Within-sample variability of steroid and thyroid metabolite measurements in faeces of Northeast Pacific resident killer whales (<i>Orcinus orca</i>).

ABSTRACT: Faecal hormone metabolite (FHM) analyses are increasingly used as a non-invasive method to evaluate physiological stress in wild populations, especially those of conservation concern. In cetaceans, faecal collection from the ocean surface results in considerable variation in sample volume and density. Knowledge of the distribution of hormone metabolites within a faecal sample is limited, but is an important consideration when interpreting values. Here we investigated the variability of glucocorticoid (fGCM) and thyroid (fTHM) metabolites within fish-eating resident killer whale faeces by comparing mean concentration, standard deviation (SD) and coefficient of variation (CV) among three treatment groups: sub-samples, pooled sub-samples and homogenized pooled sub-samples from the same defeca

SUBMITTER: Yehle KE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12511938 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature