Center of Excellence in Elephant and Wildlife Research, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, Virginia, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2019 Mar 13;14(3):e0210537. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210537. eCollection 2019.
We previously found relationships between body condition and physiological function affecting health and welfare of female tourist camp elephants in Thailand, and used that approach to conduct a similar study of bull elephants in the same camps (n = 13). A body condition score (BCS) was done every other month, and fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations were measured twice monthly for 1 year. Effects of season, camp management and tourist activity on lipid profiles [total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoproteins (LDL), high density lipoproteins (HDL), triglycerides (TG)] and metabolic factors [insulin, glucose, fructosamine, glucose to insulin ratio (G:I)] were determined and correlated to measures of body condition, testosterone and FGM. Positive correlations were found between BCS and TG, between FGM and TG, HDL and glucose, and between testosterone and HDL, whereas BCS and testosterone were negatively associated with the G:I. There was a significant positive relationship between FGM and testosterone. Elevated FGM concentrations were associated with altered lipid and metabolic profiles and were higher in winter compared to summer and rainy seasons. Insulin and glucose levels were higher, while the G:I was lowest in the winter season. Strong positive associations were found between TC and HDL, LDL and HDL and glucose, and glucose and insulin. By contrast, negative relationships were found between the G:I and HDL and glucose, and between insulin and G:I. Differences also were found between High and Low tourist season months for FGM, insulin, and G:I. Last, there was notable variation among the camps in measured parameters, which together with tourist season effects suggests camp management may affect physiological function and welfare; some negatively like feeding high calorie treats, others positively, like exercise. Last, compared to females, bull elephants appear to be in better physical health based on normal BCSs, lower insulin levels and higher G:I ratios.
我们之前发现了影响雌性旅游营大象健康和福利的身体状况和生理功能之间的关系，并使用这种方法对同一营地的公牛大象进行了类似的研究（n = 13）。每隔一个月进行一次身体状况评分（BCS），并在 1 年内每月测量两次粪便皮质醇代谢物（FGM）浓度。确定了季节、营地管理和游客活动对血脂谱[总胆固醇（TC）、低密度脂蛋白（LDL）、高密度脂蛋白（HDL）、甘油三酯（TG）]和代谢因素[胰岛素、葡萄糖、果糖胺、葡萄糖与胰岛素比值（G：I）]的影响，并与身体状况、睾酮和 FGM 进行了相关分析。BCS 与 TG、FGM 与 TG、HDL 与葡萄糖之间存在正相关，BCS 和睾酮与 G：I 呈负相关。FGM 与睾酮之间存在显著正相关。FGM 浓度升高与脂质和代谢谱的改变有关，冬季高于夏季和雨季。胰岛素和葡萄糖水平较高，而 G：I 在冬季最低。TC 与 HDL、LDL 与 HDL 和葡萄糖之间存在强正相关，葡萄糖与胰岛素之间也存在强正相关。相反，G：I 与 HDL 和葡萄糖之间以及胰岛素与 G：I 之间存在负相关。FGM、胰岛素和 G：I 在高游客季节和低游客季节月份之间也存在差异。最后，在测量参数方面，不同营地之间存在显著差异，这与游客季节效应一起表明营地管理可能会影响生理功能和福利；有些是负面的，比如喂高热量的食物，有些是正面的，比如锻炼。最后，与雌性大象相比，公牛大象的身体状况似乎更好，基于正常的 BCS、较低的胰岛素水平和较高的 G：I 比值。
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