| Title: | Assessment of cortisol and DHEA concentrations in Griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) feathers to evaluate its allostatic load |
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| Authors: | ID Frongia, Gian Nicola, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Sassari 07100, Italy (Author)
ID Peric, Tanja, Dipartimento di Scienze Agroalimentari, Ambientali e Animali, Università degli Studi di Udine, Udine 33100, Italy (Author), et al. |
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| Files: |  [23008733_-_Annals_of_Animal_Science]_Ahead_of_print.pdf (664,32 KB)
MD5: E8C7B4F9DEFD85B8BF6A3F336FB42350
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| Language: | English |
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| Work type: | Not categorized |
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| Typology: | 1.01 - Original Scientific Article |
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| Organization: | UNG - University of Nova Gorica
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| Abstract: | The use of a non-invasive approach to collect biological samples from natural populations represents a great means of gathering information while avoiding handling animals. Even if corticosterone is the main glucocorticoid investigated in birds, it has been observed a proportional direct link between corticosterone and cortisol concentrations. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) can be produced by the adrenal cortex and should have prominent antiglucocorticoid properties also in birds. The aim of this study was to verify if there is any difference in the cortisol and DHEA feather concentrations between clinically normal and physiologically compromised Griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) through the non-invasive approach of collecting moulted feathers without having to pluck them from the bird. The study was carried out using 8 physiologically compromised (PC) Griffons and 9 clinically normal Griffons considered as the control (CTRL) group that were necropsied or from the wildlife rehabilitation centre. Primary and secondary covert feathers were either collected directly from the birds’ cage floors, or, in the case of dead Griffons, they were plucked off the animals. The results, obtained by RIA, revealed that both cortisol (P<0.01) and DHEA (P<0.05) feather concentrations were higher in the PC than in the CTRL group. No difference was observed by comparing the cortisol/DHEA ratio between the two evaluated groups (P=0.15). Pearson’s correlation coefficients showed no correlation between feather hormone concentrations in the PC group (r=0.01, P=0.96) while a positive correlation in the CTRL group (r=0.65, P=0.006) was observed. In conclusion, our study reveals that moulted feathers can be a non-invasive and an interesting tool to evaluate the allostatic load of wild birds and they allowed to better understand the relationship between hormones of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and the physiological status of the birds. |
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| Keywords: | wild birds, raptors, HPA axis, steroids, coverts |
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| Publication version: | Version of Record |
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| Year of publishing: | 2019 |
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| Number of pages: | 23 |
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| Numbering: | 2019 |
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| PID: | 20.500.12556/RUNG-4738-ec28f255-fbec-d33c-ba4d-5f5c3856cd71  |
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| COBISS.SI-ID: | 5451259 |
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| DOI: | 10.2478/aoas-2019-0051 |
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| NUK URN: | URN:SI:UNG:REP:RWD77G5L |
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| Publication date in RUNG: | 16.09.2019 |
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| Views: | 3032 |
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| Downloads: | 121 |
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