The Adrenal Cortisol Response to Increasing Ambient Temperature in Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus).

ABSTRACT: Our objective was to identify the upper ambient temperature threshold that triggers an increase in cortisol in response to increased thermoregulatory demands in polar bears. The results reported here include endocrine data collected over two years from 25 polar bears housed in 11 accredited zoological institutions across North America. The effects of ambient temperature, sex, age group (juvenile, adult, elderly), breeding season and humidity on fecal cortisol metabolite (FCM) concentrations (N = 8439 samples) were evaluated using linear mixed models. Ambient temperatures were placed into five different categories: <5 °C, 6-10 °C, 11-15 °C, 16-20 °C, and >20 °C. Ambient temperature and humidity had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on FCM concentrations with significant (p < 0.05)

SUBMITTER: Leishman EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8944560 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature