Ovarian cycle activity varies with respect to age and social status in free-ranging elephants in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa

Freeman, Elizabeth W.; Meyer, Jordana M.; Putman, Sarah; Schulte, Bruce A.; Brown, Janine L.

doi:10.1093/conphys/cot025

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 63 publications

(133 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, cycling resumed with the onset of the wet season such that ovulation was timed to the availability of high quality forage [ 52 ]. Interbirth intervals were also shorter in wet seasons and longer in dry periods [ 52 , 53 ]. Therefore, African elephant females appear to integrate information on known current and expected future conditions when reproducing [ 67 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As of December 2013, Volume 1 had over 30 papers published, with another handful of accepted articles in production. The content is remarkably diverse, spanning taxa including plants ( Funk, 2013 ), invertebrates ( Timmins-Schiffman et al , 2013 ), fish ( Brix and Grosell, 2013 ), marine mammals ( Burgess et al , 2013 ), terrestrial mammals ( Freeman et al , 2013 ), herpetofauna ( Stacy et al , 2013 ), and birds ( Milenkaya et al , 2013 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation physiology today and tomorrow

Cooke

2014

Conservation Physiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Thus, it is not surprising that the precipitation had little impact on reproductive rates in the AENP black rhino. Likewise, faecal progestagen metabolite concentrations in African elephants from AENP had no relationship with average monthly precipitation ( Freeman et al , 2013 ). However, there were seasonal variations in temperature, with June–August being the coolest months and January–February the hottest.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of environmental pressures on the reproductive physiology of subpopulations of black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis bicornis) in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa

Freeman

Meyer

Bird

et al. 2014

Conservation Physiology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Ovarian cycle activity varies with respect to age and social status in free-ranging elephants in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa

Cited by 8 publications

References 63 publications

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

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

Conservation physiology today and tomorrow

Impacts of environmental pressures on the reproductive physiology of subpopulations of black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis bicornis) in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About