Currier Sarah A, Whitt Jeffrey G, Reyna Kelly S
The Quail Research Laboratory, Ted and Donna Lyon Center for Gamebird Research, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Commerce, TX, 75429, USA.
Conserv Physiol. 2024 Apr 13;12(1):coae012. doi: 10.1093/conphys/coae012. eCollection 2024.
US quail species are vulnerable to population declines as a result of climate change, habitat loss and habitat fragmentation, all of which can result in physiological stress. Additionally, population restoration techniques (PRTs), like translocations, also induce stress. Traditional assessments of avian stress hormone levels include capturing and handling birds to extract blood, methods that are inherently stressful and can compound stress analyses. However, the stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) is metabolized from the blood and excreted in faeces as faecal corticosterone metabolites (FCMs). FCMs have been used as a non-invasive measurement of stress hormone levels in a variety of species, but must be validated for each species. The objective of this study was to biologically validate the use of FCMs as a non-invasive measurement of CORT levels in California valley quail (). Reference and treatment quail were acclimated for 3 weeks in an outdoor aviary. Subsequently, treatment quail were subjected to a simulated 48-h translocation, a common and stress hormone-inducing PRT. Faecal samples were collected every 4 h and processed using an enzyme immunoassay. Mean FCM concentrations of treatment quail (41.50 ± 16.13 ng/g) were higher than reference FCM concentrations (24.07 ± 10.4 ng/g). These results biologically validate the use of FCMs as a non-invasive method to assess CORT levels in California valley quail, demonstrate diurnal variation in quail CORT levels, and confirm that quail translocations are a stress-inducing PRT. Ultimately, this research validates a new non-invasive tool for stress response measurement to advance quail research, management and conservation.
由于气候变化、栖息地丧失和栖息地破碎化，美国鹌鹑物种面临种群数量下降的风险，所有这些因素都可能导致生理压力。此外，种群恢复技术（PRTs），如易地放流，也会引发压力。传统的鸟类应激激素水平评估方法包括捕获和处理鸟类以采集血液，这些方法本身就具有压力，并且可能会使压力分析复杂化。然而，应激激素皮质酮（CORT）会从血液中代谢，并以粪便皮质酮代谢物（FCMs）的形式排泄到粪便中。FCMs已被用作多种物种应激激素水平的非侵入性测量指标，但必须针对每个物种进行验证。本研究的目的是从生物学角度验证FCMs作为加利福尼亚谷鹌鹑CORT水平非侵入性测量指标的用途。将对照鹌鹑和处理鹌鹑在室外鸟舍中适应3周。随后，对处理鹌鹑进行模拟48小时的易地放流，这是一种常见且会诱导应激激素的种群恢复技术。每4小时采集一次粪便样本，并使用酶免疫测定法进行处理。处理鹌鹑的平均FCM浓度（41.50±16.13 ng/g）高于对照FCM浓度（24.07±10.4 ng/g）。这些结果从生物学角度验证了FCMs作为评估加利福尼亚谷鹌鹑CORT水平的非侵入性方法的用途，证明了鹌鹑CORT水平的昼夜变化，并证实鹌鹑易地放流是一种诱导压力的种群恢复技术。最终，本研究验证了一种用于测量应激反应的新型非侵入性工具，以推动鹌鹑研究、管理和保护工作。
