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| Author(s): |
Ingrid Vera Stein
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ/SBD) |
| Defense date: | 2016-09-01 |
| Examining board members: |
Selma Maria de Almeida Santos;
David Perpiñán;
Cristiane Schilbach Pizzutto
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| Advisor: | Selma Maria de Almeida Santos |
| Abstract | |
The golden lancehead pitviper (Bothrops insularis) is a critically endangered snake, endemic of the Queimada Grande Island, southeastern Brazil. With its declining population, a captive breeding program was established, but the knowledge of its reproductive biology is incipient. By the time this species is considered as seasonal, with spermatogenesis period and matting associated, occurring from autumn until early spring, but there are no studies about their reproductive endocrinology. The aim of this study was to validate a noninvasively hormonal evaluation method through feces and carry out the monitoring of androgens in conjunction with plasma testosterone evaluation. Over 36 months 156 stool samples and 30 blood samples were collected from eight captive males. The fecal androgen concentrations ranged from 10.9 to 249.3 ng / g of feces and the plasma testosterone concentrations ranged from 0.07 to 0.30 ng / mL of plasma. There was no significant difference between the concentrations of fecal androgens and plasma throughout the year, although the males had shown successfully reproductive behavior during this period. The data corroborate whith other studies of sperm storage, sperm quality and gonadal volume, but disagreeded of the results of testicular histology. We discuss the possibility of the species be assazonal or these results are a consequence of the captivity conditions. This study contributes to the validation of a new longitudinal evaluation method of sex steroids in B. insularis, with the knowledge of the reproductive biology of tropical snakes and the conservation of endangered animals (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 14/07612-4 - Annual monitoring of oscillations in plasma testosterone levels and fecal androgens in captive males of Golden Lancehead (Bothrops insularis) |
| Grantee: | Ingrid Vera Stein |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Master |