Interrelationship of serum testosterone, dominance and ovarian cyclicity status in female African elephants

Mouttham, Lara; Buhr, M.M.; Freeman, Elizabeth W.; Widowski, Tina M.; Graham, Laura H.; Brown, Janine L.

doi:10.1016/j.anireprosci.2011.04.006

Cited by 15 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In the study by Carlson et al [44] on female meerkats, E 2 rather than T was associated with dominant position in the social structure. Moreover, no association between T levels and dominance rank was found in female African elephants [45], lemurs [46] and female bonobos [47]. Our study constitutes yet another evidence that this association may not hold true either in human females.…”

Section: Estradiol Testosterone and Dominancecontrasting

confidence: 67%

Trait anxiety moderates the association between estradiol and dominance in women

Ziomkiewicz

Wichary

Gomuła

et al. 2015

Physiology & Behavior

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Section: Estradiol Testosterone and Dominancecontrasting

confidence: 67%

Trait anxiety moderates the association between estradiol and dominance in women

Ziomkiewicz

Wichary

Gomuła

et al. 2015

Physiology & Behavior

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“…Serum testosterone was quantified using a singleantibody enzyme immunoassay (EIA) based on a rabbit anti-testosterone polyclonal antibody (R156/7) and a horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated testosterone tracer obtained from Coralie Munro (University of California, Davis, CA, USA), and described previously for elephants (Thongtip et al, 2008;Mouttham et al, 2011). The testosterone antibody is reported to crossreact with testosterone (100%), 5␣-dihydrotestosterone (57.4%), androstenedione (0.3%), androsterone (0.04%), DHEA (0.04%), cholesterol (0.03%) and ␤-estradiol (0.02%) (Gudermuth et al, 1998).…”

Section: Hormone Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone vaccine to suppress musth in captive male Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)

Somgird

Homkong²,

Sripiboon

et al. 2016

Animal Reproduction Science

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“…There is considerably more information available on what does not cause acyclicity than what does. For example, several conditions known to be associated with infertility in other species have been found not to be related to ovarian problems in African elephants, such as hyperandrogenism [ 7 ], hyperestrogenism [ 8 ], thyroid derangements, pituitary dysfunction [ 9 , 10 ] or elevated cortisol [ 10 , 11 ]. Another disproven theory is that acyclic zoo elephants have exhausted their supply of ovarian follicles; i.e., undergone a premature ‘menopause’.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive Health Assessment of Female Elephants in North American Zoos and Association of Husbandry Practices with Reproductive Dysfunction in African Elephants (Loxodonta africana)

et al. 2016

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As part of a multi-institutional study of zoo elephant welfare, we evaluated female elephants managed by zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and applied epidemiological methods to determine what factors in the zoo environment are associated with reproductive problems, including ovarian acyclicity and hyperprolactinemia. Bi-weekly blood samples were collected from 95 African (Loxodonta africana) and 75 Asian (Elephas maximus) (8–55 years of age) elephants over a 12-month period for analysis of serum progestogens and prolactin. Females were categorized as normal cycling (regular 13- to 17-week cycles), irregular cycling (cycles longer or shorter than normal) or acyclic (baseline progestogens, <0.1 ng/ml throughout), and having Low/Normal (<14 or 18 ng/ml) or High (≥14 or 18 ng/ml) prolactin for Asian and African elephants, respectively. Rates of normal cycling, acyclicity and irregular cycling were 73.2, 22.5 and 4.2% for Asian, and 48.4, 37.9 and 13.7% for African elephants, respectively, all of which differed between species (P < 0.05). For African elephants, univariate assessment found that social isolation decreased and higher enrichment diversity increased the chance a female would cycle normally. The strongest multi-variable models included Age (positive) and Enrichment Diversity (negative) as important factors of acyclicity among African elephants. The Asian elephant data set was not robust enough to support multi-variable analyses of cyclicity status. Additionally, only 3% of Asian elephants were found to be hyperprolactinemic as compared to 28% of Africans, so predictive analyses of prolactin status were conducted on African elephants only. The strongest multi-variable model included Age (positive), Enrichment Diversity (negative), Alternate Feeding Methods (negative) and Social Group Contact (positive) as predictors of hyperprolactinemia. In summary, the incidence of ovarian cycle problems and hyperprolactinemia predominantly affects African elephants, and increases in social stability and feeding and enrichment diversity may have positive influences on hormone status.

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Interrelationship of serum testosterone, dominance and ovarian cyclicity status in female African elephants

Cited by 15 publications

References 38 publications

Trait anxiety moderates the association between estradiol and dominance in women

Trait anxiety moderates the association between estradiol and dominance in women

Potential of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone vaccine to suppress musth in captive male Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)

Reproductive Health Assessment of Female Elephants in North American Zoos and Association of Husbandry Practices with Reproductive Dysfunction in African Elephants (Loxodonta africana)

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