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Seasonal variation in molecular and physiological stress markers in Asian elephants

Free-living species exhibit seasonal variation in various life history traits, including vital rates such as birth and death patterns. Different physiological mechanisms are thought to underlie the expression of life history traits that contribute to lifetime fitness. However, although the broad imp...

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Autores principales: Ukonaho, Susanna, Berger, Vérane, Franco dos Santos, Diogo J, Htut, Win, Aung, Htoo Htoo, Nyeing, U Kyaw, Reichert, Sophie, Lummaa, Virpi
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Oxford University Press 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10660384/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38026806
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coad029
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author Ukonaho, Susanna
Berger, Vérane
Franco dos Santos, Diogo J
Htut, Win
Aung, Htoo Htoo
Nyeing, U Kyaw
Reichert, Sophie
Lummaa, Virpi
author_facet Ukonaho, Susanna
Berger, Vérane
Franco dos Santos, Diogo J
Htut, Win
Aung, Htoo Htoo
Nyeing, U Kyaw
Reichert, Sophie
Lummaa, Virpi
author_sort Ukonaho, Susanna
collection PubMed
description Free-living species exhibit seasonal variation in various life history traits, including vital rates such as birth and death patterns. Different physiological mechanisms are thought to underlie the expression of life history traits that contribute to lifetime fitness. However, although the broad impacts of seasonality on life history traits and trade-offs is well established in many systems, the exact physiological mechanisms responsible for driving differences within and between individuals are poorly understood. Among them, molecular and physiological stress pathways, such as stress hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and oxidative stress, have potential to mediate relationships between individual survival, reproduction and environmental seasonality. Here, we determine how different physiological markers of stress including faecal cortisol metabolites (FCMs), heterophils/lymphocytes (H/L) ratio, two markers indicating oxidative balance including a marker of oxidative damage (reactive oxygen metabolites, ROM) and a marker of antioxidant defences (superoxide dismutase, SOD) and body weight vary in a large semi-captive population of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) exposed to extreme seasonality (e.g. elevated temperatures). Individuals showed higher FCM levels and H/L ratios during cold season, indicating increased stress, and the lowest FCM levels during monsoon season and H/L ratios during hot and dry season, but we found no pattern in oxidative stress (ROM and SOD) levels. Hot season also associated with a decline in body weight. The present study shows how different physiological parameters (FCM levels and H/L ratio), molecular (oxidative stress) and body condition vary with seasonal changes, and how these parameters might allow individuals to adapt to such variations. Our results on an endangered long-lived species are crucial in indicating the most productive timing for conservation efforts, predicting how individuals cope with environmental changes, and allow for a more accurate representation of how animal physiology operates in nature.
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spelling pubmed-106603842023-05-19 Seasonal variation in molecular and physiological stress markers in Asian elephants Ukonaho, Susanna Berger, Vérane Franco dos Santos, Diogo J Htut, Win Aung, Htoo Htoo Nyeing, U Kyaw Reichert, Sophie Lummaa, Virpi Conserv Physiol Research Article Free-living species exhibit seasonal variation in various life history traits, including vital rates such as birth and death patterns. Different physiological mechanisms are thought to underlie the expression of life history traits that contribute to lifetime fitness. However, although the broad impacts of seasonality on life history traits and trade-offs is well established in many systems, the exact physiological mechanisms responsible for driving differences within and between individuals are poorly understood. Among them, molecular and physiological stress pathways, such as stress hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and oxidative stress, have potential to mediate relationships between individual survival, reproduction and environmental seasonality. Here, we determine how different physiological markers of stress including faecal cortisol metabolites (FCMs), heterophils/lymphocytes (H/L) ratio, two markers indicating oxidative balance including a marker of oxidative damage (reactive oxygen metabolites, ROM) and a marker of antioxidant defences (superoxide dismutase, SOD) and body weight vary in a large semi-captive population of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) exposed to extreme seasonality (e.g. elevated temperatures). Individuals showed higher FCM levels and H/L ratios during cold season, indicating increased stress, and the lowest FCM levels during monsoon season and H/L ratios during hot and dry season, but we found no pattern in oxidative stress (ROM and SOD) levels. Hot season also associated with a decline in body weight. The present study shows how different physiological parameters (FCM levels and H/L ratio), molecular (oxidative stress) and body condition vary with seasonal changes, and how these parameters might allow individuals to adapt to such variations. Our results on an endangered long-lived species are crucial in indicating the most productive timing for conservation efforts, predicting how individuals cope with environmental changes, and allow for a more accurate representation of how animal physiology operates in nature. Oxford University Press 2023-05-19 /pmc/articles/PMC10660384/ /pubmed/38026806 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coad029 Text en © The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press and the Society for Experimental Biology. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Ukonaho, Susanna
Berger, Vérane
Franco dos Santos, Diogo J
Htut, Win
Aung, Htoo Htoo
Nyeing, U Kyaw
Reichert, Sophie
Lummaa, Virpi
Seasonal variation in molecular and physiological stress markers in Asian elephants
title Seasonal variation in molecular and physiological stress markers in Asian elephants
title_full Seasonal variation in molecular and physiological stress markers in Asian elephants
title_fullStr Seasonal variation in molecular and physiological stress markers in Asian elephants
title_full_unstemmed Seasonal variation in molecular and physiological stress markers in Asian elephants
title_short Seasonal variation in molecular and physiological stress markers in Asian elephants
title_sort seasonal variation in molecular and physiological stress markers in asian elephants
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10660384/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38026806
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coad029
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