Indigenous Knowledge and Biomarkers of Physiological Stress Inform Muskox Conservation in a Rapidly Changing Arctic ...

• Main Author: Di Francesco, Juliette
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Arts 2020
• Subjects: Arctic; Muskox; Ovibos moschatus; Stress; Indigenous knowledge; Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites; Hair cortisol; Adrenocorticotropic hormone; Widlife; Animal Physiology; Veterinary Science; muskox; ovibos moschatus
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/prism/38436; https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/1880/112840

Glucocorticoids play a key role in energy regulation and are mediators of the physiological stress response in mammals. Their concentrations are commonly measured in wildlife to understand the effects of environmental changes and anthropogenic disturbances, but their use is associated with multiple challenges and there is a need for species-specific validation. Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) are an essential part of the Arctic ecosystem, where they have a strong economic, nutritional, and sociocultural value for Indigenous communities. Recent population declines and mortality events suggest that muskoxen may be threatened by the multiple environmental changes and associated stressors to which they are increasingly exposed. Overall, I sought to establish fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) and qiviut (woolly undercoat) cortisol as biomarkers of physiological stress in muskoxen, and to apply these tools together with Indigenous knowledge (IK) to explore potential causes and patterns of physiological stress in ...