One size does not fit all: Monitoring faecal glucocorticoid metabolites in marsupials

Stress in biological invasions: Introduced invasive grey squirrels increase physiological stress in native Eurasian red squirrels

“…Although it may be difficult to assess the direct physiological relevance of increased FGM (Dickens & Romero, ), and comparisons between studies are complicated due to the use of different experimental protocols (e.g. Fanson et al., ) and other variables that may affect FGM concentrations (Dantzer et al., ; Goymann, ), we believe that the changes in FGMs that we observed are comparable to chronic stress paradigms found in other studies and that they may have other effects on life‐history traits. For example, in a communally breeding rodent ( Ctenomys sociabilis ) the difference in baseline glucocorticoid levels between animals kept in less or more stressful situations was about 1.5‐fold to twofold (Woodruff, Lacey, Bentley, & Kriegsfeld, ).…”

Excretion and measurement of corticosterone and testosterone metabolites in bank voles (Myodes glareolus)

“…The HPLC also shows that plasma corticosterone is heavily metabolized, which indicates that there are almost no measurable amounts of corticosterone left in the feces, only its metabolites. This strongly supports the use of group specific EIAs particularly designed for detecting metabolites, rather than the actual steroid when using fecal samples Fanson et al, 2016).…”

“…Thus, immunoassays designed for blood samples are often unsuited for analyzing fecal samples, as they target actual hormone molecules rather than their metabolites. Using immunoassays especially designed for hormone metabolites is advisable in order to get reliable results , Fanson et al 2016. However, hormone metabolites are a highly diverse group of molecules, as the types of metabolites can vary between species and even sexes .…”

Identifying factors that influence stress physiology of the woylie, a critically endangered marsupial

“…Of most importance is the biological relevance of the hormonal titre, that is does the FCM data relate to biological events of interest? Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) challenge for assay validation is not feasible for woylies housed in large enclosures because it is not practical nor ethically permissible to trap and collect faecal samples three times a day for several days as previously performed in a woylie (n = 1) in a zoo study (Fanson et al, 2015). However, we have demonstrated that the R4866 FGM EIA can detect variation in FCM concentration related to translocation (S. Hing, A. Northover, E. Narayan, A.F.…”