Methodological Considerations for Using Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite Concentrations as an Indicator of Physiological Stress in the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos)
Reliable methods to measure stress-related glucocorticoid responses in free-ranging animals are important for wildlife management and conservation. Such methods are also paramount for our ability to improve our knowledge of the ecological consequences of physiological processes. The brown bear (Ursu...
Published in: | Physiological and Biochemical Zoology |
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Language: | English |
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University of Chicago Press
2020
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/228316 https://doi.org/10.1086/708630 https://doi.org/10.13039/100011941 |
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ftcsic:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/228316 2024-02-11T10:09:19+01:00 Methodological Considerations for Using Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite Concentrations as an Indicator of Physiological Stress in the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) Dalerum, Fredrik Ganswindt, André Palme, Rupert Bettega, Chiara Delgado, María del Mar Dehnhard, Martin Freire, Susana García-González, Ricardo Marcos, Jaime Miranda, María Vázquez, Víctor M. Sánchez Corominas, Teresa Tuñón Huerta, José Zedrosser, Andreas Ordiz, Andrés Penteriani, Vincenzo Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España) Principado de Asturias 2020-03-31 http://hdl.handle.net/10261/228316 https://doi.org/10.1086/708630 https://doi.org/10.13039/100011941 en eng University of Chicago Press #PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE# info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2017-2020/CGL2017- 82782-P Publisher's version https://doi.org/10.1086/708630 Sí Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 93(3): 227-234 (2020) 1522-2152 http://hdl.handle.net/10261/228316 doi:10.1086/708630 1537-5293 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100011941 open Stress ACTH challenge Noninvasive hormone monitoring Steroid stability Bears Ursus Carnivore artículo http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 2020 ftcsic https://doi.org/10.1086/70863010.13039/100011941 2024-01-16T11:02:09Z Reliable methods to measure stress-related glucocorticoid responses in free-ranging animals are important for wildlife management and conservation. Such methods are also paramount for our ability to improve our knowledge of the ecological consequences of physiological processes. The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a large carnivore of ecological and cultural importance and is important for management. Here, we provide a physiological validation for an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to quantify glucocorticoid metabolites in brown bear feces. We also provide an evaluation of the effects of sample exposure to ambient temperature on measured fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations. We evaluated three EIA systems: a cortisol assay, an 11-oxoetiocholanolone assay, and an 11β-hydroxyetiocholanolone assay. Of these, the cortisol assay provided the best discrimination between peak fGCM concentrations detected 1–4 d after injections of synthetic adrenocorticotrophic hormone and preinjection baseline concentrations in four individual brown bears. The time of exposure to ambient temperature had substantial but variable effects on measured fGCM concentrations, including variation both between samples from the same individual and among samples from different bears. We propose that the validated EIA system for measuring fGCM concentrations in the brown bear could be a useful noninvasive method to monitor stress in this species. However, we highlight that this method requires that fecal samples be frozen immediately after defecation, which could be a limitation in many field situations. This research project has been partially funded by FOA, Fundación Biodiversidad, and the Servicio de Medio Natural, Consejería de Desarrollo Rural, Agroganadería y Pesca del Principado de Asturias to M.M.D. In addition, F.D. was financially supported by a Spanish Ramon y Cajal grant funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (RYC-2013-16263); V.P. was supported by a Grupos de Investigación (GRUPIN) research grant from ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Ursus arctos Digital.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) Eia ENVELOPE(7.755,7.755,63.024,63.024) Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 93 3 227 234 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Digital.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) |
op_collection_id |
ftcsic |
language |
English |
topic |
Stress ACTH challenge Noninvasive hormone monitoring Steroid stability Bears Ursus Carnivore |
spellingShingle |
Stress ACTH challenge Noninvasive hormone monitoring Steroid stability Bears Ursus Carnivore Dalerum, Fredrik Ganswindt, André Palme, Rupert Bettega, Chiara Delgado, María del Mar Dehnhard, Martin Freire, Susana García-González, Ricardo Marcos, Jaime Miranda, María Vázquez, Víctor M. Sánchez Corominas, Teresa Tuñón Huerta, José Zedrosser, Andreas Ordiz, Andrés Penteriani, Vincenzo Methodological Considerations for Using Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite Concentrations as an Indicator of Physiological Stress in the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) |
