| Title: | Dog appeasing pheromone prevents the androgen surge and may reduce contact dominance and active submission after stressful interventions in African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) |
| Author(s): | Van den Berghe F; Paris MCJ; Sarnyai Z; Vlamings B; Millar RP; Ganswindt A; Cozzi A; Pageat P; Paris D; |
| Address: | "Gamete and Embryology (GAME) Laboratory, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia. Institute for Breeding Rare and Endangered African Mammals (IBREAM), Edinburgh, Scotland. Wageningen Livestock Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine (AITHM) and College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia. Centre for Neuroendocrinology, Department of Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. Mammal Research Institute, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. Endocrine Research Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa. Institut de Recherche en Semiochimie et Ethologie Appliquee, Apt, France. Centre for Tropical Environmental & Sustainability Science, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia" |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0212551 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1932-6203 (Electronic) 1932-6203 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "The endangered African wild dog (AWD; Lycaon pictus) is a highly social canid living in packs with a separate male and female hierarchy. Immobilisation, handling and translocations are acute stressors for AWDs, however such interventions are often needed for species management. In addition, new pack formation or temporary pack separation can lead to an increase in intra-pack aggression. The goal of this double-blinded placebo-controlled study conducted in captive zoo populations was to evaluate whether dog appeasing pheromone (DAP) reduces behavioural stress and faecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels (fGCM) normally associated with pack separation, immobilisation and reintroduction (SIR), and to assess whether this reduces aggressive behaviours and faecal androgen metabolite levels (fAM). Four packs (n = 11 males) were treated with DAP and 4 packs (n = 12 males) were treated with a placebo solution, applied at the end of anaesthesia. Behavioural interactions as well as fGCM and fAM were determined from 3 days before until 4-6 days after SIR. No effect of DAP on fGCM was observed, however, fAM increased after SIR in placebo but not DAP treated animals. Moreover, on the day of reintroduction, DAP treated packs tended to have lower rates of contact-dominance and active-submission behaviour, but higher rates of non-contact dominance behaviour. As these effects could decrease the risk of agonistic interactions, DAP may be a useful tool to help manage new pack formations and temporary pack separation" |
| Keywords: | "Aggression/*physiology Androgens/*metabolism Animals Animals, Wild/*physiology Behavior, Animal/*physiology Canidae/*physiology Female Male Pheromones/*metabolism *Social Behavior;neuroscience;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineVan den Berghe, Femke Paris, Monique C J Sarnyai, Zoltan Vlamings, Bart Millar, Robert P Ganswindt, Andre Cozzi, Alessandro Pageat, Patrick Paris, Damien B B P eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2019/03/28 PLoS One. 2019 Mar 27; 14(3):e0212551. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212551. eCollection 2019" |
