The Adrenal Cortisol Response to Increasing Ambient Temperature in Polar Bears (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>)
Our objective was to identify the upper ambient temperature threshold that triggers an increase in cortisol in response to increased thermoregulatory demands in polar bears. The results reported here include endocrine data collected over two years from 25 polar bears housed in 11 accredited zoologic...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/6/672 |
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| author | Emily M. Leishman Maria Franke Jill Marvin Dylan McCart Carol Bradford Zoltan S. Gyimesi Anne Nichols Marie-Pierre Lessard David Page C-Jae Breiter Laura H. Graham |
| author_facet | Emily M. Leishman Maria Franke Jill Marvin Dylan McCart Carol Bradford Zoltan S. Gyimesi Anne Nichols Marie-Pierre Lessard David Page C-Jae Breiter Laura H. Graham |
| author_sort | Emily M. Leishman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Our objective was to identify the upper ambient temperature threshold that triggers an increase in cortisol in response to increased thermoregulatory demands in polar bears. The results reported here include endocrine data collected over two years from 25 polar bears housed in 11 accredited zoological institutions across North America. The effects of ambient temperature, sex, age group (juvenile, adult, elderly), breeding season and humidity on fecal cortisol metabolite (FCM) concentrations (N = 8439 samples) were evaluated using linear mixed models. Ambient temperatures were placed into five different categories: <5 °C, 6–10 °C, 11–15 °C, 16–20 °C, and >20 °C. Ambient temperature and humidity had a significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) effect on FCM concentrations with significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) interactions of sex, age and breeding season. Once biotic factors were accounted for, there was a significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) increase in FCM concentrations associated with ambient temperatures above 20 °C in adult polar bears. The implications of these findings for the management of both zoo and wild polar bears are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:13:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f22fa5d891284a06841e7b19aa12a4c9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:13:07Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-f22fa5d891284a06841e7b19aa12a4c92023-11-24T00:09:20ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152022-03-0112667210.3390/ani12060672The Adrenal Cortisol Response to Increasing Ambient Temperature in Polar Bears (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>)Emily M. Leishman0Maria Franke1Jill Marvin2Dylan McCart3Carol Bradford4Zoltan S. Gyimesi5Anne Nichols6Marie-Pierre Lessard7David Page8C-Jae Breiter9Laura H. Graham10Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, CanadaToronto Zoo, Toronto, ON M1B 5K7, CanadaMagnetic Hill Zoo and Park, Moncton, NB E1G 4V7, CanadaChurchill Northern Studies Centre, Churchill, MB R0B 0E0, CanadaAlbuquerque BioPark, Albuquerque, NM 87102, USALouisville Zoo, Louisville, KY 40213, USABrookfield Zoo, Brookfield, IL 60513, USASociety of Outdoor Establishments of Quebec (Sépaq), Quebec City, QC G1W 4S3, CanadaZoo Sauvage de Saint-Félicien, Saint-Félicien, QC G8K 0H1, CanadaAssiniboine Park Zoo, Winnipeg, MB R3R 2N7, CanadaWRG Conservation Foundation, West Montrose, ON N0B 2V0, CanadaOur objective was to identify the upper ambient temperature threshold that triggers an increase in cortisol in response to increased thermoregulatory demands in polar bears. The results reported here include endocrine data collected over two years from 25 polar bears housed in 11 accredited zoological institutions across North America. The effects of ambient temperature, sex, age group (juvenile, adult, elderly), breeding season and humidity on fecal cortisol metabolite (FCM) concentrations (N = 8439 samples) were evaluated using linear mixed models. Ambient temperatures were placed into five different categories: <5 °C, 6–10 °C, 11–15 °C, 16–20 °C, and >20 °C. Ambient temperature and humidity had a significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) effect on FCM concentrations with significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) interactions of sex, age and breeding season. Once biotic factors were accounted for, there was a significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) increase in FCM concentrations associated with ambient temperatures above 20 °C in adult polar bears. The implications of these findings for the management of both zoo and wild polar bears are discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/6/672thermoregulationclimate changeglucocorticoidHPA axisconservation |
| spellingShingle | Emily M. Leishman Maria Franke Jill Marvin Dylan McCart Carol Bradford Zoltan S. Gyimesi Anne Nichols Marie-Pierre Lessard David Page C-Jae Breiter Laura H. Graham The Adrenal Cortisol Response to Increasing Ambient Temperature in Polar Bears (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>) Animals thermoregulation climate change glucocorticoid HPA axis conservation |
| title | The Adrenal Cortisol Response to Increasing Ambient Temperature in Polar Bears (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>) |
| title_full | The Adrenal Cortisol Response to Increasing Ambient Temperature in Polar Bears (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>) |
| title_fullStr | The Adrenal Cortisol Response to Increasing Ambient Temperature in Polar Bears (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>) |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Adrenal Cortisol Response to Increasing Ambient Temperature in Polar Bears (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>) |
| title_short | The Adrenal Cortisol Response to Increasing Ambient Temperature in Polar Bears (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>) |
| title_sort | adrenal cortisol response to increasing ambient temperature in polar bears i ursus maritimus i |
| topic | thermoregulation climate change glucocorticoid HPA axis conservation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/6/672 |
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