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Musa AS, Kundankumar J, Needham T, Kotrba R, Ny V, Consolacion J, Ceacero F. Effects of temperament during handling and social rank on the blood biochemical parameters of common eland (Taurotragus oryx). Vet Res Commun 2024; 48:1813-1819. [PMID: 38261241 PMCID: PMC11147902 DOI: 10.1007/s11259-024-10296-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Large herbivores are subject to handling and social stress in captivity. These may affect blood biochemical values, which motivated this research. Twelve healthy common eland (Taurotragus oryx) were monitored for 12 months. The animals were handled monthly, and blood samples were collected. Samples from every second month were analysed for 14 blood biochemical parameters. Temperament throughout the handling, as the summation of various behavioural responses, was calculated as a proxy of the stress generated during handling. Social behaviour was recorded each month, and the agonistic interactions were used to calculate the social rank, which was considered a proxy of social stress. Generalised Linear Mixed Models were designed to test the effects of temperament and social rank on the blood biochemical parameters while keeping sex, age, body condition, and body weight as covariates. The results show that the temperament during handling influences blood levels of albumin, alkaline phosphate, blood urea nitrogen, glucose, total bilirubin, and total protein; however, social rank has little influence, affecting just albumin. The ranges observed in the values of these biochemical parameters were still within their reference intervals, implying the absence of pathology or physiological problems during the study. The results suggest that blood biochemical values of physically restrained common eland should be carefully interpreted, even in animals already habituated to routine handling. On the contrary, social rank has low effects on the blood biochemical parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- A S Musa
- Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha-Suchdol, 165 00, Czech Republic
| | - J Kundankumar
- Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha-Suchdol, 165 00, Czech Republic
| | - T Needham
- Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha-Suchdol, 165 00, Czech Republic
| | - R Kotrba
- Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha-Suchdol, 165 00, Czech Republic
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, Prague 10- Uhříněves, 104 00, Czech Republic
| | - V Ny
- Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha-Suchdol, 165 00, Czech Republic
| | - J Consolacion
- Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha-Suchdol, 165 00, Czech Republic
| | - F Ceacero
- Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha-Suchdol, 165 00, Czech Republic.
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Habituation of common eland (Taurotragus oryx) to intensive routine handling, and the effect of immunocastration thereon. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Evaluation of factors inducing variability of faecal nutrients in captive red deer under variable demands. Sci Rep 2021; 11:2394. [PMID: 33504887 PMCID: PMC7840747 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-81908-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Based on the assumption that dietary and faecal nitrogen correlate, the number of studies using faecal samples collected in the wild to understand diet selection by wild herbivores and other ecological patterns has been growing during the last years, especially due to the recent development of cheap tools for analysis of nutrients like Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS). Within the annual reproductive cycle, cervids (members of the family Cervidae) face strong seasonal variations in nutritional demands, different for hinds (gestation and lactation) and stags (antler growth) and reflected in differential patterns of seasonal diet selection. In this study we aimed to quantify how pasture availability, season and individual factors like sex, age, reproductive status, body mass and body condition affect faecal nutrients in captive red deer with the goal of understanding how these factors may influence the interpretation of results from samples obtained in the wild with little or no information about the animals who dropped those faeces. We used NIRS for analysing nitrogen, neutral and acid detergent fibres in faeces. The relative influence of some individual factors like pregnancy was low (around 4%), while age and weight may induce a variability up to 18%. The presence or absence of pasture contributed to a variability around 13%, while the season contributed to an average variability around 17% (and up to 21% in certain situations). This high variability in faecal nutrients was observed in a controlled setting with captive animals and controlled diets. Thus, in natural situations we suspect that there would be even greater variation. According to the results, we recommend that preliminary research with captive animals of the species of interest should be conducted before collecting samples in the wild, which should help in the interpretation of results.
