| Monitoring animal hormone levels can help understand their physiological state, improve their living environment, breeding ecology, and ex-situ conservation of endangered wildlife, and is particularly beneficial to the captive management of these species. However, in the case of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and other small fragmented populations of endangered wildlife, using traditional sampling methods (such as blood) is more difficult. Therefore, non-invasive sampling methods (eg feces, hair etc.) have become main stream in the analysis of giant panda and other endangered animal hormones, where animal fecal sample analysis is applied more widely. The use of fecal samples create several difficulties such as scarce samples, sampling delay, field preservation, sample transportation and other issues, in addition, the extraction and analysis of steroid hormone methods are not the same. To explore and address these problems, this study compared two different non-invasive sampling methods, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and radioimmunoassay (RIA), to monitor the physiological stress levels as well as improve the accuracy of detection and analysis of the fecal samples of steroid hormones. Furthermore, we applied the monitor the physiological state of the giant panda and the feasibility and usefulness of fecal sample analysis for the giant panda reintroduction program and, lastly, to provide a reference for other endocrine-related physiological studies on captive animals.1. Fecal steroids metabolite monitoring helps to understand and improve the environment, breeding ecology in wildlife, conservation and management of endangered species is especially beneficial, understanding the effective storage period of fresh feces steroids will provide scientific basis for this. We selected25pandas individuals as the research object in Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, the results show that, Under the condition of field circumstance, the cortisol of the male panda can keep stably for two days, testosterone does not appear significant change, but in15days all comparable; the cortisol of female giant pandas kept stably for3d,2d stability of progesterone can be retained. Use0.5g and0.2g fecal samples, the cortisol values occurr significant differences, and0.5g fecal samples are more stable than0.2g. However, for the not fresh samples, we should detect the fecal steroid hormone in the effective period according to different detection purposes.2. The objective of this study was to determine whether there are cortisone changes in Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding Dujiangyan Research Center from December2011to February2012. Tests from6giant pandas came from Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding to Dujiangyan Research Center. Using extracts the hormones in dried faecal samples and measured by enzyme immunoassays (EIAs), we found significant differences of cortisol level for the6pandas between the before and after moving into Dujiangyan center. With respect of age and gender, no significant difference was found and indicated that environmental changes are the main reasons for hormone changes of giant pandas. However, we also found that these younger individuals have higher cortisone level than those elders, and showed stronger physical stress reactivity. Our results will provide references for ex-situ giant panda in hormone change data, and help understand adapt to challenges by environment change for releasing individuals form captive to field habitat in future conservation management of giant pandas3."Zhang xiang" individual cortisol, estradiol, progesterone three kinds of hormone levels all showed a sharp rise after the reintroduction, then slowly decline phenomenon. Among them, cortisol13th day after the reintroduction began to appear a low level in the first15d dropped to a very low level, and after that maintained the level; estradiol at9d dropped to a lower level after the reintroduction, and thereafter remained at a low level; progesterone was released into decline after the first5d to a lower level, and after that remained at this level showed a slight fluctuation up and down. Monitoring giant panda hormone levels through fecal samples can be a practical and reliable tool for the reintroduction of the giant panda. |
PDF Full Text Request