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[Endocrinologic studies of male psittacine birds for the evaluation of their reproductive status]
Anke Hahn1, S Reitemeier, J Gottschalk
1Veterinär-Physiologisch-Chemisches Institut, Universität Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 1, 04103 Leipzig. hahn@vetmed.uni-leipzig.de
Objective:
Evaluating methods of hormone measurement in different specimens of male parrots in order to assess their reproductive status and stress axis.
Material And Methods:
Cockatiels and rose-ringed parakeets were chosen as psittaciforme representatives and their endocrine profiles were examined. In various pre-experiments, suitable techniques for the determination of testosterone in plasma, saliva and faeces of male parrots were established. Before analysing the samples by enzyme immunoassay, blood and faeces were extracted using diethyl ether, while saliva could be tested without extraction. Based on the excretion of mainly conjugated testosterone metabolites, parrots' faecal samples were also hydrolysed with β-glucuronidase/arylsulfatase before extraction. In addition, the levels of the stress hormone corticosterone were determined by radioimmunoassay in order to assess possible relationships between stress and the secretion of testosterone.
Results:
The examined psittacine species displayed different seasonal secretion patterns for both testosterone and corticosterone. Cockatiels had maximum plasma testosterone levels in February, in contrast, rose-ringed parakeets showed highest concentrations in November. As a consequence of cumulative excretion, both species showed much higher faecal than plasma testosterone concentrations. In rose-ringed parakeets, the levels of corticosterone in plasma were exceptionally high compared to the cockatiels.
Conclusion:
According to this study, we have been able to establish suitable methods for testosterone analysis in blood and faeces of cockatiels and rose-ringed parakeets, supporting the assessment of their reproductive status. At present saliva does not appear to be an ideal medium for reliable hormone level measurement, thus further investigations are required concerning this subject.
Clinical Relevance:
By means of process analysis, it will be possible to detect increasing testosterone levels and/or pathological alterations, which could be considered in breeding programmes.
