Rm. Ortiz et Gaj. Worthy, Effects of capture on adrenal steroid and vasopressin concentrations in free-ranging bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), COMP BIOC A, 125(3), 2000, pp. 317-324
Citations number
24
Categorie Soggetti
Animal Sciences",Physiology
Journal title
COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY A-MOLECULAR AND INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY
Marine mammals are routinely caught in, the wild in an effort to monitor th
eir health. However, capture-associated stress could potentially bias vario
us biochemical parameters used to monitor the health of these wild caught a
nimals. Therefore, the effects of capture were quantified by measuring plas
ma adrenal steroids and arginine vasopressin (AVP) in free-ranging bottleno
se dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) (n = 31). Total capture and restraint time
s were also correlated to hormone concentrations to quantify the effects of
capture. Significant, positive correlations between corticosterone and cor
tisol (R = 0.752; P < 0.0001), and between corticosterone and aldosterone (
R = 0.441; P = 0.045) were demonstrated. Significant correlations between c
apture and restraint time and hormone levels were not observed. Animals res
trained for less than 20 min exhibited hormone levels similar to those for
animals restrained for more than 20 min. The positive correlations among th
e adrenal steroids suggest that release of these steroids was stimulated by
adrenocorticotropin (ACTH). The lack of a correlation between cortisol and
AVP indicates that AVP did not influence ACTH-induced cortisol release in
this situation. The study suggests that (1) a typical hypothalamic-pituitar
y-adrenal axis is present in these animals, and (2) the relatively short ca
pture and restraint times did not induce a significant neuroendocrine stres
s response. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.