Decrease Stress; Train Your Animals: The Effect of Handling Methods on Cortisol Levels in Harbour Porpoises (&lt;I&gt;Phocoena phocoena&lt;/I&gt;) Under Human Care

Desportes, Geneviève; Buholzer, Lisette; Anderson-Hansen, Kirstin; Blanchet, Marie‐Anne; Acquarone, Mario; Shephard, Gwyneth; Brando, Sabrina; Vossen, Arndt; Siebert, Ursula

doi:10.1578/am.33.3.2007.286

Cited by 34 publications

(36 citation statements)

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“…The remaining seven harbor porpoises were captive animals from the Fjord & Baelt Centre, Kerteminde, Denmark (n = 3) (Desportes et al, 2007; permit from the Danish Ministry of Justice [1998-561-110]) and from Dolphinarium Harderwijk, the Netherlands (n = 4). The harbor porpoises were kept for rehabilitation (in Harderwijk) or research programs (both facilities).…”

Section: The Harbor Porpoise Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The blood samples were obtained from the vena cava of the fluke for all the free-ranging harbor porpoises and for the two captive individuals using the method described by Eskesen et al (2009). In the second method, blood sampling was conducted at poolside under voluntary husbandry behaviors for trained animals (Desportes et al, 2007). During the study period, blood was sampled at least once a month for routine medical checks and up to four times per month for shorter periods during specific research projects.…”

Section: Blood Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within the next few days, serum hormone levels were measured by radio-immunoassay following standard techniques in a commercial laboratory in Germany (Gemeinschaftspraxis Dr. Kramer und Kollegen, D-21494 Geesthacht) with X-Counter (Wallace, Lisle, Ireland) (Desportes et al, 2007). The minimum detectable level was 2 µg/l, the intra-assay coefficients of variation were 3 to 5%, and the interassay coefficients of variation were 4 to 6%.…”

Section: Hormone Status Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the present study, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), catecholamines (adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine), and the thyroid hormones triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) were studied. Data on cortisol obtained parallel to this study were already published in Eskesen et al (2009) for free-ranging harbor porpoises and in Desportes et al (2007) for harbor porpoises in human care. These results are cited here for statistical analysis in search of relationships with blood organochlorine concentrations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Investigations of Thyroid and Stress Hormones in Free-Ranging and Captive Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena): A Pilot Study

Siebert¹

2011

Aquat Mamm

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Increasing anthropogenic activities in the marine environment are potential threats to the health of harbor porpoises by causing unnatural continuous stress to the animals. The present study was a first assessment to investigate stress and thyroid hormones of free-ranging and captive harbor porpoises. In addition, hormone levels were measured to compare those with concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) in the blood of a limited number of animals (10 free-ranging and 7 captive individuals). Samples of seven captive harbor porpoises were taken at the Dolphinarium Harderwijk (the Netherlands) and the Fjord & Baelt Centre in Kerteminde (Denmark). Blood from 29 free-ranging harbor porpoises was collected within the frame of tagging projects on animals accidentally caught in pound nets in Denmark. Median levels of the catecholamines adrenaline, noradrenaline, and dopamine were higher in free-ranging harbor porpoises compared to the captive animals. The median value of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) for captive animals from the Fjord & Baelt Centre was almost three-fold lower than in the free-ranging harbor porpoises. The median values of T4 were similar in both captive and free-ranging harbor porpoises (9.3 to 10.8. µg/dL). T3 levels of the investigated harbor porpoises varied widely between individuals. No significant correlation between any investigated hormones and investigated organochlorine compounds was observed. The study provides first results on stress hormones other than cortisol. Further investigations are needed to improve the understanding of stress hormones and the influence of anthropogenic stressors on the health of harbor porpoises.

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Section: The Harbor Porpoise Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Blood Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hormone Status Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Investigations of Thyroid and Stress Hormones in Free-Ranging and Captive Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena): A Pilot Study

Siebert¹

2011

Aquat Mamm

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“…The behavior of the parturient animal was not disturbed as movements around the pool were very limited, and she had been desensitized over the precedent months to the presence of staff and the light during dark hours. F's body was smeared with white zinc ointment (applied the day before the delivery through voluntary medical behavior [Ramirez, 1999;Desportes et al, 2007]) to be able to spot her easily underwater to track and record her contractions and the behavior more precisely. The measurement of the inter-mammary distance and the body temperature were collected voluntarily during the pregnancy (see Blanchet et al, 2008).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Observation of the Parturition and Peripartum Events in a Harbor Porpoise (<I>Phocoena phocoena</I>)

Blanchet¹,

Ishigami²,

Wahlberg³

2009

aquatic mammals

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Parturition events in cetaceans are difficult to observe in nature and scarcely described in detail. Observations from animals in captivity offer the possibility to follow complete gestations and to obtain a precise description of the series of events pertaining to pregnancy and parturition. After a gestation period of 11 mo, the parturition of a harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) was observed for the first time at the Danish research facility Fjord & Boelt on 8 August 2007. Five prepartum signs useful to predict the onset of parturition were identified: (1) decrease in appetite (from 5,064 Kcal/d to 907 Kcal/d at 2 d before birth [B-2]), (2) unusual behavior (disinterest in training sessions, seeking of physical contact with the trainers, restlessness), (3) decrease in body temperature of 1.6º C at B-1, (4) swollenness in the genital area, and (5) increase in the inter-mammary distance (from 5 to 8 cm at B-1).During labor, three stages described for other mammals in literature were observed and each stage's duration recorded: Stage 1 was characterized by uterine contractions and dilation of the cervix (between 2 h 19 min and 7 h 39 min), Stage 2 started with the rupture of fetal membranes (1 h 42 min at least), and Stage 3 comprised the expulsion of the fetus and its membranes (7 h). The total duration of the parturition was at least 16 h 21 min as there is an uncertainty in regards to the exact beginning of the labor.The sequence of visible events occurring during parturition was as follows: apparition of the amniotic sac, apparition of the calf's flukes, apparition of the peduncle, delivery of the calf, and expulsion of the left horn of the placenta followed by the right horn. As described for other cetaceans, the delivery was caudal.Contractions seemed to be longer and more frequent during the first stage and during the beginning of the second stage of labor. The contractions then shortened and became more regular during the expulsion of the calf. We observed that the expulsion of the calf was not provoked only by contractions but helped at the end by a violent rotational movement of the mother that broke the umbilical cord. The female's breathing rate increased dramatically towards the end of the expulsion of the calf.

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Cetaceans in Captivity

Lott¹,

Williamson²

2017

Marine Mammal Welfare

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Decrease Stress; Train Your Animals: The Effect of Handling Methods on Cortisol Levels in Harbour Porpoises (<I>Phocoena phocoena</I>) Under Human Care

Cited by 34 publications

References 15 publications

Investigations of Thyroid and Stress Hormones in Free-Ranging and Captive Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena): A Pilot Study

Investigations of Thyroid and Stress Hormones in Free-Ranging and Captive Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena): A Pilot Study

First Observation of the Parturition and Peripartum Events in a Harbor Porpoise (<I>Phocoena phocoena</I>)

Cetaceans in Captivity

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