Factors Predicting Den Use by Maternal Giant Pandas

2007 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 2694-2698 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZEJUN ZHANG ◽  
RONALD R. SWAISGOOD ◽  
HUA WU ◽  
MING LI ◽  
YANGE YONG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangyun Shi ◽  
◽  
Guohua Song ◽  
Zeyu Li ◽  
◽  
...  

Ursus ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Ke He ◽  
Qiang Dai ◽  
Andrew Foss-Grant ◽  
Eliezer Gurarie ◽  
William F. Fagan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

2021 ◽  
pp. e01616
Author(s):  
Mingsheng Hong ◽  
Wei Wei ◽  
Jufeng Tang ◽  
Hong Zhou ◽  
Han Han ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 770 ◽  
pp. 145316
Author(s):  
Lei Jin ◽  
Yan Huang ◽  
Shengzhi Yang ◽  
Daifu Wu ◽  
Caiwu Li ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 168 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan A. O’Brien ◽  
Michelle L. Taylor ◽  
Heather D. Masonjones ◽  
Philipp H. Boersch-Supan ◽  
Owen R. O’Shea

AbstractLong held notions of the universally asocial octopus are being challenged due to the identification of high-density and interacting octopus populations in Australia, Indonesia, Japan and the deep sea. This study experimentally assessed the social tolerance and presence of potential prey items of Caribbean reef octopus, Octopus briareus, in a tropical marine lake (25°21′40″N, 76°30′40″W) on the island of Eleuthera, The Bahamas, by deploying artificial dens in multi-den groups or ‘units’ in the months of May and June 2019. Fifteen octopus were observed occupying dens (n = 100), resulting in 13 den units being occupied (n = 40). Two examples of adjacent occupation within a single den unit were identified but with zero examples of cohabitation/den sharing. Ecological models showed den and den unit occupation was predicted to increase with depth and differ between sites. Octopus also displayed no preference for isolated or communal units but preferred isolated dens over dens adjacent to others. Additionally, 47 % of occupied dens contained bivalve or crustacean items with no epifauna on their interior surface. The lack of epifauna suggests that these items have been recently ‘cleaned’ by occupying octopus and so represent likely prey. This study presents evidence of possible antisocial den use by O. briareus, a modification of the default ‘asocial’ ignoring of conspecifics typically attributed to octopus. This is likely in response to the high population density and may imply behavioural plasticity, making this system appropriate for further scrutiny as a research location on the influence of large, insular environments on marine species.


Reproduction ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 138 (6) ◽  
pp. 979-986 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hemin Zhang ◽  
Desheng Li ◽  
Chendong Wang ◽  
Vanessa Hull

Successful conservation of an endangered species relies on a good understanding of its reproductive biology, but there are large knowledge gaps. For example, many questions remain unanswered with regard to gestation and fetal development in the giant panda. We take advantage of a sample size that is unprecedented for this species (n=13) to explore patterns in reproductive development across individuals at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. We use ultrasound techniques on multiple giant pandas for the first time to empirically confirm what has long been suspected that pandas exhibit delayed implantation of the embryo. We also show that the duration of postfetal detection period is remarkably similar across individuals (16.85±1.34 days). Detection of fetus by ultrasound was strongly correlated to the peak in urinary progesterone (r=0.96, t=8.48, d.f.=8, P=0.0001) and swelling in the mammary glands (r=0.79, t=3.61, d.f.=8, P=0.007) and vulva (r=0.91, t=6.40, d.f.=8, P=0.0002) of adult females. When controlling for both the duration of the total gestation period and the postfetal detection period, infant birth weight was only significantly predicted by the latter (β=11.25, s.e.m.=4.98, t=2.26, P=0.05), suggesting that delayed implantation increases flexibility in the timing of birth but is not important in dictating infant growth. This study informs reproductive biology by exploring the little-studied phenomenon of delayed implantation in relationship to physiological changes in pregnant giant panda females.


Biotropica ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisette Cantú-Salazar ◽  
Mircea G. Hidalgo-Mihart ◽  
Carlos A. López-González ◽  
Alberto González-Romero

Reproduction ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 127 (5) ◽  
pp. 547-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
R E Spindler ◽  
Y Huang ◽  
J G Howard ◽  
P Wang ◽  
H Zhang ◽  
...  

Sperm cryopreservation and artificial insemination are important management tools for giant panda breeding and the preservation of extant genetic diversity. This study examined the influence of freeze–thawing on sperm function, specifically capacitation. Sperm from nine giant pandas were assessed before and after rapid (− 40 and − 100 °C/min) cryopreservation by incubation in HEPES-buffered Ham’s F10 medium with and without the capacitation accelerators, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX) and dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP). At 0, 3 and 6 h of exposure, aliquots were assessed for sperm motility traits and capacitation, defined as the proportion of sperm with intact acrosomes following exposure to solubilised zonae pellucidae (ursid or felid) or calcium ionophore subtracted from the proportion of sperm with intact acrosomes before exposure. Although mean±s.e.m. sperm motility post-thaw (56.1 ± 3.9% at 0 h) was less (P < 0.05) than pre-freeze (71.7 ± 6.0%), there was no difference (P > 0.05) in the proportion of acrosome-intact sperm (fresh, 93.0 ± 1.7% versus cryopreserved–thawed, 81.7 ± 4.7% at 0 h). Incidence of capacitation was greater (P < 0.05) in fresh sperm incubated with capacitation accelerators IBMX and dbcAMP (9 h: 50.9 ± 1.1) compared with fresh sperm incubated without accelerators (9 h: 41.2 ± 1.1%). Frozen–thawed sperm preincubated without accelerators underwent capacitation (49.6 ± 1.1%) to a greater extent (P < 0.05) compared with these fresh counterparts. Thawed samples with (9 h: 45.9 ± 1.4%) and without accelerators (9 h: 41.2 ± 1.1%) did not differ (P > 0.05) during the 9-h incubation. We conclude that giant panda spermatozoa (1) undergo capacitation in vitro with or without chemical accelerators and (2) withstand a rapid cryopreservation protocol, including retaining normal acrosomal integrity and functional capacitation ability.


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