Research Veterinarian, Endocrine Research Laboratory
National Zoological Park
Smithsonian Institution
PO Box 37012
MRC 551
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
smonfort@crc.si.edu
Research Interests
Steven Monfort has conducted his research for more than 20 years while at the Zoological Society of San Diego, the University of California, Davis and the Smithsonian National Zoological Park and its Conservation & Research Center (CRC). He initiates and conducts research projects in the broad discipline of reproductive physiology and endocrinology, and he provides clinical veterinary care for animals housed at CRC. Dr. Monfort co-coordinates one of the world’s largest and most productive wildlife endocrinology laboratories, with basic and applied research aimed at helping to conserve rare species. He also has experience in using semen collection, cryopreservation, artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization to augment ex situ breeding. He is particularly interested in cervids and bovids, and major reproductive research efforts have focused on the Eld’s deer and scimitar-horned oryx. Dr. Monfort is co-founder of an in situ conservation program aimed at conserving Eld’s deer in Burma, and he heads the Sahelo-Saharan Interest Group with a mission of conserving aridlands antelope and their North African habitats.
Dr. Monfort works closely with behavioral ecologists to address the underlying endocrine mechanisms regulating (1) reproductive suppression in cooperatively breeding mammals (dwarf mongoose, banded mongoose, African wild dog, meerkat) (2) reproductive synchrony and the onset of synchronous estrous cycles in wildebeests and (3) flehmen, dominance and estrus synchrony in sable antelope. He has helped to refine non-invasive endocrine monitoring techniques that permit urinary and/or fecal hormones to be measured in animal excreta from a diversity of taxa, including those that are free-living in nature. This work has helped to integrate physiological measures of reproductive activity with behavioral and ecological observations. Dr. Monfort conducts professional and paraprofessional training and education that promote technology transfer and increase environmental literacy in the USA and in developing countries. Dr. Monfort co-founded the Environmental Latino Initiative Promoting Science Education (ELIPSE) that outreaches Smithsonian science to the under-served constituencies of South Florida, and he is involved in developing innovative pedagogical approaches for undergraduate teaching in conservation biology. Dr. Monfort is a member of the IUCN’s Deer and Antelope Specialist Groups and the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG).
Current Research Projects
Assisted Reproduction Research:
Eld’s deer. For the endangered Eld’s deer, assisted reproduction
including AI, embryo transfer (ET) and/or IVF could help stem the tide of extinction.
For the Eld’s deer, we already have developed a strong management-husbandry
and reproductive database described in more than 12 peer-reviewed publications,
including (1) detailing management-husbandry protocols, (2) understanding the
female’s reproductive cycle to allow identifying or manipulating estrus/ovulation,
(3) developing safe and reliable approaches for collecting and storing viable
spermatozoa, and (4) researching methods for proper deposition of sperm at the
optimal time and site within the female. The overall objective of ongoing research
is to develop a thorough understanding of the dynamics of follicular-oocyte
development and maturation after superovulation with exogenous hormones (gonadotropins).
This information is being integrated to facilitate the success of IVF and the
production of viable embryos in vitro, and eventually offspring after embryo
transfer. Specific objectives include (1) evaluating the impact of different
exogenous gonadotropin treatments on follicular recruitment, oocyte development
and the resulting impact on embryo quality; (2) studying the kinetics of in
vivo follicular-oocyte development and maturation after gonadotropin treatment
induction; (3) investigating the influence of season and repeated gonadotropin
treatments upon ovarian responsiveness; (4) characterizing the impact of oocyte
maturation and senescence upon IVF success; and (5) optimizing culture conditions
for producing embryos after IVF.
Serengeti wildebeest. We are seeking to address the intriguing question of how estrous synchrony in female wildebeest is modulated to ensure that that 80% of the nearly 1/2 million adult females in the population are bred within 3-4 wk during the annual mating season in the Serengeti Ecosystem. What triggers the onset of estrous cyclicity is unknown. We are using a combination of behavior and endocrine data (hormones are being monitoring using noninvasive fecal steroid hormone techniques) to establish normal reproductive parameters of female cyclicity, as well as to test experimentally (through playback experiments) whether the territorial ‘rutting calls’ exhibited by bulls during the rut (peak period of fertility) acts as a ‘trigger’ for stimulating estrous-ovulation onset.
