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Vol. 51 No. 3, 2012
Family Affairs and Experimental Male Replacement Affect Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolites Levels in the Egyptian Spiny Mouse Acomys cahirinus
Marcela Fraňková1,2, Rupert Palme3, and Daniel Frynta1,*
1Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague CZ-128 44, Czech Republic
2Crop Research Institute, Drnovská 507, Prague CZ-161 06, Czech Republic
3Department of Natural Sciences/Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna A-1210, Austria
Marcela Fraňková, Rupert Palme, and Daniel Frynta (2012)
In social animals, a temporary intrusion of an unfamiliar adult male
into an established family group and/or male replacement may be
accompanied by social stress. We performed experiments involving
non-invasive monitoring of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (GCMs) in
10 manipulated family groups (50 individuals in total) of the Egyptian
spiny mouse Acomys cahirinus.
Study animals were kept in special apparatuses enabling individual
collection of fecal samples without considerable disturbance to family
group members. The results of this study revealed only limited effects
of experimental male intrusion and/or removal on GCM levels.
Nevertheless, GCM levels of adult males sharply decreased following
immigration into a new family group which provided them new breeding
and social opportunities. We also found that there was no effect of age
and only a partial effect of sex (males exhibited lower values) on
baseline GCM levels. In contrast, there were considerable and
consistent differences in GCM levels among individual family groups.
This finding suggests that differences in social settings among these
groups were a more important source of variation in social stress.
Thus, we recommend that group identity should be taken into account in
performing behavioral and physiological studies in social rodents.
Key words: Social stress, Social manipulation, Glucocorticoids, Feces, Sociality.
*Correspondence: Tel: 420-221-951846; 420-737-772867. Fax: 420-221-951804. E-mail:frynta@centrum.cz
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