Strier Karen B, Ziegler Toni E
Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin.
Am J Primatol. 2019 May;81(5):e22928. doi: 10.1002/ajp.22928. Epub 2018 Oct 30.
The northern muriqui (Brachyteles hypoxanthus) is a critically endangered species endemic to the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil. Long-term observational studies of wild muriquis have provided many insights into the behavioral ecology and life history of this species. However, nearly everything that is currently known about the northern muriqui's behavioral endocrinology has come from combining our respective expertise in noninvasive field and laboratory research. Here, we reflect on the history of our collaboration, focusing on major challenges, key scientific findings, and factors that contributed to its success. Challenges included insuring the reliable collection of frequent fecal samples from a large enough number of known individuals over extended periods of time, preserving the steroids in the field and transporting them, developing and validating the fecal steroid assays, and interpreting the hormonal profiles within the behavioral and ecological contexts of the study subjects. Major findings included our thorough description of the fecal progesterone and estradiol profiles associated with muriqui ovarian cycling and gestation, the seasonal resumption of cycling, its onset during puberty of dispersing females, and the differences between fertile and infertile cycles. We also documented the relationship between fecal cortisol and testosterone in sexually active males across breeding and nonbreeding seasons, and sex differences in cortisol levels across the mating and conception seasons. We attribute the success of our collaboration to a number of factors including our mutual appreciation for one another's high standards for ethics, data quality, and data interpretation.
北方绒毛蛛猴（Brachyteles hypoxanthus）是巴西东南部大西洋森林特有的极度濒危物种。对野生绒毛蛛猴的长期观察研究为该物种的行为生态学和生活史提供了许多见解。然而，目前关于北方绒毛蛛猴行为内分泌学的几乎所有知识都来自于我们在非侵入性野外和实验室研究方面的专业知识结合。在此，我们回顾了我们合作的历程，重点关注主要挑战、关键科学发现以及促成合作成功的因素。挑战包括确保在较长时间内从足够数量的已知个体中可靠地采集频繁的粪便样本，在野外保存类固醇并进行运输，开发和验证粪便类固醇检测方法，以及在研究对象的行为和生态背景下解读激素谱。主要发现包括我们对与绒毛蛛猴卵巢周期和妊娠相关的粪便孕酮和雌二醇谱进行了详尽描述，季节性恢复排卵，在分散的雌性青春期开始排卵，以及可育周期和不育周期之间的差异。我们还记录了繁殖季节和非繁殖季节性活跃雄性粪便皮质醇和睾酮之间的关系，以及交配和受孕季节皮质醇水平的性别差异。我们将合作的成功归因于多种因素，包括我们相互欣赏彼此在道德、数据质量和数据解读方面的高标准。
