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Motile Sperm Output by Male Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) Managed Ex Situ Is Influenced by Public Exposure and Number of Care-Givers
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, PLoS ONE, Vol 10, Iss 9, p e0135847 (2015)
- Publication Year :
- 2015
- Publisher :
- Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2015.
-
Abstract
- The collective cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) population in zoological institutions has never been self-sustaining because of challenges in natural reproduction. A retrospective analysis of North American zoo-breeding records has revealed that >90% of litters produced since 2003 occurred in facilities 'off-display' from the public. We examined seminal, endocrine, and behavioral traits of 29 adult male cheetahs that were: 1) managed in public exhibit or off-display facilities; 2) maintained by different numbers of cheetah-specific care-givers; and 3) living adjacent to varying numbers of adult conspecifics. Cheetahs housed off-display produced more total motile sperm/ejaculate (P = 0.04) than on-exhibit males. This finding was mirrored in our laboratory's historical records where two-fold more total motile sperm (P < 0.01) were measured in ejaculates from individuals with no public exposure (n = 43) compared to on-exhibit (n = 116) counterparts. Males at institutions with ≤3 care-givers also produced more total motile sperm/ejaculate (P < 0.03) and spent more time behaviorally active (P < 0.01) than at facilities using >3 care-givers. Exposure to high numbers of conspecifics within the same institution did not impact (P > 0.05) seminal traits, and presence of the public, care-giver number, or animals/facility had no influence (P > 0.05) on androgen or glucocorticoid excretion or other behavioral metrics. Findings indicate that male cheetahs are sensitive to general public exposure and too many care-givers, resulting in compromised motile sperm output/ejaculate with mechanism of action unrelated to altered androgen or glucocorticoid excretion.
- Subjects :
- Male
medicine.medical_specialty
medicine.drug_class
media_common.quotation_subject
Population
lcsh:Medicine
Physiology
Feces
Internal medicine
biology.animal
Testis
Acinonyx
medicine
Animals
Acinonyx jubatus
Ejaculation
lcsh:Science
education
Glucocorticoids
Testosterone
Sperm motility
media_common
education.field_of_study
Multidisciplinary
Behavior, Animal
Sperm Count
biology
lcsh:R
biology.organism_classification
Androgen
Spermatozoa
Sperm
Endocrinology
Androgens
Sperm Motility
lcsh:Q
Animals, Zoo
Reproduction
Research Article
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19326203
- Volume :
- 10
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PLOS ONE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....115f3f5612ca25199b12218cd21d2748