IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Dehnhard, M.; Jewgenow, K. | |
| Measurement of faecal prostaglandins in felids and three ursid species | |
| 2013 Veterinary Medicine Austria (100): 227-237 | |
Methods for monitoring endocrine activity are useful tools for reproduction management. In particular, captive breeding of endangered species is considered to be an essential part of species conservation efforts and requires reliable methods for the diagnosis of pregnancy. We recently described that faecal PGF2 metabolite (PGFM) is an indicator of pregnancy in several feline species, as shown for the oncilla and the rusty spotted cat, allowing pregnancy diagnosis during the last trimester. Discrepancies exist in the Panthera lineage, where we found only moderate increases in PGFM in the black panther and the Persian leopard. In three ursid species, the panda, the polar bear and the spectacled bear, faecal PGFM was not useful as an indicator of pregnancy. Surprisingly, the investigation of faecal immunoreactive PGFM metabolites in the Iberian lynx revealed that PGFM only represents a minor proportion of metabolites, with the major proportion consisting of an unknown metabolite. To search for additional and probably earlier eicosanoic indicators of pregnancy we investigated the hormones PGF2 and PGE2 and the corresponding PGE2 metabolite (PGEM) in the Iberian lynx. PGF2 and PGE2 were not appropriate pregnancy indicators at any stage of pregnancy. However, PGEM might become a suitable alternative to PGFM. Whether PGEM might serve as an earlier pregnancy signal has to be tested by comparison with pseudopregnant females. |
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