Endocrine profiling of reproductive status and evidence of pseudopregnancy in the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens).

ABSTRACT: Endocrine profiling is an increasingly utilized tool for detecting pregnancies in wild populations of mammals. Given the difficulty in calculating reproductive rates of Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) the use of endocrine techniques for determining pregnancy rates could be particularly useful for management of the population. The goals of this study were to 1) determine if progesterone and total estrogen concentrations in ovarian tissues of female walruses could be used to determine reproductive state and 2) determine if walruses undergo a functional postpartum estrus, as is seen in other pinnipeds. Ovaries were collected from female walruses (n = 13) hunted in subsistence hunts by Alaska Native communities. Females were categorized as postpartum, full-term pregnant, pregnan

SUBMITTER: Larsen Tempel JT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7491731 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature