Investigation of the Physiological Responses of Belugas to 'Stressors' to Aid in Assessing the Impact of Environmental and Anthropogenic Challenges on Health.

摘要

The long-term goal of this effort is to investigate the physiological (i.e., neuroimmunoendocrinological responses) of beluga whales to 'stressors.' 'Stressor events' will allow for a better understanding and characterization of the relationships among hormones (e.g., cortisol, corticosterone, adrenocorticotropin hormone, aldosterone, catecholamines) in different matrices (blood, saliva, blow, feces) in conjunction with immune function. In addition, stressor events will enable us to define and compare the quantitative and temporal relationships of hormones across different matrices. The objectives of this effort are as follows: (1) to monitor the neuroimmunoendocrinological responses of three resident aquarium belugas before and after the introduction and throughout the adaptation process of seven new belugas to their habitat, and to measure the neuroimmunoendocrinological responses of 5 belugas to transport; and (2) to monitor the neuroimmunoendocrinological responses (via blood, saliva, blow, and feces) of 2- 3 aquarium resident whales before and after the occurrence of a known stressor (i.e., an out of water examination (OWE)).