Linkage between fecal androgen and glucocorticoid metabolites, spermaturia, body weight and onset of puberty in male African lions (Panthera leo)

There is limited physiological information on onset of puberty in male lions. The aim of this study was to use longitudinal non-invasive monitoring to: 1) assess changes in steroid metabolite excretory patterns as a function of age and body weight; 2) determine correlations between fecal androgen (F...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2019-07, Vol.14 (7), p.e0217986-e0217986
Main Authors: Putman, Sarah B, Brown, Janine L, Saffoe, Craig, Franklin, Ashley D, Pukazhenthi, Budhan S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Androgens
Androgens - metabolism
Animals
Beef cattle
Biology and Life Sciences
Body weight
Body Weight - physiology
Captivity
Conservation biology
Encyclopedias
Feces
Glucocorticoids
Glucocorticoids - metabolism
Growth rate
Hormones
Lion
Lions - physiology
Male
Males
Medical tests
Medicine and Health Sciences
Metabolites
Packaging
Panthera leo
People and Places
Physiology
Puberty
Sexual Maturation - physiology
Sperm
Spermatozoa
Spermatozoa - cytology
Spermatozoa - metabolism
Spermiogenesis
Steroid hormones
Steroids
Studies
Urinalysis
Urine
Wildlife conservation
Zoos
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Summary:There is limited physiological information on onset of puberty in male lions. The aim of this study was to use longitudinal non-invasive monitoring to: 1) assess changes in steroid metabolite excretory patterns as a function of age and body weight; 2) determine correlations between fecal androgen (FAM) and glucocorticoid (FGM) metabolite concentrations; and 3) confirm spermiogenesis non-invasively through urinalysis. Specifically, FAM and FGM metabolites were analyzed in samples collected twice weekly from 21 male lions at 17 institutions (0.9-16 years of age) for 3.8 months- 2.5 years to assess longitudinal hormone patterns. In addition, body weights were obtained approximately monthly from 10 individuals at five zoos (0.0-3.0 years), and urine was collected from six males at two facilities (1.2-6.3 years) and evaluated for the presence of spermatozoa. An increase in overall mean FAM occurred at 2.0 years of age, at which point concentrations remained similar throughout adulthood. The onset of puberty occurred earlier in captive-born males (
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0217986