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Ceacero F, Komárková M, García AJ, Gallego L. Different maternal investment strategies for male and female calves in a polygynous mammal. Curr Zool 2019; 65:269-277. [PMID: 31263485 PMCID: PMC6595534 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoy049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2017] [Accepted: 06/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal effects occur when the phenotype of the mother influences that of the young to the detriment of her survival, growth or fitness. The investment of the mother can be affected by maternal body condition and/or experience. Trivers-Willard Hypothesis (TWH) and Local Resource Competition Hypothesis (LRCH) are the main hypotheses used to explain bias in birth sex-ratios in mammals, as well as for sex-biased maternal investment. Both hypotheses suggest that a different amount of investment must be expected according to the sex of the young. However, recent studies suggest that these differences are not in quantity but in the strategies: mechanisms and objectives may differ for each sex. We studied how maternal characteristics (age, body mass, body condition, and dominance status) influence relevant aspects of the birth and early growth of the calf (birth date, birth body mass, body mass at weaning, and body condition at weaning) separately for each sex; and how that investment is mediated by milk production and composition (lactose, fat, and protein). One hundred eighty-eight newborns from 75 captive red deer hinds aged from 2 to 19 years were analyzed. The main differential investment observed was related to birth date: when producing a female, hinds give birth earlier in the season only if they have a good body condition; however, when gestating a male it is the older hinds those which deliver earlier. Subsequently, milk production and composition are correlated with birth body mass in female calves, but to weaning body mass in males. Thus, only hind body mass affects the weaning body mass of female calves, compared with age and hind body mass in males. These results suggest that while TWH fits the maternal investment strategy found for male calves, it is LRCH which correlates with the maternal investment patterns observed for females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Ceacero
- Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Praha 6 - Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Martina Komárková
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 01 Praha - Uhříněves, Czech Republic
| | - Andrés J García
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas—Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha—Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, Ciudad Real, Spain
- Sección de Recursos Cinegéticos y Ganaderos, Instituto de Desarrollo Regional (IDR), Albacete, Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética, ETSIAM, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Albacete, Spain
| | - Laureano Gallego
- Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética, ETSIAM, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Albacete, Spain
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Ceacero F, Gaspar-López E, Landete-Castillejos T, Gallego L, García AJ. Social rank affects the haematologic profile in red deer hinds. Vet Rec 2018; 182:436. [PMID: 29374098 DOI: 10.1136/vr.104629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2017] [Revised: 12/13/2017] [Accepted: 01/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
We studied the effects of social rank on the haematologic profile in a herd of 24 female Iberian red deer hinds. Social rank hierarchy was determined and blood samples were taken and analysed. After adjusting for age and body mass, dominance ranking showed a significant negative effect (ie, lower values in dominant hinds) on white blood cell (WBC) count, haemoglobin and haematocrit. Our results are similar to those reported for stressed individuals due to physical immobilisation, but do not support the predicted enhanced erythropoiesis due to higher levels of androgens. The results for WBC numbers may also reflect that subordinate hinds must allocate a higher amount of resources to immunity as a result of injuries incurred from dominant hinds, while simultaneously facing restricted access to food sources. For red blood cell (RBC) counts, the results may be due to subordinate hinds likely needing increased haematocrit and haemoglobin levels for fast flight responses. Our data show that social rank influences haematologic profile, and thus it should be considered when correctly interpreting blood analyses in social cervid species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Ceacero
- Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Enrique Gaspar-López
- Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Albacete, Spain.,Sección de Recursos Cinegéticos y Ganaderos, Instituto de Desarrollo Regional (IDR), Albacete, Spain
| | - Tomás Landete-Castillejos
- Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Albacete, Spain.,Sección de Recursos Cinegéticos y Ganaderos, Instituto de Desarrollo Regional (IDR), Albacete, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC), Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Laureano Gallego
- Sección de Recursos Cinegéticos y Ganaderos, Instituto de Desarrollo Regional (IDR), Albacete, Spain
| | - Andrés J García
- Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Albacete, Spain.,Sección de Recursos Cinegéticos y Ganaderos, Instituto de Desarrollo Regional (IDR), Albacete, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC), Ciudad Real, Spain
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How Farm Animals React and Perceive Stressful Situations Such As Handling, Restraint, and Transport. Animals (Basel) 2015; 5:1233-51. [PMID: 26633523 PMCID: PMC4693213 DOI: 10.3390/ani5040409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2015] [Revised: 11/16/2015] [Accepted: 11/18/2015] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
An animal that has been carefully acclimated to handling may willingly re-enter a restrainer. Another animal may have an intense agitated behavioral reaction or refuse to re-enter the handling facility. Physiological measures of stress such as cortisol may be very low in the animal that re-enters willingly and higher in animals that actively resist restraint. Carefully acclimating young animals to handling and restraint can help improve both productivity and welfare by reducing fear stress. Some of the topics covered in this review are: How an animal perceives handling and restraint, the detrimental effects of a sudden novel event, descriptions of temperament and aversion tests and the importance of good stockmanship.
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Pluháček J, Ceacero F, Lupták P. First records of preorbital gland opening in rare wild barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii) in social contexts may help to explain this phenomenon in cervids. Behav Processes 2015. [PMID: 26200392 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2015.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The opening of the preorbital gland in deer serves as a visual communication and has been linked to a wide variety of behavioural situations. As we reported recently, all previous long-term studies on preorbital gland opening were carried out on only one species, whereas case reports on six other rarely studied species have shown associations with different behaviours, thus greatly increasing our overall understanding of the real function of this gland in animal visual communication. Here, we report for the first time preorbital gland opening in the barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii) in social contexts as observed in a wild population in Kanha National Park, India. We observed this behaviour in two different contexts: agonistic and sexual. Moreover, our record of preorbital gland opening during copulation is the first one amongst cervids. Our findings of preorbital gland opening in both contexts in wild barasingha indicate that the gland was opened only when the individual was highly excited. We suggest that preorbital gland opening may be an important behavioural indicator of an individual involved in a serious intraspecific interaction, and thus a useful tool with which to distinguish between playful and serious behaviours, especially in agonistic and sexual situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Pluháček
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Praha - Uhříněves, Czech Republic; Ostrava Zoo, Michálkovická 197, 710 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic.
