Dickerman R D, Zachariah N Y, Fouraker M, McConathy W J
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth 76107, USA.
Physiol Behav. 1997 May;61(5):771-3. doi: 10.1016/s0031-9384(96)00563-x.
Steroid-responsive behaviors have been reported in various species; however, the reports thus far on the male Asian elephant (bull) during musth are few in number and most have been conducted on single captive animals for short time periods. The purpose of this investigation was to perform a longitudinal study on steroid-responsive behavior in 3 male Asian elephants from a captive herd of 11 male Asian elephants in Nepal. Male Asian elephants were 18, 25, and 43 years old. The animals had serum collected for 11 months and were observed on a daily basis for aggressive behavior according to the Species Survival Plan (SSP) collection protocol on SSP data sheets. Testosterone (T) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) were measured in each animal by radioimmunoassay. Testosterone levels rose during musth 26-fold compared to nonmusth, and DHT was elevated 12-fold in musth. Maximal aggressive behavior episodes occurred during peak elevations of T and DHT, with correlation coefficients of 0.82 and 0.89, respectively. Therefore, we suggest that the aggressive episodes are dependent on elevated circulating androgens acting on androgen-responsive neural tissues.
在各种物种中都有关于类固醇反应性行为的报道；然而，迄今为止，关于处于狂暴期的雄性亚洲象（公象）的报道数量很少，并且大多数研究是在圈养的单头动物身上进行的，且时间较短。本研究的目的是对尼泊尔一群11头圈养雄性亚洲象中的3头雄性亚洲象的类固醇反应性行为进行纵向研究。雄性亚洲象的年龄分别为18岁、25岁和43岁。这些动物在11个月的时间里采集了血清，并根据物种生存计划（SSP）数据收集协议，在SSP数据表上每天观察其攻击行为。通过放射免疫分析法测定每头动物的睾酮（T）和双氢睾酮（DHT）水平。与非狂暴期相比，睾酮水平在狂暴期升高了26倍，双氢睾酮在狂暴期升高了12倍。最大攻击行为发作发生在T和DHT水平峰值期间，相关系数分别为0.82和0.89。因此，我们认为攻击行为发作依赖于循环雄激素水平升高作用于雄激素反应性神经组织。