topic_facet |
Stress ACTH challenge Noninvasive hormone monitoring Steroid stability Bears Ursus Carnivore |
description |
Reliable methods to measure stress-related glucocorticoid responses in free-ranging animals are important for wildlife management and conservation. Such methods are also paramount for our ability to improve our knowledge of the ecological consequences of physiological processes. The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a large carnivore of ecological and cultural importance and is important for management. Here, we provide a physiological validation for an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to quantify glucocorticoid metabolites in brown bear feces. We also provide an evaluation of the effects of sample exposure to ambient temperature on measured fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations. We evaluated three EIA systems: a cortisol assay, an 11-oxoetiocholanolone assay, and an 11β-hydroxyetiocholanolone assay. Of these, the cortisol assay provided the best discrimination between peak fGCM concentrations detected 1–4 d after injections of synthetic adrenocorticotrophic hormone and preinjection baseline concentrations in four individual brown bears. The time of exposure to ambient temperature had substantial but variable effects on measured fGCM concentrations, including variation both between samples from the same individual and among samples from different bears. We propose that the validated EIA system for measuring fGCM concentrations in the brown bear could be a useful noninvasive method to monitor stress in this species. However, we highlight that this method requires that fecal samples be frozen immediately after defecation, which could be a limitation in many field situations. This research project has been partially funded by FOA, Fundación Biodiversidad, and the Servicio de Medio Natural, Consejería de Desarrollo Rural, Agroganadería y Pesca del Principado de Asturias to M.M.D. In addition, F.D. was financially supported by a Spanish Ramon y Cajal grant funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (RYC-2013-16263); V.P. was supported by a Grupos de Investigación (GRUPIN) research grant from ... |
author2 |
Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España) Principado de Asturias |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dalerum, Fredrik Ganswindt, André Palme, Rupert Bettega, Chiara Delgado, María del Mar Dehnhard, Martin Freire, Susana García-González, Ricardo Marcos, Jaime Miranda, María Vázquez, Víctor M. Sánchez Corominas, Teresa Tuñón Huerta, José Zedrosser, Andreas Ordiz, Andrés Penteriani, Vincenzo |
author_facet |
Dalerum, Fredrik Ganswindt, André Palme, Rupert Bettega, Chiara Delgado, María del Mar Dehnhard, Martin Freire, Susana García-González, Ricardo Marcos, Jaime Miranda, María Vázquez, Víctor M. Sánchez Corominas, Teresa Tuñón Huerta, José Zedrosser, Andreas Ordiz, Andrés Penteriani, Vincenzo |
author_sort |
Dalerum, Fredrik |
title |
Methodological Considerations for Using Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite Concentrations as an Indicator of Physiological Stress in the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) |
title_short |
Methodological Considerations for Using Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite Concentrations as an Indicator of Physiological Stress in the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) |
title_full |
Methodological Considerations for Using Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite Concentrations as an Indicator of Physiological Stress in the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) |
title_fullStr |
Methodological Considerations for Using Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite Concentrations as an Indicator of Physiological Stress in the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Methodological Considerations for Using Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite Concentrations as an Indicator of Physiological Stress in the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) |
title_sort |
methodological considerations for using fecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations as an indicator of physiological stress in the brown bear (ursus arctos) |
publisher |
University of Chicago Press |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10261/228316 https://doi.org/10.1086/708630 https://doi.org/10.13039/100011941 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(7.755,7.755,63.024,63.024) |
geographic |
Eia |
geographic_facet |
Eia |
genre |
Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos |
op_relation |
#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE# info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2017-2020/CGL2017- 82782-P Publisher's version https://doi.org/10.1086/708630 Sí Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 93(3): 227-234 (2020) 1522-2152 http://hdl.handle.net/10261/228316 doi:10.1086/708630 1537-5293 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100011941 |
op_rights |
open |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1086/70863010.13039/100011941 |
container_title |
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology |
container_volume |
93 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
227 |
op_container_end_page |
234 |
_version_ |
1790609155022651392 |