title: Endocrine correlates of musth in free-ranging Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) determined by non-invasive faecal steroid hormone metabolite measurements.
abstract: The occurrence of musth, a period of elevated levels of androgens and heightened sexual activity, has been well documented for the male Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). However, the relationship between androgen-dependent musth and adrenocortical function in this species is unclear. The current study is the first assessment of testicular and adrenocortical function in free-ranging male Asian elephants by measuring levels of testosterone (androgen) and cortisol (glucocorticoid--a physiological indicator of stress) metabolites in faeces. During musth, males expectedly showed significant elevation in faecal testosterone metabolite levels. Interestingly, glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations remained unchanged between musth and non-musth periods. This observation is contrary to that observed with wild and captive African elephant bulls and captive Asian bull elephants. Our results show that musth may not necessarily represent a stressful condition in free-ranging male Asian elephants.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Ratna
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ghosal
authors.affiliation: Endocrine Research Laboratory, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, Republic of South Africa ; Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ganswindt
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Polani B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Seshagiri
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Raman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sukumar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004606:Elephants / Q000502:physiology*; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal
chemical_list: D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones