Measuring adrenal and reproductive hormones in hair from Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears ( Ursus maritimus )
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) use sea ice to access marine mammal prey. In Alaska’s Southern Beaufort Sea, the declining availability of sea ice habitat in summer and fall has reduced opportunities for polar bears to routinely hunt on the ice for seals, their primary prey. This reduced access to pre...
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Text |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/2454 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/icwdm_usdanwrc/article/3447/viewcontent/Van_der_Walt_GCE_2021_Measuring_adrenal_and_reproductive.pdf |
id |
ftunivnebraskali:oai:digitalcommons.unl.edu:icwdm_usdanwrc-3447 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivnebraskali:oai:digitalcommons.unl.edu:icwdm_usdanwrc-3447 2023-11-12T04:15:10+01:00 Measuring adrenal and reproductive hormones in hair from Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) Van der Walt, Marilize Neuman-Lee, Lorin A. Terletzky, Patricia A. Atwood, Todd C. Gese, Eric M. French, Susannah S. 2021-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/2454 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/icwdm_usdanwrc/article/3447/viewcontent/Van_der_Walt_GCE_2021_Measuring_adrenal_and_reproductive.pdf unknown DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/2454 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/icwdm_usdanwrc/article/3447/viewcontent/Van_der_Walt_GCE_2021_Measuring_adrenal_and_reproductive.pdf USDA Wildlife Services - Staff Publications Hair Cortisol Reproduction Testosterone Progesterone Estradiol Animal Sciences Environmental Sciences Life Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Natural Resources Management and Policy Other Environmental Sciences Other Veterinary Medicine Population Biology Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Veterinary Infectious Diseases Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Microbiology and Immunobiology Veterinary Preventive Medicine Epidemiology and Public Health Zoology text 2021 ftunivnebraskali 2023-10-30T12:03:41Z Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) use sea ice to access marine mammal prey. In Alaska’s Southern Beaufort Sea, the declining availability of sea ice habitat in summer and fall has reduced opportunities for polar bears to routinely hunt on the ice for seals, their primary prey. This reduced access to prey may result in physiological stress with subsequent potential consequences to reproductive function (physiological changes that accompany reproduction), which can be measured via reproductive hormones. Hormone concentrations in hair can be used as a minimally invasive alternative to serum concentrations, which must come from animal captures. Hair samples also provide a long-term average measurement of hormone concentrations that is not influenced by short-term fluctuations like that of serum. The aim of this study was (1) to determine if a radioimmunoassay could be used to measure adrenal and reproductive hormones in polar bear hair, and (2) to determine what the relationship is between these hormones and other reproductive, condition, and demographic parameters of polar bears. We successfully validated this method for cortisol, progesterone, estradiol, and testosterone through the analysis of hair and serum of 141 free-ranging polar bears. We found that while hair cannot be used to estimate serum hormone concentrations during the breeding season, hormone concentrations in hair can be used to measure reproductive function in polar bears. Further, our findings support trends in previous studies measuring hormone concentrations in serum. We found that adrenal and some reproductive hormones were positively correlated in hair samples of females. Associations between hormone concentrations in hair and serum did not vary relative to reproductive status of adult females. Serum testosterone increased throughout the breeding season for adult males and was significantly associated with body mass index (BMI). Our research supports the use of hair as a measure of reproductive function in polar bears and allows us to monitor the ... Text Beaufort Sea polar bear Sea ice Ursus maritimus University of Nebraska-Lincoln: DigitalCommons@UNL |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Nebraska-Lincoln: DigitalCommons@UNL |
op_collection_id |
ftunivnebraskali |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Hair Cortisol Reproduction Testosterone Progesterone Estradiol Animal Sciences Environmental Sciences Life Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Natural Resources Management and Policy Other Environmental Sciences Other Veterinary Medicine Population Biology Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Veterinary Infectious Diseases Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Microbiology and Immunobiology Veterinary Preventive Medicine Epidemiology and Public Health Zoology |
spellingShingle |
