Early Pregnancy Detection in Mountain Sheep Using a Pregnancy-Specific Protein B Assay

Lamb production and recruitment are major determinants in the population management of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis). However, lamb production depends on pregnancy rate, which is difficult to determine in wild animals. We determined whether pregnancy-specific protein B could be used to detect preg...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Wildlife Society bulletin 2001-12, Vol.29 (4), p.1182-1185
Main Authors: Drew, Mark L., Bleich, Vernon C., Torres, Steven G., Sasser, R. Garth
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal reproduction
Biology
Female animals
Game fishes
Mountain sheep
Pregnancy
Reproduction
Sheep
Ultrasonography
Ungulates
Wildlife management
Wildlife Reproduction
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Summary:Lamb production and recruitment are major determinants in the population management of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis). However, lamb production depends on pregnancy rate, which is difficult to determine in wild animals. We determined whether pregnancy-specific protein B could be used to detect pregnancy in mountain sheep. We captured mountain sheep in southern California in early November 1992 and evaluated them for pregnancy using trans-abdominal ultrasound and pregnancy-specific protein B in serum. Of 27 females tested, 17 were classified as pregnant using ultrasound and pregnancy-specific protein B, one tested pregnant using ultrasound but negative using pregnancy-specific protein B, 6 tested pregnant using pregnancy-specific protein B but were negative on ultrasound, and 3 were determined to be not pregnant using both methods. There was a significant correlation $(\Phi _{2}=0.811,P=0.093)$ between the 2 methods of pregnancy determination. The pregnancy-specific protein B assay appears to be useful to diagnose early pregnancy in mountain sheep.
ISSN:0091-7648
1938-5463