Non-invasive measurement of thyroid hormone in feces of a diverse array of avian and mammalian species

Wasser, Samuel K.; Azkarate, Jurgi Cristóbal; Booth, Rebecca K.; Hayward, Lisa S.; Hunt, Kathleen E.; Ayres, Katherine L.; Vynne, Carly; Gobush, Kathleen S.; Canales‐Espinosa, Domingo; Rodríguez-Luna, Ernesto

doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2010.04.004

Cited by 128 publications

(155 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…We assessed dominance rank using David's Scores [12]. Behavioural and climatic data were averaged over a 7 day period as thyroid hormones may take several days to adjust to changes in ambient temperature [13]; to take into account the 2 day T3 excretion lag [9], this period ran from 2 to 8 days before the date of faecal sample collection.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metabolic strategies in wild male Barbary macaques: evidence from faecal measurement of thyroid hormone

et al. 2016

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Selection is expected to favour the evolution of flexible metabolic strategies, in response to environmental conditions. Here, we use a non-invasive index of basal metabolic rate (BMR), faecal thyroid hormone (T3) levels, to explore metabolic flexibility in a wild mammal inhabiting a highly seasonal, challenging environment. T3 levels of adult male Barbary macaques in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco, varied markedly over the year; temporal patterns of variation differed between a wild-feeding and a provisioned group. Overall, T3 levels were related to temperature, foraging time (linked to food availability) and intensity of mating activity, and were higher in the provisioned than in the wild-feeding group. In both groups, T3 levels began to increase markedly one month before the start of the mating season, peaking four to six weeks into this period, and at a higher level in the wild-feeding group. Our results suggest that while both groups demonstrate marked metabolic flexibility, responding similarly to ecological and social challenges, such flexibility is affected by food availability. This study provides new insights into the way Barbary macaques respond to the multiple demands of their environment.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metabolic strategies in wild male Barbary macaques: evidence from faecal measurement of thyroid hormone

et al. 2016

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“…Fecal samples were cleared of urates as much as possible, weighed, extracted and assayed using methods described in Wasser et al (2000), Wasser and Hunt (2005), Wasser et al (2010), and Hayward et al (2010). We measured fGCs using an I 125 corticosterone kit from ICN Biomedicals, Costa Mesa, California (ICN # 07-120103) following supplier's instructions, but halving the volume of all reagents (Wasser et al 2000).…”

Section: Fecal Steroid Extraction and Assaymentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of acute and long-term vehicle exposure on physiology and reproductive success of the northern spotted owl

Hayward

Bowles

et al. 2011

Ecosphere

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Abstract. Stress physiologists posit that multiple simultaneous demands faced by an organism may have non-additive effects on the magnitude of their response to disturbance. The environmental assessment literature emphasizes a similar phenomenon at the population level, arguing that populations can compensate for perturbations up to a threshold, beyond which disturbance impacts may be greatly magnified-and even cause system collapse. We integrated these two approaches to examine the roles of environment, life history stage, prior disturbance experience, and their interactions on vulnerability to disturbance in a free-living species. Specifically, we examined the effects of off-highway vehicle use on the federally threatened northern spotted owl (NSO), Strix occidentalis caurina, by measuring fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCs), which reflect disturbance; fecal thyroid hormone metabolites (fT3), which reflect nutrition; and the number of offspring fledged within a season. We experimentally applied one hour of motorcycle exposure to NSOs during periods of incubation (May) and fledging (July), comparing fGC levels of treated NSO with those of non-exposed controls. Acute vehicle exposure generally increased fGCs in the short term. Males showed the highest glucocorticoid response to vehicle disturbance in May when they were typically solely responsible for feeding themselves, their mates and their nestlings. By contrast, response to motorcycle exposure among females depended on their level of fT3 and their number of young. Levels of fGCs were highest post treatment among females that lacked young and had high fT3 (good nutrition); fGC levels were lower in treated females compared to controls among females with two young and low fT3 (compromised nutrition), possibly reflecting allostatic overload. The correlational approach showed that NSO close to roads had higher levels of fT3, suggesting better nutrition. Surprisingly, fGC levels were unrelated to proximity of roads, irrespective of noise. Presumably, the tendency for traffic exposure to increase fGCs over the long-term was offset by nutritional gains (i.e., reduced fGCs and high fT3) associated with proximity to roads. Sound level meters enabled us to quantify road noise on a subset of NSO territories. NSO close to noisy roads fledged significantly fewer young than NSO near quiet roads, indicating that routine traffic exposure may decrease NSO reproductive success over time.

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“…Metabolites of cortisol, aldosterone and thyroid hormone will be extracted from fecal samples and measured via RIA using established techniques (Wasser et al, 2010). Thyroid measures will focus on T3 because I 131 ingestion studies showed that thyroid hormone was excreted in feces almost entirely as T3 with very little T4 in two domestic dogs, and similarly only immunoreactive T3 was primarily found in killer whale feces with lesser amounts of T4 (Wasser et al, 2010).…”

Section: Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thyroid measures will focus on T3 because I 131 ingestion studies showed that thyroid hormone was excreted in feces almost entirely as T3 with very little T4 in two domestic dogs, and similarly only immunoreactive T3 was primarily found in killer whale feces with lesser amounts of T4 (Wasser et al, 2010).…”

Section: Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variability of Hormonal Stress Markers Collected from a Managed Dolphin Population

Houser¹,

Wasser²,

Cockrem³

et al. 2012

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Non-invasive measurement of thyroid hormone in feces of a diverse array of avian and mammalian species

Cited by 128 publications

References 27 publications

Metabolic strategies in wild male Barbary macaques: evidence from faecal measurement of thyroid hormone

Metabolic strategies in wild male Barbary macaques: evidence from faecal measurement of thyroid hormone

Impacts of acute and long-term vehicle exposure on physiology and reproductive success of the northern spotted owl

Variability of Hormonal Stress Markers Collected from a Managed Dolphin Population

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