Department of Life and Consumer Sciences, University of South Africa, South Africa; National Zoological Garden, South African National Biodiversity Institute, South Africa; Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2021 Mar 1;303:113703. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2020.113703. Epub 2021 Jan 1.
Anthropogenic activity is a major driver of seabird injury and mortality in the 21st century. Although most seabirds perish within the natural environment as a result of human activities, some are rescued and admitted to rehabilitation centres. Despite the considerable number of admissions, little is known regarding the physiological response seabirds have to specific admission reasons and the rehabilitation process. In this study, we aimed to determine the effect of injury, emaciation, oiling, individual removal from the natural environment and the rehabilitation process on the physiological stress response of the African penguin (Spheniscus demersus). Urofaecal samples were collected from African penguins throughout a three-stage rehabilitation process and quantified for glucocorticoid metabolites (ufGCM). The three stages included an initial ICU crate stage (Stage 1), an ICU pen stage (Stage 2) and a rehabilitation stage (Stage 3). Data were analysed using a generalised linear model in order to determine the effect of admission reason, age and rehabilitation stage (Stage 1, 2 and 3) on ufGCM levels. Although the model indicated that only Stage 1 was a significant driver of adrenocortical activity in the study population, ufGCM levels of injured and emaciated animals within Stage 1 were considerably higher than those of birds with any other admission reason across all stages. This is the first study examining the causes and effect of rehabilitation on the physiological stress response in African penguins. Enhanced care and attention should be given to rescued individuals, especially during the first stage of rehabilitation, to reduce perception of additional stressors and thus increase the chance of full recovery.
人为活动是 21 世纪海鸟受伤和死亡的主要驱动因素。尽管大多数海鸟在自然环境中因人类活动而死亡，但有些海鸟被救起并送入康复中心。尽管入院人数众多，但人们对海鸟因特定入院原因和康复过程而产生的生理反应知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们旨在确定损伤、消瘦、油污、个体从自然环境中被移除以及康复过程对非洲企鹅（Spheniscus demersus）生理应激反应的影响。我们从整个康复过程中的非洲企鹅身上采集了尿便样本，并对其进行了糖皮质激素代谢物（ufGCM）的定量分析。这三个阶段包括一个初始 ICU 笼位阶段（第 1 阶段）、一个 ICU 围栏阶段（第 2 阶段）和一个康复阶段（第 3 阶段）。使用广义线性模型分析数据，以确定入院原因、年龄和康复阶段（第 1、2 和 3 阶段）对 ufGCM 水平的影响。尽管该模型表明，只有第 1 阶段是研究人群中肾上腺皮质活动的重要驱动因素，但第 1 阶段受伤和消瘦动物的 ufGCM 水平明显高于其他任何入院原因的鸟类在所有阶段的水平。这是首次研究康复对非洲企鹅生理应激反应的原因和影响的研究。应该更加关注获救个体，特别是在康复的第一阶段，以减少对额外应激源的感知，从而增加完全康复的机会。
