Abstract
After nearly being hunted to extinction during the fur trade of the late 20th Century, sea otter (Enhydra lutris) populations have recovered to varying degrees of their historical range. While overall population numbers and range have increased, there are regions in which expansion has occurred at a slower rate and/or animal numbers have decreased, which may be a result of chronic stress from a variety of sources. Some have employed glucocorticoid analysis in their attempts to validate these explanations. Our goal was to conduct a controlled study using sea otters managed under human care to validate the use of serum glucocorticoid analysis to monitor stress physiology in the sea otter. We used a standard ACTH challenge test to compare cortisol and corticosterone responses, thereby identifying the primary glucocorticoid in the sea otter. Fourteen sea otters of both sexes (five males, nine females), including juveniles, sub-adults and adults, participated in the study. The results of the testing supported cortisol as the primary glucocorticoid in the sea otter. Sex and age did not affect how the individual responded to the ACTH or saline injection. Interestingly, the saline injection not only confirmed the effects of the ACTH on glucocorticoid release from the adrenal glands but also provided information on how long it takes the sea otter’s glucocorticoid levels to return to baseline after capture and sedation. The insight gained from this study will aid in future efforts to better understand the role of stress in free-ranging sea otter populations. Recognition of the primary glucocorticoid will facilitate evaluation of more stable biological material, such as fur or whiskers, which tend to be less affected by the diurnal cycling of glucocorticoids.
Highlights
Environmental changes driven by anthropogenic activities, such as pollution and climate change, are affecting the health and success of wildlife populations (Machalaba et al, 2018; Noyes et al, 2009; Nuijten et al, 2016; Swarup and Patra, 2005; Van Hemert et al, 2014)
P < 0.05 was considered significant. In both the saline and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) treatments, sex and age category did not affect the change of corticosterone over time; all individuals were combined for further analysis
Samples had to be diluted from neat to 1:120 for cortisol enzyme immunoassays (EIA) and from neat to 1:9 for corticosterone EIA even after. This was the first controlled study in which the blood-based response to an ACTH challenge is used to compare the level of response in the form of cortisol and corticosterone in the sea otter
Summary
Environmental changes driven by anthropogenic activities, such as pollution and climate change, are affecting the health and success of wildlife populations (Machalaba et al, 2018; Noyes et al, 2009; Nuijten et al, 2016; Swarup and Patra, 2005; Van Hemert et al, 2014). These pressures can create a more stochastic environment that may result to increase stress for wildlife that are trying to cope with this variability. Because it lives in nearshore habitats along the California coast from Point Conception to Half Moon Bay, the threatened southern sea otter may be vulnerable to anthropogenic pressures, such as pollution from freshwater runoff which was the major risk factor for T. gondii exposure (Miller et al, 2002)
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