The effects of transport stress on the behaviour and adrenocortical activity of the black-and-white ruffed lemur ( Varecia variegata )

Abstract:
The aim of this study was to assess behavioural and glucocorticoid changes in blackand-white ruffed lemur females transported for breeding purposes between Czech ZOOs. The frequency of the presented behaviour elements was recorded via direct observation. The faecal samples were collected from the floor and subsequently the faecal glucocorticoid values were determined using specifically designed assays for faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) analysis. While the frequency of certain comfort behaviour patterns decreased (P < 0.05) in response to transport and change of the environment, grooming, resting, sleeping as well as playful behaviour (chasing, climbing) were not affected (P ˃ 0.05). No changes were found in the frequency of behaviour connected to metabolic events with the exception of defecation. Lemur females defecated more frequently (P < 0.05) in their new environment. The frequency of neither fear nor exploratory behaviour differed (P ˃ 0.05) before and after transport. The positive effect of the novelty was shown by the reduction (P < 0.01) of behavioural signs of frustration and stereotypical behaviour after transport. In response to transport, a significant (P < 0.05) increase of FGM levels was found the second day after the transport, reaching peak levels in the morning and starting to decline to baseline levels in the afternoon. The results of both behaviour and adrenocortical activity analysis suggest that despite some presented changes in the monitored indices prior and after transport, the transportation under the studied conditions presented only a mild stressor with limited behavioural and glucocorticoid responses. ZOO animals, ethogram, glucocorticoids, faecal samples, ELISA Black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) inhabit lowland to mid-altitude rain forests in eastern Madagascar. Due to habitat loss, logging, mining and hunting, their wild populations are decreasing. Since 2008, the species has been listed as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2018). They are also listed in Appendix I of CITES (CITES 2017), belonging among the most endangered among CITES-listed animals and plants. Considering their conservation status, black-and-white ruffed lemurs are one of the priority species in terms of developing both in situ and ex situ conservation programs (King et al. 2013; Schwitzer et al. 2013). ZOOs play an important role to prevent the extinction of species in nature. Captive animals can serve as a resource for re-establishing endangered populations and maintaining genetic diversity (Dembiec et al. 2004). Transportation is often necessary for breeding purposes but presents a strong stress factor for the animals. For studying changes in the behaviour and physiology during and after the transport, the use of a combination of behavioural and physiological measurements will provide the best overall measurement of animal discomfort (Grandin 1997). The behavioural observation is one of the important methods to assess the ACTA VET. BRNO 2019, 88: 85–92; https://doi.org/10.2754/avb201988010085 Address for correspondence: Doc. Ing. Eva Voslářová, Ph.D. Department of Animal Protection, Welfare and Behaviour Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno Palackého tř. 1946/1, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic Phone: +420 541 562 773 E-mail: voslarovae@vfu.cz http://actavet.vfu.cz/ well-being of captive bred animals. Detailed observation of animals in the wild is key to understanding their behaviour. In the past, numerous published ethograms described the detailed behaviour of cercopithecine monkeys and apes (Pereira et al. 1988). However, no information on lemurs and other prosimian primates was available until the study by Pereira et al. (1988) was published. The authors provided a detailed description of all behaviour patterns observed in a semifree-ranging group of black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata variegata). Besides the behaviour observations, also the stress response to environmental changes can be analysed with the use of laboratory analytical methods. The monitoring of endocrine markers is a well-known method for measuring stress. While blood collection has considerable limitations, non-invasively collected samples such as urine, saliva, hair or faeces can be obtained without any limitations or disturbance of the observed animal. The methodology of non-invasive monitoring of adrenocortical activity has been described e.g. by Schwarzenberger and Brown (2013), Malikova et al. (2018), and others. Behringer and Deschner (2017) summarized the achievements in non-invasive monitoring of physiological markers in primates. The aim of this study was to assess behavioural and glucocorticoid responses to stress related to transport in two black-and-white ruffed lemurs. This study did not differentiate between the single effects of several stressors affecting animals during their transfer (handling, floor space restrictions, change of the environment, change of daily routine, etc.). Materials and Methods The study animals were two females of black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata). The females were siblings born on 13th May 2015 in the ZOO in Olomouc where they were housed together with their parents since their birth. Female 1 was the dominant one, distinguished by white colour on the tail. Female 2 was submissive and had an all-black tail. For breeding purposes, the females (aged 17 months) were transported from the Olomouc ZOO to the Brno ZOO on 6th October 2016. During the transport, the females were placed separately in two pet transport crates but were in visual, olfactory and auditory contact. The transport took approximately three hours (distance travelled 202 km). The ethological observation started three days prior to the transport and continued until four days after the transport. The frequency of the presented behaviour elements was recorded into pre-prepared ethogram sheets every 2 min for 2 h each day (from 10:00 to 11:00 h and from 14:00 to 15:00 h). The recorded behaviour elements were counted in total from both females three days prior to transport (i.e. six values for frequency of the presented behaviour elements were gained in total) and four days after the transport (i.e. eight values for frequency of the presented behaviour elements were gained in total). Furthermore, non-invasive monitoring of adrenocortical activity in response to transport was carried out. The faecal samples were collected from the floor twice a day while avoiding urine and water contamination, starting one day prior to transport and ending two days after transport excluding the transport day (no samples were available). The sampling intervals ranged between 10:00 to 12:00 h and 13:00 to 15:00 h. The faecal samples were placed in plastic bags within one hour of defecation, marked and directly transferred to a freezer at -20 °C. Sample processing and faecal glucocorticoid analysis were performed at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria. Samples for endocrine monitoring were extracted by vortexing a mixture of 0.50 g wet faeces, 1 ml distilled water, and 4 ml 100% methanol, for 30 min. After centrifugation, the obtained extracts were diluted in assay buffer. Faecal immunoreactive glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations were analysed using enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) developed and courteously provided by Dr. R. Palme, Vienna. The polyclonal antibodies used in the EIAs were produced in rabbits using immunogens against 11-oxoaetiocholanolone I (72a, measuring 11,17-dioxo-androstanes; 11,17-DOA) (Palme and Möstl 1997), 11-oxoaetiocholanolone II (72T, measuring FGM with a 5β-3α-ol-11-one structure) (Möstl et al. 2002) and 11β-hydroxyaetiocholanolone (69a, measuring FGM with a 5β-3α,11β-diol structure) (Frigerio et al. 2004). The results were analysed using the statistical package Unistat 5.6. (Unistat Ltd., London, England). Because of non-normality of the data (Shapiro-Wilk test), non-parametrical methods were used for their analysis. The median of frequencies of the behaviour elements presented before and after the transport was calculated and subsequently compared by means of the Mann-Whitney U test (Zar 1999). Faecal glucocorticoide metabolite concentrations measured one day prior to the transport, one day, and two days after the transport were compared by means of Kruskall-Wallis ANOVA. A P-value < 0.05 was considered significant. 86
Author Listing: Martina Volfová;Zuzana Machovcova;Franz Schwarzenberger;Eva Voslářová;Iveta Bedáňová;Vladimir Večerek
Volume: 88
Pages: 85-92
DOI: 10.2754/AVB201988010085
Language: English
Journal: Acta Veterinaria Brno

