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dc.contributor.authorDalle Luche, G
dc.contributor.authorBoggs, ASP
dc.contributor.authorKucklick, JR
dc.contributor.authorGroß, J
dc.contributor.authorHawker, DW
dc.contributor.authorBengtson Nash, S
dc.date.accessioned2020-08-05T00:31:12Z
dc.date.available2020-08-05T00:31:12Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.identifier.issn2045-2322
dc.identifier.doi10.1038/s41598-020-58933-4
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/396182
dc.description.abstractThe blubber steroid hormone profiles of 52 female humpback whales migrating along the east coast of Australia were investigated for seasonal endocrine changes associated with reproduction. Individuals were randomly sampled during two stages of the annual migration: before reaching the breeding grounds (northward migration; June/July), and after departing from the breeding grounds (southward migration; September/October). Assignment of reproductive status of the sampled individuals was based on season, single-hormone ranks and multi-variate analysis of the hormonal profiles. High concentrations of progesterone (>19 ng/g, wet weight), recognised as an indicator of pregnancy in this species, were only detected in one sample. However, the androgens, testosterone and androstenedione were measured in unusually high concentrations (1.6–12 and 7.8–40 ng/g wet weight, respectively) in 36% of the females approaching the breeding grounds. The absence of a strong accompanying progesterone signal in these animals raises the possibility of progesterone withdrawal prior to parturition. As seen with other cetacean species, testosterone and androstenedione could be markers of near-term pregnancy in humpback whales. Confirmation of these androgens as alternate biomarkers of near-term pregnancy would carry implications for improved monitoring of the annual fecundity of humpback whales via non-lethal and minimally invasive methods.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom2954
dc.relation.ispartofissue1
dc.relation.ispartofjournalScientific Reports
dc.relation.ispartofvolume10
dc.subject.fieldofresearchBiological oceanography
dc.subject.fieldofresearchVeterinary sciences not elsewhere classified
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode370801
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode300999
dc.titleAndrostenedione and testosterone but not progesterone are potential biomarkers of pregnancy in Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) approaching parturition
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dcterms.bibliographicCitationDalle Luche, G; Boggs, ASP; Kucklick, JR; Groß, J; Hawker, DW; Bengtson Nash, S, Androstenedione and testosterone but not progesterone are potential biomarkers of pregnancy in Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) approaching parturition, Scientific Reports, 2020, 10 (1), pp. 2954
dcterms.dateAccepted2019-11-22
dcterms.licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.date.updated2020-08-05T00:23:53Z
dc.description.versionVersion of Record (VoR)
gro.rights.copyright© The Author(s) 2020. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
gro.hasfulltextFull Text
gro.griffith.authorHawker, Darryl W.
gro.griffith.authorBengtson Nash, Susan M.


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