Faecal glucocorticoid metabolites as a measure of adrenocortical activity in polar bears (Ursus maritimus)
Analysis of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs) is frequently applied to assess adrenocortical activity in animal conservation and welfare studies. Faecal sample collection is non-invasive and feasible under field conditions. FGM levels are also less prone to circadian rhythms, episodic fluctua...
Published in: | Conservation Physiology |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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2020
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Online Access: | https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/faecal-glucocorticoid-metabolites-as-a-measure-of-adrenocortical-activity-in-polar-bears-ursus-maritimus(bc9fcba1-d231-4365-b2aa-7a86186d722d).html https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa012 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099687385&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
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ftuniaarhuspubl:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/bc9fcba1-d231-4365-b2aa-7a86186d722d 2023-05-15T18:42:24+02:00 Faecal glucocorticoid metabolites as a measure of adrenocortical activity in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) Hein, Anna Palme, Rupert Baumgartner, Katrin Von Fersen, Lorenzo Woelfing, Benno Greenwood, Alex D. Bechshoft, Thea Siebert, Ursula 2020 https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/faecal-glucocorticoid-metabolites-as-a-measure-of-adrenocortical-activity-in-polar-bears-ursus-maritimus(bc9fcba1-d231-4365-b2aa-7a86186d722d).html https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa012 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099687385&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Hein , A , Palme , R , Baumgartner , K , Von Fersen , L , Woelfing , B , Greenwood , A D , Bechshoft , T & Siebert , U 2020 , ' Faecal glucocorticoid metabolites as a measure of adrenocortical activity in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) ' , Conservation Physiology , vol. 8 , no. 1 , coaa012 . https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa012 biological validation EIA faecal glucocorticoid metabolites non-invasive HPA axis assessment stress Ursus maritimus article 2020 ftuniaarhuspubl https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa012 2021-06-02T22:44:52Z Analysis of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs) is frequently applied to assess adrenocortical activity in animal conservation and welfare studies. Faecal sample collection is non-invasive and feasible under field conditions. FGM levels are also less prone to circadian rhythms, episodic fluctuations and short acute stressors than glucocorticoid (GC) levels obtained from other matrices, for example blood or saliva. To investigate the suitability of FGM measurement in polar bears (Ursus maritimus), a species listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), a cortisol enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was biologically validated by demonstrating a significant increase in FGMs after five zoo-to-zoo transports. In addition to validating the method, the study also documented an average delay of 7 h until the first occurrence of food colorants in the monitored polar bears, which provides essential information for future studies. After validation, the assay was applied to measure FGM concentrations of five polar bears over a 1-year period. Several pre-defined potentially stressful events were recorded in an event log to measure their effect on FGM concentrations. A mixed model analysis revealed significant increases in FGM concentrations after social tension and environmental changes, whereas season and sex had no significant effect. The study demonstrates that the applied cortisol EIA is suitable for measuring FGM levels in polar bears and that using a carefully validated assay for FGM analysis in combination with a detailed sampling protocol can serve as a valuable tool for evaluating mid- to long-term stress in polar bears. FGM levels can be used to monitor stress in captive polar bears in order to optimize housing conditions but also to elucidate stress responses in wild populations for targeted conservation measures. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ursus maritimus Aarhus University: Research Eia ENVELOPE(7.755,7.755,63.024,63.024) Conservation Physiology 8 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Aarhus University: Research |
op_collection_id |
ftuniaarhuspubl |
language |
English |
topic |
biological validation EIA faecal glucocorticoid metabolites non-invasive HPA axis assessment stress Ursus maritimus |
spellingShingle |
biological validation EIA faecal glucocorticoid metabolites non-invasive HPA axis assessment stress Ursus maritimus Hein, Anna Palme, Rupert Baumgartner, Katrin Von Fersen, Lorenzo Woelfing, Benno Greenwood, Alex D. Bechshoft, Thea Siebert, Ursula Faecal glucocorticoid metabolites as a measure of adrenocortical activity in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) |
topic_facet |
biological validation EIA faecal glucocorticoid metabolites non-invasive HPA axis assessment stress Ursus maritimus |
description |
Analysis of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs) is frequently applied to assess adrenocortical activity in animal conservation and welfare studies. Faecal sample collection is non-invasive and feasible under field conditions. FGM levels are also less prone to circadian rhythms, episodic fluctuations and short acute stressors than glucocorticoid (GC) levels obtained from other matrices, for example blood or saliva. To investigate the suitability of FGM measurement in polar bears (Ursus maritimus), a species listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), a cortisol enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was biologically validated by demonstrating a significant increase in FGMs after five zoo-to-zoo transports. In addition to validating the method, the study also documented an average delay of 7 h until the first occurrence of food colorants in the monitored polar bears, which provides essential information for future studies. After validation, the assay was applied to measure FGM concentrations of five polar bears over a 1-year period. Several pre-defined potentially stressful events were recorded in an event log to measure their effect on FGM concentrations. A mixed model analysis revealed significant increases in FGM concentrations after social tension and environmental changes, whereas season and sex had no significant effect. The study demonstrates that the applied cortisol EIA is suitable for measuring FGM levels in polar bears and that using a carefully validated assay for FGM analysis in combination with a detailed sampling protocol can serve as a valuable tool for evaluating mid- to long-term stress in polar bears. FGM levels can be used to monitor stress in captive polar bears in order to optimize housing conditions but also to elucidate stress responses in wild populations for targeted conservation measures. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hein, Anna Palme, Rupert Baumgartner, Katrin Von Fersen, Lorenzo Woelfing, Benno Greenwood, Alex D. Bechshoft, Thea Siebert, Ursula |
author_facet |
Hein, Anna Palme, Rupert Baumgartner, Katrin Von Fersen, Lorenzo Woelfing, Benno Greenwood, Alex D. Bechshoft, Thea Siebert, Ursula |
author_sort |
Hein, Anna |
title |
Faecal glucocorticoid metabolites as a measure of adrenocortical activity in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) |
title_short |
Faecal glucocorticoid metabolites as a measure of adrenocortical activity in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) |
title_full |
Faecal glucocorticoid metabolites as a measure of adrenocortical activity in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) |
title_fullStr |
Faecal glucocorticoid metabolites as a measure of adrenocortical activity in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Faecal glucocorticoid metabolites as a measure of adrenocortical activity in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) |
title_sort |
faecal glucocorticoid metabolites as a measure of adrenocortical activity in polar bears (ursus maritimus) |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/faecal-glucocorticoid-metabolites-as-a-measure-of-adrenocortical-activity-in-polar-bears-ursus-maritimus(bc9fcba1-d231-4365-b2aa-7a86186d722d).html https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa012 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099687385&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(7.755,7.755,63.024,63.024) |
geographic |
Eia |
geographic_facet |
Eia |
genre |
Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
Hein , A , Palme , R , Baumgartner , K , Von Fersen , L , Woelfing , B , Greenwood , A D , Bechshoft , T & Siebert , U 2020 , ' Faecal glucocorticoid metabolites as a measure of adrenocortical activity in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) ' , Conservation Physiology , vol. 8 , no. 1 , coaa012 . https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa012 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa012 |
container_title |
Conservation Physiology |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766232052790722560 |