Seasonal changes in serum hormone concentrations of Père David's deer ( Elaphurus davidianus )

Abstract

abstract: The relationship between monthly variation and serum steroid concentrations in Père David's deer ( Elaphurus davidianus ) was investigated. In total, 48 male and 48 female deer were captured between March 2016 and February 2017 in Dafeng Milu Nature Reserve, eastern China. The serum concentrations of several steroids (including follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinising hormone, prolactin, oestradiol, progesterone and testosterone) were measured using radioimmunoassay. We identified significant differences with Mann-Whitney U tests between males and females with respect to serum concentrations of progesterone, testosterone and oestradiol. Correlation analysis indicated that male and female serum oestradiol concentrations in different months were significantly positively correlated, but serum concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinising hormone, progesterone, prolactin and testosterone were not significantly correlated between males and females, but did show a negative pattern. We found that serum steroid concentrations differed between males and females, which reflects the physiological differences between females and males in Père David's deer. Our results can provide important information for population breeding and conservation in animal husbandry.