A comparison of sweat gland activity in eight species of East African bovids.

1. The pattern and control of the sweat glands of eight species of wild bovids has been studied.2. Heat exposure resulted in changes in cutaneous moisture loss which showed considerable species variation. Duiker, Grant's gazelle, Thomson's gazelle and oryx all demonstrated periodic discharges of moisture on to the surface of the skin. Defassa waterbuck and eland exhibited discharges which were accompanied by a gradual rise in basal level. Buffalo showed an immediate large increase which was sustained during the period of heat exposure. Three wildebeest displayed small fluctuations whilst a fourth animal showed a step-wise increment in cutaneous moisture loss.3. The intravenous infusion of adrenaline into the buffalo and one wildebeest caused an increase in cutaneous moisture loss, the magnitude of which was directly related to the size of the dose administered. In three other wildebeest, and all other animals tested, a single injection of adrenaline was necessary to cause a discharge of moisture on to the surface of the skin. Noradrenaline was without effect.4. Heat-induced but not adrenaline-induced sweating was inhibited by the intravenous administration of an adrenergic neurone blocking agent, bethanidine.5. It is concluded that the sweat glands of the wild bovids studied are under adrenergic neurone control, in common with the domestic bovids previously studied, and that there is no correlation between the pattern of sweating and the phylogenetic position of the species.