The Change Of Fecal Gonadal Hormones Content In Different Seasons And The Relationship With Reproductive Behaviors Of Sichuan Snub-nosed Monkey (Rhinopithecus Roxellanae) In Qinling Mountains

The golden monkey listed in the First Category of State Key Protected Wildlife List. The Sichuan snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellanae) is the named species of the golden monkey. The former studies showed that the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey is one kinds of seasonal reproduction animal. The seasonal change of reproductive behaviors is the exhibition of the seasonal change of reproductive function, that regulated by gonadal hormones. So measuring the gonadal hormones is a practical method to assess the reproductive physiological status. In recent years, according to the correspondence between the levels of gonadal hormones in feces and in plasma, measuring the levels of gonadal hormones in feces has been applied in many species of non-human primates. This article applies this method in reproduction research on Sichuan snub-nosed monkey firstly. In this study, we collect the fecal samples of adult males, pregnant females, lactication females, adult females and sub-adult females in different seasons in Qinling Mountains. Measuring the levels of testosterone and estradiol by RIA after extracting the hormones from fecal samples to study the change of the gonadal hormones levels in different seasons. At the same time with collecting fecal samples, we collect the informations of reproductive behaviors to find out the possible relationship between the change of the gonadal hormones levels and the reproductive behaviors in different seasons.The results showed:a. The content of T in reproductive season (48.12-62.40) is lower than that in non-reproductive season (62.52-81.45) in adult males. The content of T present a cyclic pattern in reproductive season, and the length of cycle is 20~25d. The mounting frequency in reproductive season (0.68-1.24) is higher than that in non-reproductive season (0.24-0.76) in adult males.b. The content of E2 is high in the middle period of gestation (2931.26 + 610.60) and in the period before parturition (>3600) in pregnant females. And in the period after parturition, the content of E2 has a sharp decrease (22.77 + 14.03). The content of T is 6.79?.04, 11.77?.15 and 11.05?2.96 in three above periods, respectively. The presenting frequency in the middle period of gestation (0.79) is higher than that in the period before and after parturition (0).c. The content of E2 in the middle period of lactation (19.47-41.43) is lower than that in the later period of lactation (23.42-118.91) in lactation females. But the content of T in former (2.91-8.07) is higher than that in later (1.35-5.76). The presenting frequency in the middle period of lactation (0.08) is higher than that in the later period of lactation (0~0.04).d. The content of E2 in reproductive season (78.73-133.11) is higher than that in non-reproductive season (64.87-37.52) in adult females, as same as the level of T (10.38-17.99 to 7.76-9.54). The content of E2 and T show a seasonal variation respectively. The length of menstruation also show a seasonal variation from 22-25 days in reproductive season to 45-46 days in non-reproductive season. The presenting frequency in reproductive season (0.16-0.23) is higher than that in non-reproductive season (0.13-0.17), showing a seasonal variation and a high correspondence with the seasonal variation of the content of E2 and T. The results suggest that the seasonal variation of the content of E2 and T is one intrinsic reason of the seasonal reproduction in adult females. The seasonal variation of the length of menstruation and the presenting frequency is the exhibition of the seasonal variation of the content of E2 and T.e. The content of E2 in reproductive season (1808.46 + 321.97) is lower than thatin non-reproductive season (2922.78 ?05.88) in sub-adult females, as same as the content of T (2.23?.14 to 11.16?0.69). The presenting frequency in reproductive season (0.20) is higher than that in non-reproductive season (0), showing a seasonal variatio...