title: Plasma cortisol and faecal cortisol metabolites concentrations in stereotypic and non-stereotypic horses: do stereotypic horses cope better with poor environmental conditions?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Stereotypic behaviours, i.e. repetitive behaviours induced by frustration, repeated attempts to cope and/or brain dysfunction, are intriguing as they occur in a variety of domestic and captive species without any clear adaptive function. Among the different hypotheses, the coping hypothesis predicts that stereotypic behaviours provide a way for animals in unfavourable environmental conditions to adjust. As such, they are expected to have a lower physiological stress level (glucocorticoids) than non-stereotypic animals. Attempts to link stereotypic behaviours with glucocorticoids however have yielded contradictory results. Here we investigated correlates of oral and motor stereotypic behaviours and glucocorticoid levels in two large samples of domestic horses (NStudy1 = 55, NStudy2 = 58), kept in sub-optimal conditions (e.g. confinement, social isolation), and already known to experience poor welfare states. Each horse was observed in its box using focal sampling (study 1) and instantaneous scan sampling (study 2). Plasma samples (collected in study 1) but also non-invasive faecal samples (collected in both studies) were retrieved in order to assess cortisol levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results showed that 1) plasma cortisol and faecal cortisol metabolites concentrations did not differ between horses displaying stereotypic behaviours and non-stereotypic horses and 2) both oral and motor stereotypic behaviour levels did not predict plasma cortisol or faecal cortisol metabolites concentrations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cortisol measures, collected in two large samples of horses using both plasma sampling as well as faecal sampling (the latter method minimizing bias due to a non-invasive sampling procedure), therefore do not indicate that stereotypic horses cope better, at least in terms of adrenocortical activity.
authors.affiliation: Université Rennes 1 UMR CNRS 6552 Ethologie Animale et Humaine, Campus de Beaulieu bâtiment 25, 263 avenue Général Leclerc, Rennes Cedex, 35042, France. carole.fureix@gmail.com
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fureix
authors.forename: Haïfa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Benhajali
authors.forename: Séverine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.forename: Anaelle
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bruchet
authors.forename: Armelle
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prunier
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ezzaouia
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Coste
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hausberger
authors.forename: Rupert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Palme
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jego
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D004777:Environment; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D006736:Horses / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D012934:Social Isolation / Q000523:psychology; D013239:Stereotyped Behavior / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone