IMBECU   20882
INSTITUTO DE MEDICINA Y BIOLOGIA EXPERIMENTAL DE CUYO
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Characterization and correlations of behavioral and adrenocortical activities of zoo-housed Lesser anteaters (Tamandua tetradactyla)
Autor/es:
PALME R; GARCÍA CAPOCASA MARÍA CONSTANZA; EGUIZABAL GABINA; ASENCIO CAMILA; SUPERINA MARIELLA; BUSSO JM
Revista:
ZOO BIOLOGY
Editorial:
WILEY-LISS, DIV JOHN WILEY & SONS INC
Referencias:
Lugar: New York; Año: 2019 vol. 38 p. 334 - 342
ISSN:
0733-3188
Resumen:
We characterized behavioral and adrenocortical activities of T. tetradactyla under human care driven by the hypothesis that they vary between males and females. We also assessed the potential association between natural or abnormal behaviors and adrenocortical activity. We kept females and males T. tetradactyla in individual, contiguous enclosures at Córdoba Zoo (Argentina), under natural photoperiod and temperature. During 29 consecutive days we monitored the animals? behavior by recording their activity pattern every 5 minutes using infrared cameras (8352 records/individual). We collected all feces and measured fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) with an 11-oxoaetiocholanolone EIA. We found individual differences in all behavioral variables. We detected that females exhibited lower total activity than males (23.8 ± 0.2 % and 32.3 ± 0.3 %, respectively; P = 0.005). Females were more active at night and males during the day (P < 0.05) and exhibited less abnormal behaviors than males (P = 0.05). Although we did not find sex-related differences for average FGM, we detected individual differences (P < 0.0001). We found that daily FGM showed negative (-0.39) and positive (0.38) correlations with natural and abnormal behaviors, respectively (P < 0.0001). Thus, we consider that individual input and sex are factors to be considered in stress responses of the species in captivity. Natural and abnormal behaviors may demand different levels of adrenocortical activity. Our findings may prove useful as normative data for ex situ management of conservation programs.