@article {95763, title = {Diet Drives Differences in Reproductive Synchrony in Two Sympatric Mountain Ungulates in the Himalaya}, journal = {FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION}, volume = {9}, year = {2021}, month = {06/2021}, abstract = {

Ungulates in higher latitudes and altitudes experience sharp seasonal changes in forage abundance and quality. In response, ungulates show varying degrees of synchrony in reproduction. Diet type has been hypothesized to be a determinant of differences in reproductive synchrony. Analyses at global scales using proxies of plant phenology such as climate, latitude and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) have found no evidence in support because such proxies do not capture differences in phenology among plant taxa at local scales. We compared seasonal variations in diet quality with reproductive synchrony in the Himalayan musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster), a browser, and the Himalayan goral (Naemorhedus goral), a grazer, in mid-altitude Himalaya. We also compared seasonal variations in physiological stress using fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM). We identified different stages of female reproductive cycle using fecal concentrations of metabolites of estradiol, pregnanediol-3-glucuronide (PdG) and testosterone and used fecal crude protein (CP) as an indicator of diet quality. In musk deer, fecal estradiol and PdG concentrations showed a dispersed estrous and parturition, respectively. Goral had a more synchronized estrous and parturition. Estrous cycles in both species occurred when diet quality was poor, but parturition occurred when diet quality was high. Greater seasonality in reproduction in goral is driven by sharp phenological changes in graminoids on which it feeds, compared to slow changes in browse on which musk deer feeds. Thus, we show that diet type drives the differences in reproductive synchrony in these two sympatric species. Spring and summer with highest diet quality were times of highest stress in both the ungulates. We hypothesize predation pressure from feral dogs and resource competition with livestock as plausible explanations for this, which need to be tested in future. Our findings also highlight the need for studying relationships among plant phenology, diet type and reproductive biology of ungulates at local scales if we are to understand species responses to global phenomena such as climate change.

}, doi = {10.3389/fevo.2021.647465}, author = {Srivastava, Tanushree and Kumar, Ajith and Kumar, Vinod and Umapathy, Govindhaswamy} } @article {30721, title = {Cargo crowding at actin-rich regions along axons causes local traffic jams.}, journal = {Traffic}, volume = {19}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 Mar}, pages = {166-181}, abstract = {

Steady axonal cargo flow is central to the functioning of healthy neurons. However, a substantial fraction of cargo in axons remains stationary up to several minutes. We examine the transport of precursors of synaptic vesicles (pre-SVs), endosomes and mitochondria in Caenorhabditis elegans touch receptor neurons, showing that stationary cargo are predominantly present at actin-rich regions along the neuronal process. Stationary vesicles at actin-rich regions increase the propensity of moving vesicles to stall at the same location, resulting in traffic jams arising from physical crowding. Such local traffic jams at actin-rich regions are likely to be a general feature of axonal transport since they also occur in Drosophila neurons. Repeated touch stimulation of C. elegans reduces the density of stationary pre-SVs, indicating that these traffic jams can act as both sources and sinks of vesicles. This suggests that vesicles trapped in actin-rich regions are functional reservoirs that may contribute to maintaining robust cargo flow in the neuron. A video abstract of this article can be found at: Video S1; Video S2.

}, issn = {1600-0854}, doi = {10.1111/tra.12544}, author = {Sood, Parul and Murthy, Kausalya and Kumar, Vinod and Nonet, Michael L and Menon, Gautam I and Koushika, Sandhya P} } @article {45430, title = {Physiological stress responses in wild Asian elephants Elephas maximus in a human-dominated landscape in the Western Ghats, southern India.}, journal = {Gen Comp Endocrinol}, volume = {266}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 09 15}, pages = {150-156}, abstract = {

Increasing anthropogenic pressures on forests, especially in the tropical regions of the world, have restricted several large mammalian species such as the Asian elephant to fragmented habitats within human-dominated landscapes. In this study, we assessed the effects of an anthropogenic landscape and its associated conflict with humans on the physiological stress responses displayed by Asian elephants in the Anamalai Hills of the Western Ghats mountains in south India. We have quantified faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations in focal individual elephants within and across herds, inhabiting both anthropogenic and natural habitats, and evaluated their physiological responses to different socio-ecological situations between November 2013 and April 2014. Physiological stress responses varied significantly among the tested elephant age- and sex categories but not across different types of social organisation. Adults generally showed higher FGM concentrations, even in the absence of stressors, than did any other age category. Males also appeared to have higher stress responses than did females. Although there was no significant variation in mean stress levels between elephants on the plateau in the absence of human interactions and those in adjacent, relatively undisturbed forest habitats, FGM concentrations increased significantly for adult and subadult individuals as well as for calves following drives, during which elephants were driven off aggressively by people. Our study emphasises the general importance of understanding individual variation in physiology and behaviour within a population of a seriously threatened mammalian species, the Asian elephant, and specifically highlights the need for long-term monitoring of the stress physiology and behavioural responses of individual elephants across both human-dominated and natural landscapes. Such studies would not only provide comprehensive insights into the adaptive biology of elephants in changing ecological regimes but also aid in the development of effective management and conservation strategies for endangered populations of the species.

}, keywords = {Animals, Animals, Wild, Elephants, Feces, Female, Forests, Geography, Glucocorticoids, Humans, India, Linear Models, Male, Metabolome, Models, Biological, Stress, Physiological}, issn = {1095-6840}, doi = {10.1016/j.ygcen.2018.05.009}, author = {Vijayakrishnan, Sreedhar and Kumar, Mavatur Ananda and Umapathy, G and Kumar, Vinod and Sinha, Anindya} } @article {1031, title = {Non-invasive assessment of fecal progestagens and pregnancy detection in Himalayan musk deer (Moschus~chrysogaster).}, journal = {Theriogenology}, volume = {85}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Jan 15}, pages = {216-23}, abstract = {

The Himalayan musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster), an endangered species, is facing threat of extinction globally due to severe hunting for its musk, and efforts are under way in India to breed them in captivity. However, no information is available on the reproductive cycles of the species. In this study, we aimed to standardize an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) procedure for monitoring pregnancy using fecal samples. We collected fecal samples for 12\ months from five captive females maintained at the Musk Deer Research Centre, Bageshwar, Uttarakhand, India. Three of these females were observed mating and gave birth, whereas two were seen mating but did not give birth. The gestation periods for the three females were 183, 185, and 199\ days, respectively. High-pressure liquid chromatography revealed the presence of immunoreactive pregnanediol-3-glucuronide (PdG), progesterone, and 5α-pregnan-3α-ol-20-one (5-alpha-pregnane) metabolites in the fecal samples. We used EIAs against progesterone, PdG, and 5-alpha-pregnane to monitor pregnancy. We found PdG EIA to be a highly accurate and sensitive assay compared with the other two assays in detecting pregnancy. We conclude that PdG EIA can be used to diagnose and monitor pregnancy in Himalayan musk deer using fecal steroid analysis, at an early stage of 3\ months after mating. This study would help in conservation breeding of musk deer in captivity and in monitoring the reproductive status of the species in the wild.

}, issn = {1879-3231}, doi = {10.1016/j.theriogenology.2015.09.009}, author = {Mithileshwari, Chandrasekhar and Srivastava, Tanushree and Kumar, Vinod and Kumar, Ajith and Umapathy, Govindhaswamy} }