Hair Cortisol Reproduction Testosterone Progesterone Estradiol Animal Sciences Environmental Sciences Life Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Natural Resources Management and Policy Other Environmental Sciences Other Veterinary Medicine Population Biology Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Veterinary Infectious Diseases Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Microbiology and Immunobiology Veterinary Preventive Medicine Epidemiology and Public Health Zoology Van der Walt, Marilize Neuman-Lee, Lorin A. Terletzky, Patricia A. Atwood, Todd C. Gese, Eric M. French, Susannah S. Measuring adrenal and reproductive hormones in hair from Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) |
topic_facet |
Hair Cortisol Reproduction Testosterone Progesterone Estradiol Animal Sciences Environmental Sciences Life Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Natural Resources Management and Policy Other Environmental Sciences Other Veterinary Medicine Population Biology Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Veterinary Infectious Diseases Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Microbiology and Immunobiology Veterinary Preventive Medicine Epidemiology and Public Health Zoology |
description |
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) use sea ice to access marine mammal prey. In Alaska’s Southern Beaufort Sea, the declining availability of sea ice habitat in summer and fall has reduced opportunities for polar bears to routinely hunt on the ice for seals, their primary prey. This reduced access to prey may result in physiological stress with subsequent potential consequences to reproductive function (physiological changes that accompany reproduction), which can be measured via reproductive hormones. Hormone concentrations in hair can be used as a minimally invasive alternative to serum concentrations, which must come from animal captures. Hair samples also provide a long-term average measurement of hormone concentrations that is not influenced by short-term fluctuations like that of serum. The aim of this study was (1) to determine if a radioimmunoassay could be used to measure adrenal and reproductive hormones in polar bear hair, and (2) to determine what the relationship is between these hormones and other reproductive, condition, and demographic parameters of polar bears. We successfully validated this method for cortisol, progesterone, estradiol, and testosterone through the analysis of hair and serum of 141 free-ranging polar bears. We found that while hair cannot be used to estimate serum hormone concentrations during the breeding season, hormone concentrations in hair can be used to measure reproductive function in polar bears. Further, our findings support trends in previous studies measuring hormone concentrations in serum. We found that adrenal and some reproductive hormones were positively correlated in hair samples of females. Associations between hormone concentrations in hair and serum did not vary relative to reproductive status of adult females. Serum testosterone increased throughout the breeding season for adult males and was significantly associated with body mass index (BMI). Our research supports the use of hair as a measure of reproductive function in polar bears and allows us to monitor the ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Van der Walt, Marilize Neuman-Lee, Lorin A. Terletzky, Patricia A. Atwood, Todd C. Gese, Eric M. French, Susannah S. |
author_facet |
Van der Walt, Marilize Neuman-Lee, Lorin A. Terletzky, Patricia A. Atwood, Todd C. Gese, Eric M. French, Susannah S. |
author_sort |
Van der Walt, Marilize |
title |
Measuring adrenal and reproductive hormones in hair from Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) |
title_short |
Measuring adrenal and reproductive hormones in hair from Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) |
title_full |
Measuring adrenal and reproductive hormones in hair from Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) |
title_fullStr |
Measuring adrenal and reproductive hormones in hair from Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Measuring adrenal and reproductive hormones in hair from Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) |
title_sort |
measuring adrenal and reproductive hormones in hair from southern beaufort sea polar bears ( ursus maritimus ) |
publisher |
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/2454 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/icwdm_usdanwrc/article/3447/viewcontent/Van_der_Walt_GCE_2021_Measuring_adrenal_and_reproductive.pdf |
genre |
Beaufort Sea polar bear Sea ice Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Beaufort Sea polar bear Sea ice Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
USDA Wildlife Services - Staff Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/2454 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/icwdm_usdanwrc/article/3447/viewcontent/Van_der_Walt_GCE_2021_Measuring_adrenal_and_reproductive.pdf |
_version_ |
1782332562944819200 |