ACTA VETERINARIA BRNO

ACTA VET BRNO

影响因子:0.6 是否综述期刊:否 是否OA:是 是否预警:不在预警名单内 发行时间:1969 ISSN:0001-7213 发刊频率:Quarterly 收录数据库:SCIE/Scopus收录 出版国家/地区:CZECH REPUBLIC 出版社:University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences

期刊介绍

ACTA VETERINARIA BRNO is a scientific journal of the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Brno, Czech Republic.The scientific journal Acta Veterinaria Brno is dedicated to the publication of original research findings and clinical observations in veterinary and biomedical sciences. Original scientific research articles reporting new and substantial contribution to veterinary science and original methods that have not been submitted for publication elsewhere are considered for publication. A written statement to this effect should accompany the manuscript, along with approval for publication by the author´s head of department. The authors bear full responsibility for the contents of their contribution. Book reviews are published, too.

《布尔诺兽医学报》(Acta Veterinaria Brno)是捷克共和国布尔诺兽医和制药科学大学的科学期刊,专门发表兽医和生物医学科学的原创研究成果和临床观察。报告对兽医科学有新的和实质性贡献的原始科学研究文章以及尚未在其他地方提交发表的原始方法将被考虑发表。手稿应附有一份书面声明,沿着附有作者所在部门负责人的出版批准。作者对其稿件内容承担全部责任。书评也出版了。

年发文量 53
国人发稿量 -
国人发文占比 0%
自引率 33.3%
平均录取率 容易
平均审稿周期 较慢,18-36周
版面费 -
偏重研究方向 农林科学-兽医学
期刊官网 http://actavet.vfu.cz/
投稿链接 http://actavet.vfu.cz/submissions.html

质量指标占比

研究类文章占比 OA被引用占比 撤稿占比 出版后修正文章占比
94.34% 100.00% 0.00% 0.00%

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