| | - Francisco Ceacero
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Praha - Uhříněves, Czech Republic; Department of Animal Sciences and Food Processing, Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamýcká 129, 165 21 Praha, Czech Republic
| | - Peter Lupták
- Bojnice Zoo, Zámok a okolie 6, 972 01 Bojnice, Slovakia
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Cappelli J, Garcia A, Ceacero F, Gomez S, Luna S, Gallego L, Gambin P, Landete-Castillejos T. Manganese Supplementation in Deer under Balanced Diet Increases Impact Energy and Contents in Minerals of Antler Bone Tissue. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0132738. [PMID: 26177083 PMCID: PMC4503777 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2015] [Accepted: 06/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Bone ash, collagen, Ca and P composition, are considered the main factors affecting mechanical properties in bones. However, a series of studies in bone and antler have shown that some trace minerals, such as manganese, may play a role whose importance exceeds what may be expected considering their low content. A previous study showed that a reduction in manganese in antlers during a year of late winter frosts led to generalized antler breakage in Spain, which included a reduction of 30% of cortical thickness, 27% reduction in impact energy, and 10% reduction in work to peak force. Starting for this observation, we experimentally studied the effects of manganese supplementation in adults and yearling (yearlings) red deer under a balanced diet. Subjects were 29 deer of different age classes (adult n = 19, yearlings n = 10) that were divided in a manganese injected group (n = 14) and a control group (n = 15). Antler content in ashes and minerals, intrinsic mechanical properties and cross section structure were examined at 4 points along the antler beam. A one way ANOVA (mean per antler) showed that in yearlings, manganese supplementation only increased its content and that of Fe. However, in adults, Mn supplementation increased the mean content per antler of Ca, Na, P, B, Co, Cu, K, Mn, Ni, Se (while Si content was reduced), and impact work but not Young's modulus of elasticity, bending strength or work to peak force. A GLM series on characteristics in the uppermost part examined in the antler, often showing physiological exhaustion and depletion of body stores, showed also a 16% increase in work to peak force in the antlers of the treated group. Thus, manganese supplementation altered mineral composition of antler and improved structure and some mechanical properties despite animals having a balanced diet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamil Cappelli
- Animal Science Techniques Applied to Wildlife Management Research Group, IREC Section Albacete (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Campus UCLM, Albacete, Spain
- Sección de Recursos Cinegéticos y Ganaderos, IDR, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética, ETSIAM, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Andrés Garcia
- Animal Science Techniques Applied to Wildlife Management Research Group, IREC Section Albacete (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Campus UCLM, Albacete, Spain
- Sección de Recursos Cinegéticos y Ganaderos, IDR, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética, ETSIAM, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Francisco Ceacero
- Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences. Prague 6-Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Santiago Gomez
- Departamento de Anatomía Patológica, Universidad de Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain
| | - Salvador Luna
- Departamento de Enfermería y Fisioterapia, Universidad de Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain
| | - Laureano Gallego
- Animal Science Techniques Applied to Wildlife Management Research Group, IREC Section Albacete (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Campus UCLM, Albacete, Spain
- Sección de Recursos Cinegéticos y Ganaderos, IDR, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética, ETSIAM, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Pablo Gambin
- Animal Science Techniques Applied to Wildlife Management Research Group, IREC Section Albacete (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Campus UCLM, Albacete, Spain
- Sección de Recursos Cinegéticos y Ganaderos, IDR, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética, ETSIAM, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Tomás Landete-Castillejos
- Animal Science Techniques Applied to Wildlife Management Research Group, IREC Section Albacete (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Campus UCLM, Albacete, Spain
- Sección de Recursos Cinegéticos y Ganaderos, IDR, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética, ETSIAM, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
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Ceacero F, Pluháček J, Komárková M, Zábranský M. Pre-orbital gland opening during aggressive interactions in rusa deer (Rusa timorensis). Behav Processes 2014; 111:51-4. [PMID: 25481309 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2014.11.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2014] [Revised: 11/20/2014] [Accepted: 11/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The opening of the preorbital gland in cervids has a visual meaning and is frequently associated with agonistic and/or stress related situations. Apart from in red deer, this behaviour has scarcely been studied and the range of situations when it may occur remains unclear. In this study we report the unusual case of preorbital gland opening in rusa deer, Rusa timorensis, associated to direct aggressive agonistic interaction (biting/kicking) between two adult hinds. This case observed in Tierpark Berlin (Germany) is the first one ever recorded in female-female interactions in cervids. Preorbital gland opening was also studied in 116 social interactions in Plzeň Zoo (Czech Republic). Preorbital gland opening by the dominant adult male was twice observed with relation to alert behaviour, which is also rare. In order to contextualise our observations we summarise the current knowledge about the behaviour associated with preorbital gland opening in R. timorensis and in cervids in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Ceacero
- Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamýcka 129, 165 21 Prague 6 - Suchdol, Czech Republic; Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Praha - Uhříněves, Czech Republic.
| | - Jan Pluháček
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Praha - Uhříněves, Czech Republic; Ostrava Zoo, Michálkovická 197, 710 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Martina Komárková
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Praha - Uhříněves, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Zábranský
- Plzeň Zoo and Botanical Garden, Pod Vinicemi 9, 301 16 Plzeň, Czech Republic
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