.01), male cheetahs (p<0.01) and female clouded leopards (p<0.01) produced fewer offspring than parent-reared individuals. Hand-reared snow leopard breeding pairs had larger litters than parent-reared pairs (p = 0.0404). Hand-reared snow leopard females reproduced later in life (p<0.01). Hand-reared female Siberian tigers lived shorter lives, while hand-reared cheetahs lived longer (p<0.01; p = 0.0107). Infant mortality was higher in hand-reared snow leopards (p<0.01) and male cheetahs (p = 0.0395) in the 1901–2011 dataset and lower in hand-reared female Siberian tiger and male snow leopard cubs (p = 0.0404; p = 0.0349) in the 2000–2011 dataset. The rearing of the mother and subsequent rearing of offspring showed a significant relationship for all species (p<0.01 for Siberian tiger and snow leopard cubs; p<0.001 for cheetah and snow leopard cubs). Taking into account the limited carrying capacity of zoos, the results of this study highlight that careful consideration should be taken when deciding whether or not to hand-rear individuals that are part of Species Survival Plans and European Endangered Species Programmes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Hand-Rearing on Reproductive Success in Captive Large Cats Panthera tigris altaica, Uncia uncia, Acinonyx jubatus and Neofelis nebulosa

Hampson

Schwitzer²

2016

PLoS ONE

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“…After ovulation, maternal nutritional status can also affect embryo and fetal survival and influence live litter size (Almeida et al, 2001;Robinson, 1990;Sayles, 1984;Van Lunen and Aherne, 1987). The number of implantation scars represent the maximum number of pups expected from a female in that cycle; therefore a discrepancy between implantation scars and the number of pups whelped would be indicative of the reabsorption of embryos or fetuses, still births, or cannibalized litters (Green et al, 1979). A captive study (Sayles, 1984) investigating the effect of maternal diet during pregnancy on fetal survival found that female coyotes fed 1200 g, 800 g, or 500 g of ground meat during pregnancy after implantation had 75%, 65%, and 30% of the implantations accounted for at whelping, respectively (maintenance diet = 700 g).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At 6 weeks of age, the pups were again counted, sexed, and weighed. The following June or July of each year, implantation scars on the uterus were counted via laparotomy (Green et al, 1979;Kennelly et al, 1977).…”

Section: Offspring Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutritional effects on reproductive performance of captive adult female coyotes (Canis latrans)

Gese

Roberts

Knowlton

2016

Animal Reproduction Science

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Interactions between animals and their environment are fundamental to ecological research. Field studies of coyote (Canis latrans) reproductive performance suggest mean litter size changes in response to prey abundance. However, this relationship has been assessed primarily by using carcasses collected from trappers. The objective of this study was to assess whether nutritional manipulation prior to mating affected reproduction in adult female coyotes. We examined the effects of caloric restriction during the 7 months prior to estrus on the reproductive rates of 11 captive female coyotes and the subsequent initial survival of pups through two reproductive cycles. This was a 2-year study with a cross-over design so each female was monitored for reproductive performance on each of the two diet treatments. We assessed the number of implantation scars, number of pups born, sex ratios of pups, average pup weight at birth and 2- and 6-weeks of age, and the survival rates between implantation and 2-weeks of age for two diet treatments. We found the mean number of implantation sites and pups whelped during a reproductive cycle was influenced by food-intake prior to conception. Additionally, we found evidence suggesting the effects of nutritional stress may persist for additional breeding cycles. We also provided evidence suggesting well-fed females tended to have more male pups. Understanding how environmental factors influence reproductive output may improve model predictions of coyote population dynamics.

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