African wild dogs. This species is critically endangered, and free-living populations have declined markedly over the past several decades to fewer than 5,000 individuals. Competition with other large carnivores, namely lions and spotted hyenas, is believed to limit wild dog numbers. There now is increasing interest and activity in re-establishing populations of Africa’s greatest predators (lions, hyenas, wild dogs) in protected areas. How to accomplish this consistently and successfully still is unknown. The primary aim of this project is to understand how large predators coexist in small, protected areas, with special emphasis on the impact of the larger competitors (lions and hyenas) on the more vulnerable African wild dog. We are examining how the restoration of predators influences ecosystem function, particularly how competition between reintroduced and existing predators (e.g., lion versus hyena versus wild dog) impacts species survival and reproduction, and how predators utilize the existing prey resources and vegetation cover. We are doing this in a novel way, integrating our special expertise in the disciplines of reproductive sciences (including endocrinology), ecology, animal behavior and health and using progressive methods such as non-invasive endocrine monitoring and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology.
Cooperative Breeding in Carnivores. Non-invasive endocrine monitroing methods (urinary and fecal steroid hormones) have been used to investigate the reproductive and adrenal (stress) status of free-living cooperative carnivores (e.g., dwarf mongoose, African wild dog, meerkat, banded mongoose) to investigate reproductive-endocrine control mechanisms in natural social groups.
Marine mammals. Non-invasive endocrine monitoring has been used to assess reproductive activity in captive cetaceans, most notably killer whales (Orcinus orca). However, past studies relied on radioimmunoassays (RIA) for endocrine analysis. For most marine mammal-holding institutions, the requisite use of radioisotopes, and expensive instrumentation, has precluded routine on-site endocrine monitoring. Alternative non-radiometric enzyme immunoassays (EIA, also known as ELISA, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) are now available, and these methods are relatively inexpensive and do not require extensive instrumentation. The Conservation and Research Center (CRC) and Sea World have established a Mobile Endocrinology Laboratory for conducting on-site endocrine analyses in captive cetaceans. The laboratory monitors urinary estrogens to optimize the timing of artificial insemination (AI) in cetaceans. Urinary endocrine monitoring, used in conjunction with follicular ultrasound examination, has been key to the successful production of offspring by AI in killer whales (n = 3), bottlenose dolphins (n = 2, Tursiops truncatus), and pacific white-sided dolphins (n = 3, Lagenorhynchus obliquedens). These data suggest that on-site endocrine evaluations provide a rapid, cost-effective, and accurate means for assessing reproductive-endocrine activity in cetaceans. Although more data are needed, these results demonstrate the tremendous potential of noninvasive endocrine monitoring for improving our understanding of the reproductive biology of cetaceans. Finally, these results demonstrate that a Mobile Endocrinology Laboratory, combined with serial ultrasonography, provides a powerful combination for ensuring the success of AI in cetaceans.
Recent Publications
Monfort, S.L. 2002. Non-Invasive Endocrine Measures of Reproduction and Stress in Wild Populations. In: Reproduction and Integrated Conservation Science. D.E. Wildt, W. Holt, A. Pickard (Eds.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Pp. 147-165.
Clutton-Brock, T.H., P.N.M. Brotherton, A.F. Russell, M.J. O’Riain, , D. Gaynor, R. Kansky, A. Griffin, M. Manser, L. Sharpe, G.M. McIlrath, T. Small, A. Moss and S. Monfort. 2001. Reproductive skew in cooperative mammals. Science 291,478-481.
Wasser, S.K., K.E. Hunt, J.L. Brown, C. Crockett, U. Bechert, J. Millspaugh, S. Larson and S.L. Monfort. 2000. A generalized fecal glucocorticoid assay for use in a diverse array of non-domestic mammalian and avian species. General and Comparative Endocrinology 120,260-275.
Morrow, C.J., B.A. Wolfe, T.L. Roth, D.E. Wildt, M. Bush, E.S. Blumer, M.W. Atkinson and S.L. Monfort. 2000. Comparing ovulation synchronisation protocols for artificial insemination in the scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah). Animal Reproduction Science 59,71-86.
Berger, J., Testa, J.W., Roffe, T.
and S.L. Monfort. 1999. Conservation endocrinology: A noninvasive tool to understand
relationships between carnivore colonization and ecological carrying capacity.
Conservation Biology 13,980-989.