Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T17:40:09.828Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Salivary cortisol in captive dolphins (Tursiops truncatus): a non-invasive technique

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

C Pedernera-Romano ,
RA Valdez ,
S Singh ,
X Chiappa ,
MC Romano  and
F Galindo
C Pedernera-Romano
Affiliation:
Dpto. de Etología y Fauna Silvestre, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, México DF, México
RA Valdez
Affiliation:
Dpto. de Fisiología, Biofísica y Neurociencias, CINVESTAV, Apdo. Postal 14 - 740. 07360, México DF, México
S Singh
Affiliation:
Dpto. de Etología y Fauna Silvestre, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, México DF, México
X Chiappa
Affiliation:
Unidad de Investigación en Ecología Marina, FES-Z, UNAM, Ap. 9-020, 15000 México DF, México
MC Romano*
Affiliation:
Dpto. de Fisiología, Biofísica y Neurociencias, CINVESTAV, Apdo. Postal 14 - 740. 07360, México DF, México
F Galindo
Affiliation:
Dpto. de Etología y Fauna Silvestre, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, México DF, México
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Dolphins in captivity have to cope with severe changes in their environment. So far, there are few studies on the welfare of these animals under these conditions. The aim of the present study was to find if cortisol was present in the saliva of dolphins and to explore the possibility of performing serial, non-invasive cortisol assays in captive dolphins. Saliva was collected non-invasively during a month from four dolphins that had responded to previous training, in order to provide saliva samples, in two aquaria in Mexico City. In addition, serum and saliva time-matched samples were obtained in an aquarium in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. Cortisol concentrations in saliva and blood were measured by radioimmunoanalysis (RIA). Results show for the first time that measurable quantities of cortisol are secreted within the saliva of dolphins. Salivary cortisol measurements could be a useful tool for carrying out long-term cortisol sampling. It is far less invasive than blood-sampling and could be used, in conjunction with behavioural observations, to monitor the welfare of captive dolphins, non-invasively.

Keywords

animal welfaredolphinsaliva cortisolserum cortisolsteroidsstress
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 15 , Issue 4 , November 2006 , pp. 359 - 362
Copyright
© 2006 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

References

Broom, DM and Johnson, KG 1993 Stress and Animal Welfare. Chapman & Hall: London, UKCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chrousos, GP 1998 Stressors, stress, and neuroendocrine integration of the adaptive response. The 1997 Hans Selye Memorial Lecture. Annual New York Academy of Science 851: 311–35CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dierauf, LA 1990 Stress in Marine Mammals: Marine mammal behavioral diagnosis In: Dierauf LA (ed) CRC Handbook of Marine Mammals Medicine: Health, Disease and Rehabilitation pp 295–301. CRC Press: Boca Raton, Florida, USAGoogle Scholar
Francis, SJ, Walker, RF, Riad-Fahmy, D, Hughes, D, Murphy, JF and Gray, OP 1987 Assessment of adrenocortical activity in term newborn infants using salivary cortisol determinations. The Journal of Pediatrics 11: 129–133CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ortiz, RM and Worthy, GAJ 2000 Effects of capture on adrenal steroid and vasopressin concentrations in free-ranging bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 125(2): 317–324CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reeder, D and Kramer, KM 2005 Stress in free ranging mammals: integrating physiology, ecology, and natural history. Journal of Mammology 86: 225–235CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sapolsky, RM, Romero, LM and Munck, A 2000 How do glucocorticoids influence stress responses? Integrating permissive, suppressive, stimulatory, and preparative actions. Endocrine Review. 21: 55–89Google ScholarPubMed
St. Aubin, DJ 1996 Dolphin Thyroid and adrenal hormones: circulating levels in wild and semi-domesticated Tursiops truncatus, and influence of sex, age and season. Marine Mammal Science 12: 1–13CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stahl, F and Dörner, G 1982 Responses of salivary cortisol levels to stress-situations. Endocrinologie 80: 158–162Google ScholarPubMed
Suzuki, M, Tobayama, T, Katsumata, E, Yoshioka, M, and Aida, K 1998 Serum cortisol levels in captive killer whale and bottlenose dolphin. Fisheries Science 64: 643–647CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suzuki, M, Uchida, S, Keichi, U, Tobayama, T, Katsumata, E, Yoshioka, M and Aida, K 2003 Diurnal and annual changes in serum cortisol concentration in Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops aduncus and killer whales, Orcinus orca. General Comparative Endocrinology 132: 427–433CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tiefenbacher, S, Lee, B, Meyer, JS and Spealman, RD 2003 Noninvasive technique for the repeated sampling of salivary free cortisol in awake, unrestrained squirrel monkeys. American Journal of Primatology 60: 69–75CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomson, CA and Geraci, JR 1986 Cortisol, aldosterone, and leucocytes in the stress response of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 43: 1010–1016CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vining, RF and McGinley, RA 1987 The measurement of hormones in saliva: possibilities and pitfalls. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry 27: 81–94CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walker, RF, Riad-Fahmy, D and Read, GF 1978 Adrenal status assessed by direct radioimmunoassay of cortisol in whole saliva or paratiroid saliva. Clinical Chemistry 24: 1460–1463CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Waples, KA and Gales, NJ 2002 Evaluating and minimising social stress in the care of captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Zoo Biology 21: 5–26CrossRefGoogle Scholar