Yearly Variations in GCM Concentrations in Female Mountain Hares ( Lepus timidus ) and the Effect of Pregnancy
The measurement of glucocorticoid metabolites (GCMs) in faeces has become a widely used and effective tool for evaluating the amount of stress experienced by animals. However, the potential sampling bias resulting from an oversampling of individuals in different states of pregnancy has rarely been i...
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2021
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11092710 https://doaj.org/article/93a63a514471446f8cc09995d7e843d4 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:93a63a514471446f8cc09995d7e843d4 2023-05-15T17:07:47+02:00 Yearly Variations in GCM Concentrations in Female Mountain Hares ( Lepus timidus ) and the Effect of Pregnancy Maik Rehnus Rupert Palme 2021-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11092710 https://doaj.org/article/93a63a514471446f8cc09995d7e843d4 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/9/2710 https://doaj.org/toc/2076-2615 doi:10.3390/ani11092710 2076-2615 https://doaj.org/article/93a63a514471446f8cc09995d7e843d4 Animals, Vol 11, Iss 2710, p 2710 (2021) Alps noninvasive genetic sampling pellets stress hormones reproduction season Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11092710 2022-12-31T07:43:13Z The measurement of glucocorticoid metabolites (GCMs) in faeces has become a widely used and effective tool for evaluating the amount of stress experienced by animals. However, the potential sampling bias resulting from an oversampling of individuals in different states of pregnancy has rarely been investigated. In this study, we validate a noninvasive method for measuring gestagen metabolites in female mountain hares ( Lepus timidus ) under controlled conditions. We also measured the concentration of gestagen metabolites of females in a free-ranging population during the early breeding and post-breeding periods from 2014 to 2019. We found significant yearly variations in gestagen metabolites, which were related to the condition of the females due to the snow cover duration before and at the start of the reproduction period. GCMs were significantly influenced by the gestagen metabolite levels. These results are important for improving the interpretation of GCM concentrations in free-ranging populations during the breeding and reproductive periods. Article in Journal/Newspaper Lepus timidus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Animals 11 9 2710 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Alps noninvasive genetic sampling pellets stress hormones reproduction season Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 |
spellingShingle |
Alps noninvasive genetic sampling pellets stress hormones reproduction season Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 Maik Rehnus Rupert Palme Yearly Variations in GCM Concentrations in Female Mountain Hares ( Lepus timidus ) and the Effect of Pregnancy |
topic_facet |
Alps noninvasive genetic sampling pellets stress hormones reproduction season Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 |
description |
The measurement of glucocorticoid metabolites (GCMs) in faeces has become a widely used and effective tool for evaluating the amount of stress experienced by animals. However, the potential sampling bias resulting from an oversampling of individuals in different states of pregnancy has rarely been investigated. In this study, we validate a noninvasive method for measuring gestagen metabolites in female mountain hares ( Lepus timidus ) under controlled conditions. We also measured the concentration of gestagen metabolites of females in a free-ranging population during the early breeding and post-breeding periods from 2014 to 2019. We found significant yearly variations in gestagen metabolites, which were related to the condition of the females due to the snow cover duration before and at the start of the reproduction period. GCMs were significantly influenced by the gestagen metabolite levels. These results are important for improving the interpretation of GCM concentrations in free-ranging populations during the breeding and reproductive periods. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Maik Rehnus Rupert Palme |
author_facet |
Maik Rehnus Rupert Palme |
author_sort |
Maik Rehnus |
title |
Yearly Variations in GCM Concentrations in Female Mountain Hares ( Lepus timidus ) and the Effect of Pregnancy |
title_short |
Yearly Variations in GCM Concentrations in Female Mountain Hares ( Lepus timidus ) and the Effect of Pregnancy |
title_full |
Yearly Variations in GCM Concentrations in Female Mountain Hares ( Lepus timidus ) and the Effect of Pregnancy |
title_fullStr |
Yearly Variations in GCM Concentrations in Female Mountain Hares ( Lepus timidus ) and the Effect of Pregnancy |
title_full_unstemmed |
Yearly Variations in GCM Concentrations in Female Mountain Hares ( Lepus timidus ) and the Effect of Pregnancy |
title_sort |
yearly variations in gcm concentrations in female mountain hares ( lepus timidus ) and the effect of pregnancy |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11092710 https://doaj.org/article/93a63a514471446f8cc09995d7e843d4 |
genre |
Lepus timidus |
genre_facet |
Lepus timidus |
op_source |
Animals, Vol 11, Iss 2710, p 2710 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/9/2710 https://doaj.org/toc/2076-2615 doi:10.3390/ani11092710 2076-2615 https://doaj.org/article/93a63a514471446f8cc09995d7e843d4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11092710 |
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Animals |
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11 |
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9 |
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2710 |
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1766063284430045184 |