An Analysis of the Correlation between Cortisol Levels and Anxious Behavior of Captive Aye-Ayes (Daubentonia madagscariensis) at the Duke Lemur Center
Abstract
I sought to determine if there existed a correlation between anxious behavior and
cortisol levels for captive Aye-Ayes. I measured stress-related behavior by using
an ethnographic methodology and focused on five specific behavior patterns: pacing,
self-grooming, vigilance, human interaction, and vocalizations. I conducted 10 hours
of observations on eight Aye-Aye individuals for a total of 80 hours. These observations
were split between direct observations in an Aye-Aye’s enclosure and indirect observations
by videotaping. Saliva samples were collected from each individual using chewed-on
swabs; swabs were centrifuged and frozen for later extraction of cortisol concentrations.
There was a general increase in anxious behavior when the Aye-Ayes were being observed
directly; pacing showed the greatest difference. There was also a slight increase
in cortisol concentrations when comparing weeks with direct and indirect observations.
This study demonstrated that there is a potential relationship between anxious behavior
and cortisol levels in Aye-Ayes that could be better understood with more research.
Future studies should conduct more observation hours that are equally split between
male and female Aye-Ayes. In addition, saliva samples should be consistently collected
immediately after each observation. Finally, cortisol levels from saliva samples should
be bolstered with other collection methods, specifically serum and fecal.
Type
Honors thesisDepartment
BiologyPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/11984Citation
Audra, Bass (2016). An Analysis of the Correlation between Cortisol Levels and Anxious Behavior of Captive
Aye-Ayes (Daubentonia madagscariensis) at the Duke Lemur Center. Honors thesis, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/11984.Collections
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