Diurnal variation on the excretion patterns of fecal steroids in common marmoset ( Callithrix jacchus ) females

Abstract

The use of fecal steroid analysis to assess gonadal and adrenal function in primates has rapidly increased in recent years due to the ability to collect feces from nonhuman primates living in wild conditions. These techniques offer an exciting new potential for enhancing our knowledge of the endocrine status of free‐living animals. Prior to using these techniques under field conditions, it is important to determine the diurnal variation of fecal excreted steroids for assessing possible time limitations on fecal collections. The following study investigates the diurnal frequency of defecation and patterns of steroid levels excreted in feces from four female common marmosets, Callithrix jacchus, living in a family group. These females represented three reproductive conditions: early pregnancy, ovarian cycling, and noncycling (postpubertal). Cortisol, estradiol, and progesterone were extracted and analyzed by enzyme immunoassay. Diurnal variations in steroid levels were found by ANOVA for cortisol and progesterone but not for estradiol. Significantly higher levels of cortisol were found in the afternoon, while the reverse was found for progesterone. All females showed the same pattern of steroid level change, except for cortisol in the pregnant female. Since all females defecated within the first hour after they awoke in the morning, this time was determined to be the most effective time to collect feces. The consistency of our findings reinforces the usefulness of this approach for studying reproductive and adrenocortical function in marmosets and also indicates that fecal collection should be limited to either morning or afternoon collections. Am. J. Primatol. 46:105–117, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Non-invasive measurement of fecal estrogens in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

“…Circadian rhythms in fecal and urinary steroid hormones have been documented in many mammals (Bos et al, 1993;Sousa and Ziegler, 1998), so we examined time of day here as a procedural covariate. We found that, like fecal glucocorticoids (Dloniak, 2004), but unlike fecal androgens (Dloniak et al, 2003), concentrations of fecal estrogens in Crocuta samples collected in the morning are higher than in samples collected in the evening.…”

Fecal cortisol metabolites as indicators of stress in crab-eating-fox (Cerdocyoun thous) in captivity

“…Alternative noninvasive methods for the determination of fecal cortisol metabolites utilizing an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) have been established in a variety of species: primates (Sousa & Ziegler 1998, Whitten et al 1997, ruminants (Palme et al 1997(Palme et al , 2000, several felids (Graham & Brown 1996, Jurke et al 1998, and African wild dog (Monfort et al 1998).…”

Evaluation of Glucocorticoid Faecal Monitoring as a Non-Invasive Assessment of Stress in Captive Crab-Eating Fox (Cerdocyoun thous) After ACTH Stimulation

“…For example, capture and handling of animals for venipuncture can induce a stress response, with increased peripheral glucocorticoid concentrations observed within minutes [7]. Due to the increasing demand for methods to quantify adrenal activity in zoo and wild animals in response to mate introduction and transportation, after pharmacological and management precautions to minimize stress, and the necessity to investigate stress impacts on animal welfare, noninvasively methods for measuring adrenal activity have been developed for a variety of species: primates [8,9]; ruminants [10,11]; several felids [12][13][14]; African wild dog [15].…”