School of Animal Biology, The University of Western Australia, M092, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
Department of Parks and Wildlife, Locked Bag 104, Bentley Delivery Centre, WA 6983, Australia.
Animals (Basel). 2015 Dec 16;5(4):1329-44. doi: 10.3390/ani5040414.
Populations of Australian marsupials can become overabundant, resulting in detrimental impacts on the environment. For example, the threatened black-flanked rock-wallaby ( Petrogale lateralis lateralis ) has previously been perceived as overabundant and thus 'unwanted' when they graze crops and cause habitat degradation. Hormonally-induced fertility control has been increasingly used to manage population size in other marsupials where alternative management options are not viable. We tested whether deslorelin, a superagonist of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), would suppress reproduction in free-living adult female rock-wallabies without adversely impacting body condition. We trapped, synchronised reproduction and allocated female rock-wallabies to a placebo implant (control, n = 22), one (n = 22) or two (n = 20) subcutaneous implants of deslorelin. Females were then recaptured over the following 36 months to monitor reproduction, including Luteinising Hormone levels, and body condition. Following treatment, diapaused blastocysts reactivated in five females and the resulting young were carried through to weaning. No wallabies treated with deslorelin, conceivede a new young for at least 27 months. We did not observe adverse effects on body condition on treated females. We conclude that deslorelin implants are effective for the medium-term suppression of reproduction in female black-flanked rock-wallabies and for managing overabundant populations of some marsupials.
澳大利亚有袋类动物的数量可能会过多，对环境造成不利影响。例如，受威胁的黑边岩大袋鼠（Petrogale lateralis lateralis）曾被认为数量过多，当它们啃食庄稼并导致栖息地退化时，就成为了“不受欢迎的”物种。在其他有袋动物中，激素诱导的生育控制越来越多地被用于控制种群数量，因为其他管理方法不可行。我们测试了促性腺激素释放激素（GnRH）的超级激动剂——地洛瑞林（deslorelin）是否会抑制自由生活的成年雌性岩大袋鼠的繁殖，而不会对其身体状况产生不利影响。我们对岩大袋鼠进行了诱捕、同步繁殖，并将雌性岩大袋鼠分配到安慰剂植入物（对照组，n=22）、一个（n=22）或两个（n=20）地洛瑞林皮下植入物中。然后在接下来的 36 个月内重新捕获雌性岩大袋鼠，以监测繁殖情况，包括黄体生成素（Luteinising Hormone）水平和身体状况。治疗后，有 5 只雌性的休眠胚泡重新激活，随后的幼崽被带到断奶。至少 27 个月内，没有接受地洛瑞林治疗的岩大袋鼠受孕并产下新幼崽。我们没有观察到治疗雌性的身体状况出现不良反应。我们得出结论，地洛瑞林植入物可有效抑制雌性黑边岩大袋鼠的中期繁殖，并可用于管理某些有袋动物的过度繁殖种群。
