Research in animal personality has been increasing over the last decade, as scientists realise its importance to a variety of health outcomes. In particular, personality has been shown to have an effect on immune function, stress, infant survival, overall well-being, morbidity, and mortality. Because of this, personality can play an important role in captive management, especially as stress is often a problem for captive animals. Research has already shown that personality affects captive breeding efforts, enclosure grouping, and stress regulation in some species. Only a few studies have focused on felids, but these have shown that there are possible applications for personality in that taxon. Because most felids are endangered, and because many of them face special challenges in captivity due to their size and biology, this work aimed to increase knowledge on felids, using personality as a framework, with implications for captive management as a target. Focusing on five species, I assessed the personality of domestic cats, Scottish wildcats, clouded and snow leopards, and African lions, and the well-being of the four latter species. With the exception of the domestic cat, there has been little to no personality work in these species, and none on well-being. I then compared the data within and among these species. I found three main personality factors among the species, including dimensions I labelled Neuroticism, Dominance, and Impulsiveness, with some differences, including an Agreeableness factor in some species, and elements of Openness. As in other species, well-being was negatively related to Neuroticism in most of the study species. Taking into consideration each species’ biology, natural history, and genetics, I discuss the implications and importance of using these species’ personality and well-being assessments in both captive management and conservation efforts. The results indicate that, like in humans, a targeted, individual approach to care is the best use of personality for captive animals.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:46:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 486467 bytes, checksum: bdc60d374f992e09ac77346aa7e98b20 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-12-16 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The study of the testis morphology and the spermatogenetic process in wild animals is fundamentally important for the knowledge about the physiologic patterns by which the assisted reproduction protocols are established. The following objectives were proposed in this study: to describe the data of both testis morphometry and seminiferous tubule; to quantify the population relationships of the seminiferous epithelium, Sertoli cell indexes, and the testis spermatic reserve, as well as to characterize and describe the arrangement of the intertubular space components in adult African lions (Panthera leo) kept in captivity. So, testis fragments taken from five adult lions proceeding from zoological parks located in São Paulo and Minas Gerais states. The animals were submitted to testis biopsies in order to obtain biological material for the histological evaluation of the obtained fragments. The average body weight of these animals was 183.7 kg, from which 0.015% were allocated in testis mass and 0.009% were specifically in the seminiferous tubules that represented 75.6% of the testis parenchyma. The average diameter of the seminiferous tubules was 252.7 m and the average thickness of the seminiferous epithelium was 93.2 μm. The African lions averaged 12.3 meters for seminiferous tubule per testis gram. In these animals seminiferous epithelium, 10.3 primary spermatocytes at preleptotene phase are produced by A-type spermatogonia. During meiotic divisions, only 2.7 spermatids were produced from primary spermatocytes. The general spermatogenesis production of the African lions kept in captivity was 22.1 cells, and each Sertoli cell was able to sustain and maintain 14.9 cells of the germinative line, from which 7.9 are round spermatids. At each seminiferous epithelium cycle, approximately 103 million spermatozoids are produced by each gram of testis. In relation to the intertubular compartment in African lions testis, about 16% of the testis parenchyma is occupied by Leydig cells, 7.1% by conjunctive tissue, and 0.7% by blood vessels. The average volume of the Leydig cells and their average nuclear diameter were found to be 2578 μm3 and 7.1 μm, respectively. The Leydig cells occupied 0.0019% of the corporal weight, on the average, and their average number for each testis gram was superior to that found for most mammals, as exceeding 50 million. / O estudo da morfologia testicular e do processo espermatogênico em animais selvagens é fundamental para o conhecimento de padrões fisiológicos, pelos quais podem-se estabelecer protocolos em reprodução assistida. Os objetivos deste estudo foram descrever dados de morfometria testicular e túbulo seminífero, quantificar as relações populacionais do epitélio seminífero, índice de células de Sertoli e a reserva espermática testicular, e ainda, caracterizar e descrever o arranjo dos componentes do espaço intertubular, em leões africanos (Panthera leo) adultos, mantidos em cativeiro. Para tal, foram utilizados fragmentos testiculares obtidos de cinco leões adultos, provenientes de Parques Zoológicos dos Estados de São Paulo e Minas Gerais, os quais foram submetidos a biópsias testiculares a fim de se obter material biológico para avaliação histológica dos fragmentos obtidos. Nos animais estudados, o peso corporal médio foi de 183,7 kg, dos quais 0,015% estão alocados em massa testicular e 0,009%, especificamente em túbulos seminíferos, os quais representaram 75,6% do parênquima testicular. O diâmetro médio dos túbulos seminíferos foi de 252,7μm e a espessura média do epitélio seminífero foi de 93,2μm. Os leões africanos apresentaram, em média, 12,3 metros de túbulo seminífero por grama de testículo. No epitélio seminífero destes animais, 10,3 espermatócitos primários em pré-leptóteno são produzidos por espermatogônias do tipo A. Durante as divisões meióticas, apenas 2,7 espermátides foram produzidas a partir de espermatócitos primários. O rendimento geral da espermatogênese de leões africanos mantidos em cativeiro foi de 22,1 células e, cada célula de Sertoli, foi capaz de sustentar e manter 14,9 células da linhagem germinativa, das quais 7,9 são espermátides arredondadas. A cada ciclo do epitélio seminífero, cerca de 103 milhões de espermatozóides são produzidos por grama de testículo. Em relação ao compartimento intertubular do testículo de leões africanos, cerca de 16% do parênquima testicular é ocupado por células de Leydig, 7,1% por tecido conjuntivo e 0,7 % por vasos sanguíneos. O volume médio das células de Leydig e o seu diâmetro nuclear médio, encontrados foram, respectivamente, 2578 μm3 e 7,1 μm. As células de Leydig ocuparam em média 0,0019% do peso corporal e seu número médio por grama de testículo apresentou-se superior ao encontrado para a maioria dos mamíferos, ultrapassando os 50 milhões.

While a decrease of wild felid population has led to disruption of conservation programme, recent studies have shown the importance of immune regulation for determining health outcomes and co-infection. Immunoglobulin G is important for detecting and evaluating responses to infectious diseases and vaccination. But, there is limited information on felid immunoglobulins and their role for functional immunity. This study aimed at isolating and characterizing lion’s immunoglobulin G. Lions’ sera (n = 68) were processed using the MagReSyn® magnetic beads and the final protein concentration was determined using the Xpose™ Trinean Spectrophotometer. The cross-reactivity of goat anti-cat immunoglobulin with sera of lions and other species was analysed using ELISA. High cross-reactivity was observed in lions ranging from 87.7 to 100%, and low reactivity with rhino (22.4%) followed by chicken (0.01%). The protein concentration from purified sera yielded 39.09 mg/ml. Molecular weight of lion IgG 150-160 kDa was detected with both chains at 54-56 kDa and 24-26 kDa on SDS PAGE. These results indicate a potential aid in developing serological tools to monitor exposure to micro-organisms of lions. / Agriculture and  Animal Health / M. Sc. (Agriculture)