A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Testosterone variation in a semi-captive population of Asian elephants in Myanmar




AuthorsMoullec, Héloïse; Berger, Vérane; Santos, Diogo J; Ukonaho, Susanna; Yon, Lisa; Briga, Michael; Nyein, U Kyaw; Lummaa, Virpi; Reichert, Sophie

EditorsStacy Nicole

PublisherOxford University Press (OUP)

Publication year2024

JournalConservation Physiology

Journal name in sourceConservation Physiology

Article numbercoae076

Volume12

Issue1

eISSN2051-1434

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coae076

Web address https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coae076

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/477184017


Abstract

Hormones are known to be involved in life-history trade-offs as systemic signals that establish functional links among traits and regulate key behavioural and physiological transitions between states in organisms. Although major functions of many steroid hormones such as testosterone are conserved among vertebrates, circulating concentrations vary widely both within and across species, and the degree to which observed hormone concentrations mediate life-history responses to environmental variation is less understood. In this study, we investigated how faecal testosterone metabolite (FTM) concentrations varied with extrinsic and intrinsic factors. To do so, we took advantage of a 6-year period of longitudinal sampling of FTM, indicators of stress and oxidative status in a semi-captive population of Asian elephants (n = 3163 samples from 173 individuals) in Myanmar. We determined how the variation in FTM is associated with age, sex, origin (captive-born or wild-caught), seasonality of the environment, individual stress level [measured by faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) and heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (H/L)] and oxidative status (reactive oxygen metabolite concentrations and superoxide dismutase activity). We reported that FTM increased with age from juvenile to adulthood for both sexes, with higher FTM concentrations in males than females. Moreover, elephants showed significantly higher FTM concentrations during the hot season and monsoon than in the cold season. However, for the physiological indicators, we found contrasting results. While FTM concentrations were strongly positively correlated with FGM concentrations, FTM concentrations were not related to H/L ratios. Finally, we found no relationship between FTM and the oxidative status of individuals. Our study provides new insights on the factors associated with variation in testosterone concentrations—a key hormone for reproduction and fitness of individuals—in Asian elephants living in their natural environment, which has relevance for effective conservation measures of this endangered species.


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Funding information in the publication
This work was supported by the Academy of Finland (292368, 324257), the European Research Council (CoG 648766, ADG 101098266), and the Turku Collegium for Science, Medicine and Technology.


Last updated on 2025-23-04 at 10:08