Chen Haochun, Yao Hui, Yang Wanji, Fan Penglai, Xiang Zuofu
Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Biology, Central South University of Forestry & Technology, Changsha, Hunan, China.
College of Life Science and Technology, Central South University of Forestry & Technology, Changsha, Hunan, China.
PeerJ. 2017 Aug 21;5:e3648. doi: 10.7717/peerj.3648. eCollection 2017.
Cortisol concentration (CC) is often used as a stress indicator in animals, as high CC is associated with elevated stress levels. During field research, non-invasive methods of measuring CC, such as collection of urine and feces, are superior to using blood samples when monitoring free-ranging animals' stress levels. However, due to different metabolic pathways, whether CC can be detected in urine and feces to reliably assess stress varies across species. Therefore, it is important to ascertain whether urine and fecal samples are a reliable source for determining CCs and to determine a suitable sampling regime. In this study, we subjected three captive adult golden snub-nosed monkeys () to a high-stress situation (capture and injection). Urine and feces were collected for four days before and for four days after the manipulations for laboratory analysis. Immunoreactive CC was detected with a commercial enzyme immunoassay (EIA) kit and showed distinct rises. Peak CC values in urine were detected within 5 h, while peak fecal CC ranged between 5 and 24 hours post-interference. These results provide evidence that CC in urine and feces can be used to assess stress levels in the golden snub-nosed monkey. The optimal time frame to collect urinary and fecal samples for CC analysis is within one day of a potential stressful event.
皮质醇浓度（CC）常被用作动物应激的指标，因为高CC与应激水平升高有关。在野外研究中，测量CC的非侵入性方法，如收集尿液和粪便，在监测自由放养动物的应激水平时优于采集血样。然而，由于代谢途径不同，尿液和粪便中是否能检测到CC以可靠评估应激因物种而异。因此，确定尿液和粪便样本是否是确定CC的可靠来源并确定合适的采样方案很重要。在本研究中，我们让三只圈养成年川金丝猴处于高应激状态（捕获和注射）。在操作前4天和操作后4天收集尿液和粪便用于实验室分析。用商业酶免疫分析（EIA）试剂盒检测免疫反应性CC，结果显示其明显升高。尿液中CC峰值在5小时内检测到，而粪便中CC峰值在干扰后5至24小时之间。这些结果证明尿液和粪便中的CC可用于评估川金丝猴的应激水平。为分析CC而收集尿液和粪便样本的最佳时间框架是在潜在应激事件发生后的一天内。
