Effects of natural environmental conditions on faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations in jaguars (Panthera onca) in Belize
| Autor: | J. Bernardo Mesa-Cruz, Janine L. Brown, Marcella J. Kelly |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2014 |
| Předmět: |
Wet season
Themed Issue Article: Stress in Vertebrates Physiology Metabolite Management Monitoring Policy and Law chemistry.chemical_compound Animal science Corticosterone biology.animal Dry season medicine Faecal glucocorticoid metabolites hormone degradation Transect Feces Nature and Landscape Conservation jaguar Panthera onca biology Ecology Ecological Modeling immunoassay validation chemistry non-invasive monitoring Toolbox Glucocorticoid hormones hormone substitutes and hormone antagonists medicine.drug |
| Zdroj: | Conservation Physiology |
| ISSN: | 2051-1434 |
| Popis: | We performed immunoassay and environmental validations to assess the effects of natural environmental exposure of jaguar faeces on glucocorticoid metabolites. Glucocorticoid concentrations were stable for 5 days with the corticosterone RIA. Scat aging by morphology was unreliable. Environmental validation is needed to determine field sample collection protocols for elusive species. In situ studies that rely on non-invasive faecal hormone monitoring are subject to problems due to potential changes in hormone concentrations in samples exposed to field conditions. In this study, we conducted an environmental validation for measurement of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs) in jaguars (Panthera onca). We collected fresh faeces (e.g. no older than 8 h) from jaguars (six males and four females), housed at the Belize Zoo, and exposed them randomly to two environmental conditions: shade and sun. A control (first sub-sample) was immediately frozen, after which sub-samples were frozen daily over a 5 day period in both the dry and wet seasons. We quantified FGMs using a cortisol enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and a corticosterone radioimmunoassay (RIA), both capable of identifying relevant metabolites. Results indicated that FGMs assessed with the cortisol EIA were stable for 5 days during the dry season but for |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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